A Decision Making Framework for Reverse Logistics Network Design

The main objective of this research is to answer the following research question “How should a company design their reverse logistics network in a more efficient or responsive way?” In this research, a conceptual framework has been developed based on several key factors for network design. Through the analysis of each key factor affecting network design decision, we have built a conceptual framework for reverse logistics network for companies to decide on whether to centralize versus decentralize their reverse logistics operations, and whether to outsource or insource some of their operations? Some existing studies are able to fit well in our proposed framework, giving us better insights to decision making in reverse logistics network design. The proposed conceptual framework is helpful for the companies or organizations to make better decisions when designing their reverse logistics operations to achieve a lean or responsive network

A framework for closed-loop supply chains of reusable articles

Reuse practices contribute to the environmental and economical sustainability of production and distribution systems. Surprisingly, reuse closed-loop supply chains (CLSC) have not been widely researched for the moment. In this paper, we explore the scientific literature on reuse and we propose a framework for reusable articles. This conceptual structure includes a typology integrating under the reusable articles term different categories of articles (transportation items, packaging materials, tools) and addresses the management issues that arise in reuse CLSC. We ground our results in a set of case studies developed in real industrial settings, which have also been contrasted with cases available in existing literature.reverse logistics;case studies;closed-loop supply chains;returns managment

Una revisión del proceso de la logística inversa y su relación con la logística verde

A nivel mundial, al menos en los países industrializados, el desarrollo de la práctica de Logística Inversa se presenta como una ventaja competitiva significante. Se identifican tres motivos bien diferenciados que promueven el desarrollo y puesta en marcha de esta práctica, y estos son los legales, los sociales y los económicos. Cualquier empresa que planee implementar la Logística Inversa dentro de sus estrategias a mediano y largo plazo, debe identificar con claridad sus alcances, limitaciones y forma de operar, ya que el conocimiento inadecuado y la relativa novedad de la misma,  provocan que no sea aprovechada eficientemente, además de confundirse con otra práctica, también emergente, conocida como Logística Verde.A partir de la definición de la Logística Inversa, este trabajo busca resaltar las características de esta práctica desde la perspectiva conceptual de un proceso, identificando sus entradas, actividades y salidas, así como su principio y fin. La misma tarea de resaltar las características se aplica a la Logística Verde para concluir con un análisis comparativo entre ambas.Starting off of the definition of Reverse Logistics, this research determines its particular characteristics from the perspective of a process, identifying its inputs, outputs, end and beginning. The same work is done applied to Green Logistics, concluding with a comparative analysis of both practices

Reverse logistics

This paper gives an overview of scientific literature that describes and discusses cases of reverse logistics activities in practice. Over sixty case studies are considered. Based on these studies we are able to indicate critical factors for the practice of reverse logistics. In addition we compare practice with theoretical models and point out research opportunities in the field

Optimal order quantities with remanufacturing across new product generations

<p>Full dataset (384 slices) of the<br>highest resolution 3D MPRAGE scan (shown in Fig. 7).</p

Cenário epidemiológico de morbidade no ambiente de trabalho no Brasil

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Produção, Florianópolis, 2012As doenças do trabalho tem se tornado um problema de saúde pública, devido ao seu impacto socioeconômico, gerado a partir de prevalências que tem tomado proporções epidêmicas em todo o mundo. Diante dessas informações, o objetivo deste estudo foi estabelecer o cenário de ocorrência epidemiológica de morbidades no ambiente de trabalho no Brasil no período de 2004 a 2008. A população do estudo compreendeu o número de trabalhadores contribuintes pessoa física com a previdência social nos anos de 2004 à 2008, sendo que a amostra foi composta pelo número de contribuintes empregados no mesmo período. Os dados foram coletados na Base de Dados Históricos do Anuário Estatístico da Previdência Social, nos Anuários Estatísticos da Previdência Social e nos Anuários Estatísticos de Acidentes de Trabalho. As variáveis coletadas dos documentos analisados foram: a quantidade de acidentes de trabalho; a quantidade de doenças do trabalho, considerando o sexo e a faixa etária; a quantidade de doenças do trabalhado de origem musculoesquelética de acordo com a Classificação Internacional de Doenças (CID-10); a parte do corpo atingida pelas doenças do trabalho; as consequências geradas pelos acidentes de trabalho aos trabalhadores; a quantidade de doenças do trabalho de acordo com a Classificação Brasileira de Ocupações e de acordo com Setor de atividade econômica, as características socioeconômicas dos Estados brasileiros e os gasto do governo com auxílios acidentários. Na análise dos dados utilizou-se procedimentos de estatística descritiva e inferencial como o Teste de Friedman para medidas repetidas, o post-hoc de Tukey, o Teste de Kruskal-Wallis, o Teste U de Mann-Whitney e o teste de correlação de Spearman. O valor de significância adotado nas análises foi de 0,05. Foram elaborados mapas cartográficos na escala 1:250.000. Verificou-se que os acidentes de trabalho no Brasil aumentaram significativamente, enquanto as doenças do trabalho diminuíram no período de 2004 à 2008. O Estado de Santa Catarina apresentou a maior prevalência de acidentes de trabalho em praticamente todos os anos analisados. Os Estados do Amazonas e da Bahia apresentaram as maiores prevalências de doenças do trabalho. A faixa etária dos 40 aos 59 anos foi a mais acometida por doenças do trabalho, sendo que não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os sexos. As doenças do trabalho de origem musculoesquelética mais prevalentes de acordo com a CID-10 foram a M65 (sinovite e tenossinovite) e a M75 (lesões no ombro), sendo que as partes corporais mais acometidas foram o ombro, o dorso e o punho. Os trabalhadores de Rondônia apresentaram o maior risco relativo de desenvolverem incapacidades permanentes oriundas de acidentes de trabalho em praticamente todos os anos analisados. As maiores prevalência de doenças do trabalho foram nos setores de serviço de atividade financeira e na indústria metalúrgica, nas quais a profissão de "escriturário" foi a que apresentou o maior número de doentes em todo o período de análise. Os dados apontaram relação significativa entre a prevalência de doenças do trabalho e as características socioeconômicas dos Estados. Os gastos anuais do governo com auxílios acidentários aumentaram significativamente, sendo superiores os valores destinados a auxílios-doença. Esses resultados servem de alerta para as autoridades, pois evidenciam que não somente as regiões mais industrializadas do país apresentam taxas elevadas de doenças do trabalho, o que maximiza a necessidade de uma política de prevenção de acidentes de trabalho mais efetiva e evidencia a necessidade de investimentos na área da ergonomia, para minimizar os riscos à saúde do trabalhador.Abstract : Occupational diseases have become a public health problem due to of its socioeconomic impact, determined from high prevalence causing epidemic proportions worldwide. Thus, the aim of this study was to establish the epidemiological scenario of the morbidity occurrence in the workplace in Brazil from 2004 to 2008. The taxpayers workers with Social Security from 2004 to 2008 were part of population and, the taxpayers employed in the same period were part of the sample. Data were collected on Base Historical Statistical Yearbook of Social Security, Statistical Yearbook on Social Welfare and the Statistical Yearbook of Occupational Accidents. The variables analyzed were: the amount of accidents; the number of occupational diseases, considering gender and age; the amount of occupational diseases musculoskeletal according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10); the body region affected by occupational diseases; consequences of occupational accidents to the workers; the amount of occupational diseases according to the Brazilian Classification of Occupations and economic activity sector, the socioeconomic characteristics of Brazilian States and, the government spending to aid-labor accident. It was used descriptive and inferential statistical analysis, included Friedman test for repeated measures, Tukey post-hoc, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Cartographic maps were drawn at a scale of 1:250.000. Significant increase of occupational accidents in Brazil was found, whereas occupational diseases decreased from 2004 to 2008. Santa Catarina obtained the highest prevalence of occupational accidents in almost all years analyzed. Amazonas and Bahia showed highest prevalence of occupational diseases. The age from 40 to 59 years presented highest number of occupational diseases, but analyzing by gender no significant differences were found. The most number of musculoskeletal occupational diseases according to ICD-10 were M65 (synovitis and tenosynovitis) and M75 (shoulder injuries). Shoulder, back and wrist were the body parts most affected. Rondônia workers# presented the highest relative risk of developing permanent disabilities generated from occupational accidents in almost all years analyzed. The highest prevalence of occupational diseases was in financial activity service and metal industry sector, in which the "bookkeeper" occupation presented the largest number of sick patients throughout period. Significant relationship between the prevalence of occupational diseases and the socioeconomic characteristics of States was found. The government's annual spending on aid-labor accident increased significantly and it was higher than the aid-disease values. These results may be used as a warning to the authorities, because they evidence that not only the most industrialized Brazilian regions present high rates of occupational diseases. This fact indicates the necessity for policy of occupational accident prevention more effective, highlighting the importance of ergonomics investments to reduce the risks to the workers' health

A management model for closed-loop supply chains of reusable articles

This PhD dissertation is framed in the emergent fields of Reverse Logistics and ClosedLoop Supply Chain (CLSC) management. This subarea of supply chain management has gained researchers and practitioners' attention over the last 15 years to become a fully recognized subdiscipline of the Operations Management field. More specifically, among all the activities that are included within the CLSC area, the focus of this dissertation is centered in direct reuse aspects. The main contribution of this dissertation to current knowledge is twofold. First, a framework for the so-called reuse CLSC is developed. This conceptual model is grounded in a set of six case studies conducted by the author in real industrial settings. The model has also been contrasted with existing literature and with academic and professional experts on the topic as well. The framework encompasses four building blocks. In the first block, a typology for reusable articles is put forward, distinguishing between Returnable Transport Items (RTI), Reusable Packaging Materials (RPM), and Reusable Products (RP). In the second block, the common characteristics that render reuse CLSC difficult to manage from a logistical standpoint are identified, namely: fleet shrinkage, significant investment and limited visibility. In the third block, the main problems arising in the management of reuse CLSC are analyzed, such as: (1) define fleet size dimension, (2) control cycle time and promote articles rotation, (3) control return rate and prevent shrinkage, (4) define purchase policies for new articles, (5) plan and control reconditioning activities, and (6) balance inventory between depots. Finally, in the fourth block some solutions to those issues are developed. Firstly, problems (2) and (3) are addressed through the comparative analysis of alternative strategies for controlling cycle time and return rate. Secondly, a methodology for calculating the required fleet size is elaborated (problem (1)). This methodology is valid for different configurations of the physical flows in the reuse CLSC. Likewise, some directions are pointed out for further development of a similar method for defining purchase policies for new articles (problem (4)). The second main contribution of this dissertation is embedded in the solutions part (block 4) of the conceptual framework and comprises a two-level decision problem integrating two mixed integer linear programming (MILP) models that have been formulated and solved to optimality using AIMMS as modeling language, CPLEX as solver and Excel spreadsheet for data introduction and output presentation. The results obtained are analyzed in order to measure in a client-supplier system the economic impact of two alternative control strategies (recovery policies) in the context of reuse. In addition, the models support decision-making regarding the selection of the appropriate recovery policy against the characteristics of demand pattern and the structure of the relevant costs in the system. The triangulation of methods used in this thesis has enabled to address the same research topic with different approaches and thus, the robustness of the results obtained is strengthened

Système organisationnel et architecture d'un support d'information sur l'intégration des activités de logistique inversée au sein d'un centre de réadaptation

Dans ce mémoire, on traite de problèmes reliés à l'intégration et au pilotage des activités de logistique inversée au sein d'une organisation. Les activités de logistique inversée font référence à la récupération de produits inutilisés ou en fin de cycle de vie, à leur traitement et à la redistribution des matériels réutilisables. Pour illustrer les concepts abordés, un nouveau système organisationnel, qui représente le déroulement des processus opérationnels et l'exploitation des ressources de l'organisation (main-d'uvre, matériel, équipement, etc.), et une architecture de support d'information ont été proposés pour la situation vécue par un centre de réadaptation. Celui-ci, comme l'ensemble des centres de réadaptation de la province de Québec, se voit désormais confronté à la récupération et au traitement de fauteuils roulants inutilisés de sa clientèle en plus des activités courantes d'attribution et de maintenance.Les concepts développés peuvent non seulement s'étendre aux autres centres de réadaptation, mais également s'appliquer avantageusement à plusieurs applications, autant dans le secteur de production de bien que de service

Managing Reverse Logistics or Reversing Logistics Management?

In the past, supply chains were busy fine-tuning the logistics from raw material to the end customer. Today an increasing flow of products is going back in the chain. Thus, companies have to manage reverse logistics as well.This thesis contributes to a better understanding of reverse logistics. The thesis brings insights on reverse logistics decision-making and it lays down theoretical principles for reverse logistics as a research field.In particular it puts together a framework for reverse logistics identifying the elementary dimensions, providing typologies, and structuring their interrelations.With respect to aiding decision-making, this thesis comprises return handling and inventory management. On the first, the focus is on critical factors for the combination vs. separation of reverse and forward flows during material handling. On the second, the main research issue is the value of information. One of the findings is that more informed methods do not necessarily lead to the best performance.Furthermore, this thesis proposes a reflection on the future development of the field. Through a Delphi study with an international panel of academics working on the area, recommendations are made concerning both research and pedagogy. This thesis also poses the following question: is it a matter of simply managing reverse logistics or of reversing logistics management?The message is: logistics cannot go forward without reverse thinking!Twintig jaar geleden zorgden een supply chain voor deijverige logistieke fine-tuning van de goederenstromen vangrondstof tot de uiteindelijke klant. Vandaag de dag is dat geengarantie meer voor succes, aangezien een groeiende stroomproducten terug vloeit in de keten. Terwijl retourlogistiek zichwereldwijd uitbreidt in alle lagen van de keten, worden sommigeactoren gedwongen om producten terug te nemen. Anderen doen ditmeer pro-actief, aangetrokken door de waarde die geretourneerdeproducten vertegenwoordigen. In ieder geval is het goed managenvan retourlogistiek een noodzakelijke bekwaamheid in modernesupply chains.Dit proefschrift draagt bij aan een beter begrip vanretourlogistiek. Naast het verschaffen van inzicht in retourlogistieke beslissingen, wordt ook het theoretische fundament gelegd voor de ontwikkeling van retourlogistiek als onderzoeksgebied