The impact of information sharing, random yield, correlation, and lead times in closed loop supply chains

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordWe investigate the impact of advance notice of product returns on the performance of a decentralised closed loop supply chain. The market demands and the product returns are stochastic and are correlated with each other. The returned products are converted into "as-good-as-new" products and used, together with new products, to satisfy the market demand. The remanufacturing process takes time and is subject to a random yield. We investigate the benefit of the manufacturer obtaining advance notice of product returns from the remanufacturer. We demonstrate that lead times, random yields and the parameters describing the returns play a significant role in the benefit of the advance notice scheme. Our mathematical results offer insights into the benefits of lead time reduction and the adoption of information sharing schemes.Japan Society for the Promotion of Scienc

Closed loop supply chains: The impact of advance notice and lead-times

This research investigates the impact of advance notice of the product returns on the performance of a closed loop supply chain when lead-times exist. Our closed loop supply chain consists of a manufacturer and an external remanufacturer. The market demand and the product return are stochastic and correlated with each other. A proportion of the sold products in the market are returned to an external remanufacturer. After a predetermined time period, the used products are converted into "good-as-new" products to be used to meet the market demand, together with the newly manufactured products. We quantify the benefit of the manufacturer obtaining advance notice of product returns from the remanufacturer. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the (re)manufacturing lead-times and some parameters in the product return rate can have a significant impact on the manufacturer's performance

The impact of information sharing, random yield, correlation, and lead times in closed loop supply chains

We investigate the impact of advance notice of product returns on the performance of a decentralised closed loop supply chain. The market demands and the product returns are stochastic and are correlated with each other. The returned products are converted into “as-good-as-new” products and used, together with new products, to satisfy the market demand. The remanufacturing process takes time and is subject to a random yield. We investigate the benefit of the manufacturer obtaining advance notice of product returns from the remanufacturer. We demonstrate that lead times, random yields and the parameters describing the returns play a significant role in the benefit of the advance notice scheme. Our mathematical results offer insights into the benefits of lead time reduction and the adoption of information sharing schemes

Control of a production-inventory system with returns under imperfect advance return information

We consider a production–inventory system with product returns that are announced in advance by the customers. Demands and announcements of returns occur according to independent Poisson processes. An announced return is either actually returned or cancelled after a random return lead time. We consider both lost sale and backorder situations. Using a Markov decision formulation, the optimal production policy, with respect to the discounted cost over an infinite horizon, is characterized for situations with and without advance return information. We give insights in the potential value of this information. Also some attention is paid to combining advance return and advance demand information. Further applications of the model as well as topics for further research are indicated

Control of a production-inventory system with returns under imperfect advance return information

We consider a production–inventory system with product returns that are announced in advance by the customers. Demands and announcements of returns occur according to independent Poisson processes. An announced return is either actually returned or cancelled after a random return lead time. We consider both lost sale and backorder situations. Using a Markov decision formulation, the optimal production policy, with respect to the discounted cost over an infinite horizon, is characterized for situations with and without advance return information. We give insights in the potential value of this information. Also some attention is paid to combining advance return and advance demand information. Further applications of the model as well as topics for further research are indicated

Control of a production-inventory system with returns under imperfect advance return information

International audienceWe consider a production-inventory system with product returns that are announced in advance by the customers. Demands and announcements of returns occur according to independent Poisson processes. An announced return is either actually returned or cancelled after a random return lead time. We consider both lost sale and backorder situations. Using a Markov decision formulation, the optimal production policy, with respect to the discounted cost over an infinite horizon, is characterized for situations with and without advance return information. We give insights in the potential value of this information. Also some attention is paid to combining advance return and advance demand information. Further applications of the model as well as topics for further research are indicated

Evaluating drivers and barriers for reverse logistics implementation under a multiple stakeholders' perpective analysis using grey-DEMATEL approach

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Produção, Florianópolis, 2015.Abstract : In the past few decades, the amount of waste produced by companies and businesses has grown dramatically while, at the same time, industrial production and consumer demand has also grown. Specifically, more raw materials are being used and available landfills are filling up. In order to solve this increasing problem, recently, an interest in product recovery, reverse logistics, and closed-loop supply chains has attracted not only the attention of companies and professionals but also has become a subject of interest for researchers. Additionally, both the emergence of stricter environmental regulations and a greater environmental consciousness of customers have pushed industries to think about environmental management by means of reverse logistics (RL) and by the implementation of End-Of-Life (EOL) products. However, while RL is becoming a mandatory component of the Supply Chain (SC) in developed countries particularly due to legislation issues, RL is still in a state of infancy in emerging economies such as Brazil. Furthermore, RL might be considered as the most difficult initiative of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) to implement, when compared to green purchasing or eco-design. In these connections, influential factors, such as drivers and barriers, have to be considered and analyzed previously, as well as the many different perspectives from the key stakeholders for RL development. To tackle this problem, the primary objective of this research is to evaluate the interrelationship among RL drivers and barriers under the perspectives of the most important RL stakeholders in the Brazilian context. To accomplish that, at first, a research design is proposed, and each adopted step is presented in the course of this study. Thereafter, this work begins with a general description of RL and its practices, some insights on RL in developing countries, and a detailed picture of RL in the Brazilian context through a systematic literature review process. Next, two exploratory case-based studies performed in Brazil are presented, including a manufacturing company and a third party reverse logistics service provider (3PRL) with the objective of gathering practical knowledge on RL in Brazil. As a result of the two case studies, this manuscript shifts focus to provide a thorough literature review on RL drivers, barriers, and stakeholders. For that, the theoretical lenses of Stakeholder and Resource-Based View theories are used, and a multi-perspective framework for RL drivers and barriers is created, including organizational, customers?, societal, and governmental perspectives. The following step is the evaluation of these influential factors (drivers and barriers) from the multi-perspective framework with experts by means of a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) tool named grey-based DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory). Four respondents - one expert from each stakeholder ? have been consulted to obtain the pair-wise comparison of RL drivers and barriers. Thus, both the net effect and the importance level of each factor is provided, as well as the similarities and differences among stakeholders? opinions. The contributions of research are significant. Most of the key barriers from the RL multiple perspective framework are from the organizational point of view. That is, external pressures may harm RL implementation, but firms may first focus on overcoming the internal barriers, such as the low importance of RL relative to other factors and company policies against RL. The most prominent drivers are from inside the organization, namely: Eco-design and Design for ?X? techniques, Long-term sustainability, Economic viability of RL, and Reduction on raw material consumption and waste disposal cost. From a practical and managerial angle, this research is relevant because a critical analysis of RL influential factors, as well as knowing the actors causing them or being affected by them, can be a valuable source of information to decision makers. Knowing the influential forces in their RL environment may help industry managers to better implement and to manage reverse flows and to bridge the gap between existing and future green solutions for reverse logistics.Nas últimas décadas, a quantidade de resíduos aumentou drasticamente enquanto a produção industrial e a demanda dos consumidores cresceu. Isto é, mais matérias-primas são usadas e a capacidade dos aterros sanitários está se extinguindo. A fim de resolver este problema crescente, recentemente, o interesse em recuperação de produtos, logística reversa (LR) e cadeia de suprimentos de circuito fechado tem atraído a atenção não somente das empresas, mas também de pesquisadores. Adicionalmente, o surgimento de leis ambientais mais rigorosas e a consciência ambiental dos clientes impulsionaram as empresas a pensar em gestão ambiental por meio da implementação da LR de produtos em fim de vida útil. Entretanto, enquanto a LR está se tornando um componente obrigatório nas cadeias de suprimento dos países desenvolvidos especialmente por causa de questões legislativas, a LR ainda está imatura nas economias emergentes, como o Brasil. Mais ainda, a LR pode ser considerada como a iniciativa mais difícil de implementar da Gestão de Cadeia de Suprimentos Verde, quando comparada com compras verde e eco-design. Nesse sentido, fatores de influência, como direcionadores e barreiras, devem ser considerados e analisados previamente, assim como as várias perspectivas dos stakeholders chave para o desenvolvimento da LR. Para lidar com esse problema, o principal objetivo desta pesquisa é avaliar as interrelações entre os direcionadores e barreiras da LR sob as perspectivas dos stakeholders mais importantes no contexto Brasileiro. Para tal, primeiramente, um plano de pesquisa é proposto, apresentando cada passo adotado no decorrer deste estudo. Posteriormente, este trabalho começa por uma descrição geral da LR e suas práticas, algumas percepções de LR em países em desenvolvimento, e um retrato detalhado da LR no contexto brasileiro por meio de um processo sistemático de revisão de literatura. Em seguida, dois estudos de caso diferentes realizados no Brasil são apresentados ? uma empresa de manufatura e um operador de logística reversa ? a fim de obter conhecimento prático em LR no Brasil. Na sequência, este manuscrito transfere seu foco para uma detalhada revisão de literatura em direcionadores, barreiras e stakeholders da LR. Para isso, é feito o uso de duas teorias ? Stakeholder e resource-based view theories ? que servem de lentes teóricas para o trabalho, criando-se uma estrutura de múltiplas perspectivas para direcionadores e barreiras da LR. O passo seguinte é a avaliação destes fatores de influência da estrutura de múltiplas perspectivas com experts por meio de uma ferramenta multicritério de apoio à decisão chamada grey-based DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory). Um expert de cada stakeholder foi consultado para se obter as comparações par-a-par dos direcionadores e barreiras da LR. Portanto, o efeito de rede e o nível de importância de cada fator é fornecido, assim como as similaridades e diferenças das opiniões dos stakeholders. Com relação às contribuições deste trabalho, a maior parte das barreiras chave da estrutura de múltiplas perspectivas da LR vem da organização. Isto é, pressões externas podem prejudicar a implementação da LR, mas as empresas podem primeiramente focar em superar as barreiras internas, como a baixa importância dada a LR em relação a outras atividades e as políticas da empresa que vão contra à LR. Os direcionadores mais proeminentes vem da organização em si, sendo eles: Eco-design e projeto para técnicas de recuperação (remanufatura, reciclagem, etc.), Sustentabilidade a longo prazo, Viabilidade econômica da LR e Redução do consumo de matérias-primas e custos de despejo de resíduos. De um ângulo prático e gerencial, esta pesquisa mostra-se relevante, uma vez que uma análise crítica dos fatores de influência da LR ? assim como conhecer os atores que os causam ou são afetados por eles ? pode ser uma fonte de informação valiosa para tomadores de decisão. O conhecimento sobre os fatores de influência no ambiente da LR pode auxiliar as indústrias a melhor implementar e gerenciar fluxos reversos e a cobrir a lacuna entre as soluções ambientais existentes e futuras para a LR