Los retos de la cadena de suministro ante la pandemia de COVID-19

When the coronavirus came into the world, humans changed into their merchant form. The international supply chain has not been oblivious to the changes that occurred in 2020, but even more, it must replace the way in which such exchanges and processes are carried out, mainly because part of the organizational growth is the evolution of movements; thus, the challenges of the aid chain will be those that the market itself dictates, but at the same time that it contributed to the creation of better humanity and therefore better foreign trade.Cuando el coronavirus llegó al mundo, los seres humanos cambiaron hasta su forma de comerciar. La cadena de suministros internacional no ha sido ajena a los cambios que se suscitaron en el 2020, pero más aún, debe replantearse la manera en la que se realizan dichos intercambios y procesos, fundamentalmente porque parte del crecimiento organizacional es la evolución de éstos; así entonces, los retos de la cadena de suministro serán aquellos que el propio mercado dicte, pero a su vez que coadyuve con la creación de una mejor humanidad y por ende un mejor comercio exterior

The value of regulating returns for enhancing the dynamic behaviour of hybrid manufacturing-remanufacturing systems

Several studies have determined that product returns positively impact on the dynamics of hybrid manufacturing-remanufacturing systems, provided that they are perfectly correlated with demand. By considering imperfect correlation, we observe that intrinsic variations of returns may dramatically deteriorate the operational performance of these closed-loop supply chains. To cope with such added complexity, we propose a structure for controlling the reverse flow through the recoverable stock. The developed mechanism, in the form of a prefilter, is designed to leverage the known positive consequences of the deterministic component of the returns and to buffer the harmful impact of their stochastic component. We show that this outperforms both the benchmark push system and a baseline solution consisting of regulating all the returns. Consequently, we demonstrate that the operation of the production system is greatly smoothed and inventory is better managed. By developing a new framework for measuring the dynamics of closed-loop supply chains, we show that a significant reduction in the net stock, manufacturing, and remanufacturing variances can be achieved, which undoubtedly has implications both for stock reduction and production stabilization. Thus, the known benefits of circular economy models are strengthened, both economically and environmentally

Pricing and warranty decisions in a two-period closed loop supply chain

For a two-period closed loop supply chain (CLSC) consisting of a manufacturer and a retailer, Stackelberg game analyses are conducted to examine pricing and warranty decisions under two warranty models depending on who offers warranty for new and remanufactured products and the corresponding benchmark models with warranty for new products only. Next, we identify the conditions under which warranty for remanufactured products is offered and investigate how this warranty affects the CLSC operations. Subsequently, comparative studies are carried out to examine equilibrium decisions, profitability and consumer surplus of the CLSC between the two warranty models. Analytical results show that offering warranty for remanufactured products does not affect new product pricing in period 2, but influences pricing of new products in period 1 and remanufactured products in period 2, thereby enhancing remanufacturing, individual and channel profitability, and consumer surplus. Compared to the retailer warranty for remanufactured products, the manufacturer warranty can attain a more equitable profit distribution. If the warranty cost advantage of the manufacturer (retailer) is significant relative to that of the retailer (the manufacturer), the manufacturer (retailer) arises as a natural choice to offer warranty for remanufactured products as this decision enhances both profitability and consumer surplus

Sustainable supply chain management trends in world regions: A data-driven analysis

This study proposes a data-driven analysis that describes the overall situation and reveals the factors hindering improvement in the sustainable supply chain management field. The literature has presented a summary of the evolution of sustainable supply chain management across attributes. Prior studies have evaluated different parts of the supply chain as independent entities. An integrated systematic assessment is absent in the extant literature and makes it necessary to identify potential opportunities for research direction. A hybrid of data-driven analysis, the fuzzy Delphi method, the entropy weight method and fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory is adopted to address uncertainty and complexity. This study contributes to locating the boundary of fundamental knowledge to advance future research and support practical execution. Valuable direction is provided by reviewing the existing literature to identify the critical indicators that need further examination. The results show that big data, closed-loop supply chains, industry 4.0, policy, remanufacturing, and supply chain network design are the most important indicators of future trends and disputes. The challenges and gaps among different geographical regions is offered that provides both a local viewpoint and a state-of-the-art advanced sustainable supply chain management assessment

Multi-dimensional Circular Supply Chain Management: A Comparative Review of the State-of-the-art Practices and Research

The circular economy (CE) concept has gained wide attention in practice as well as in academia in recent years. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art practices and research in “circular supply chain management” (CSCM), i.e., the integration of CE thinking into supply chain management (SCM) with the goal of achieving “zero wastes”. The review covers 68 real-life CE implementation cases collected by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and 124 publications in well-established, high-ranking academic journals in operations and supply chain management. The comparative review shows that CSCM encompasses multiple dimensions, including closed-loop SCM, reverse SCM, remanufacturing SCM, recycling SCM, and industrial symbiosis. A multi-dimensional CSCM (MD-CSCM) framework is developed to synthesize their interrelationships and to categorize academic publications into multiple research themes. Based on the identified research-practice gaps and pressing research needs, this study discusses important directions for future studies to advance supply chain circularity

Used product acquisition, sorting and disposition for circular supply chains: Literature review and research directions

The vision of a circular economy (CE) inspires firms, governments, and scholars alike. The transition is underway in both practice and the literature, but success depends on the effective implementation of circular supply chains (CSCs), which encompass acquiring used products, sorting them by type and quality, and deciding which to dispose to various processing options. We review 131 high-impact journal articles on returns acquisition, sorting, and disposition (ASD) over the decade 2012-2021 to assess the current status of ASD research for CSCs and to discuss important research directions for supporting the transition to a CE. Uniquely synthesising the state of the art on all these three overarching decision areas, we find aspects of CSCs prominent in the decade's research agenda, such as closed loop supply chain coordination and ASD for remanufacturing, and highlight growing coverage of behavioural considerations. Research applicability has been constrained by a lack of empirical studies, limited practical validation of mathematical models, a focus on economic objectives, and restrictive modelling assumptions about behaviour and uncertainty in returns. We recommend further research in each part of ASD to facilitate a CSC, and as a whole, for transitioning to a CE. CE concepts such as joint decision-making between product design and returns management, cross-sector collaboration, and product-service systems should inform the agenda for CSC research

A systematic review of decision-making in remanufacturing

Potential benefits have made remanufacturing attractive over the last decade. Nevertheless, the complexity and uncertainties associated with the process of managing returned products make remanufacturing challenging. Since this process involves enormous decision-making practices, various methods/techniques have been developed. This review is to specify the current challenges and opportunities for decision-making in remanufacturing. To achieve this, we perform a systematic review over decision-making in remanufacturing by classifying decisions into different managerial levels and areas. Adopting a systematic approach which provides a repeatable, transparent and scientific process, 241 key articles have been identified following a multi-stage review process. Our review indicates that most studies focuses on strategic-level(48%) and tactical-level (34%)with only 5% focusing on operational-level and the rest on two levels(13%). Regarding decision-making methods, most studies propose mathematical models (60%) followed by analytical models (31%). Furthermore, only 36% of the studies address uncertainties in which stochastic approach is mostly applied. A total of 21 knowledge gaps are highlighted to direct future research work