Overview and classification of coordination contracts within forward and reverse supply chains

Among coordination mechanisms, contracts are valuable tools used in both theory and practice to coordinate various supply chains. The focus of this paper is to present an overview of contracts and a classification of coordination contracts and contracting literature in the form of classification schemes. The two criteria used for contract classification, as resulted from contracting literature, are transfer payment contractual incentives and inventory risk sharing. The overview classification of the existing literature has as criteria the level of detail used in designing the coordination models with applicability on the forward and reverse supply chains.Coordination contracts; forward supply chain; reverse supply chain

Financial access options for the underserved

This issue of Banking and Community Perspectives explores the features and limitations of two of the existing products and services for the financially underserved--prepaid cards and small-dollar loans.Unbanked ; Financial services industry ; Credit scoring systems

A Chinese Recipe for Curbing the Evasion of Commodity Taxes?

Verbrauchsteuer, Steuerflucht, China, Consumption tax, Tax evasion, China

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

A Secondary Packaging Solution Development Suitable for E-groceries through the Identification of Food Product and Logistic Requirements

Secondary packaging solutions presently used to package food goods in e-commerce supply chain are either taken from old supply chains, or sub-optimally developed in a non-holistic manner. Due to the increase use of the Internet in Europe to perform online food purchases, secondary packaging must be adapted to meet these new needs. Therefore, a secondary packaging solution for a Dutch e-grocer was devised through a case study and the identification of food product and logistic requirements for such a packaging. Identified requirements were found to be fulfilled by the use of packaging features. Food product requirements that have to be considered during the development of a secondary packaging for food in e-commerce benefit product quality assurance. These requirements are the control of temperature over time, the reduction of product damage and the separation of food product types. Logistics requirements that must be considered for secondary packaging solutions for food in e-commerce relate to last mile logistics. This entails fulfilment, transportation, delivery and return-logistics. Applying these results during the secondary packaging solution development for the case study resulted in the finding of suitable value-adding packaging features to address the above mentioned requirements. Separators in the secondary packaging facilitate eased fulfilment, increase the stackability of packaging, as it provides a larger surface area on which more crates can be stacked. Increased stackability influences volume efficiency and reduces the need for extra packaging levels. Time temperature indicators increase quality assurance and a deposit-refund system can induce incentive for customers to return the used packaging levels

Economic instruments and waste policies in the Netherlands - Inventory and options for extended use

In recent years, the interest in the use of economic instruments in environmental policy has been growing, reflecting increasing awareness of their potential cost-effectiveness as well as the need to diversify the ‘policy toolbox’. Waste policy is no exception to this tendency. The present study explores the opportunities for extended use of economic instruments for waste policy in the Netherlands, focusing on waste from households and the trade, services and government secto

The laws, regulations, guidelines, and industry practices that protect consumers who use gift cards

This paper discusses consumer protections available to gift-card users. Specifically, it examines the ways in which value loaded at the time of purchase is protected for future card use or returned to consumers when the card is not used or has expired. The consumer protection information included in this paper is derived from a number of sources, including several types of state statutes, Federal Trade Commission decisions, financial industry regulatory agency guidelines, and previous interviews with payments industry experts regarding practices concerning network-branded gift cards. This paper expands research begun by the Payment Cards Center in 2004 into prepaid cards generally and the protections available to consumers who use gift cards specifically.Payment systems

Banking the Poor

Low-income households often lack access to banking accounts and face high costs for transacting basic financial services through check cashers and other alternative financial service providers. These families find it more difficult to save and plan financially for the future. Living paycheck to paycheck leaves them vulnerable to medical or job emergencies that may endanger their financial stability, and lack of longer-term savings undermines their ability to improve skills, purchase a home, or send their children to college. Additionally, high cost financial services and inadequate access to bank accounts may undermine widely-shared societal goals of reducing poverty, moving families from welfare to work, and rewarding work through incentives such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. This Article calls for the transformation of financial services for the poor. The Article first explores the dual financial services market in which insured depository institutions largely serve middle- and upper-income persons, and check cashers and other alternative service providers largely serve low- and moderate-income households. The Article argues that the social benefits of breaking down barriers between these markets exceed the costs of doing so. The Article also contends that network externalities in electronic payment systems help explain why some technologies that would help low-income consumers have not been as rapidly adopted as would be socially beneficial. In response to this problem, the Article recommends governmental incentives for private sector financial and technological innovation to help lower banking and savings barriers for the poor. Better access to financial services is critical for low-income persons seeking to enter the economic mainstream

Beverage Producer Responsibility & Recycling

The goal of this project was to recommend a framework for a producer responsibility system (PRS) to address the sustainable waste management of glass beverage containers in Hong Kong. The objectives we created to accomplish this goal were to identify the scale of beverage container waste; the mechanics, costs, and difficulties of recycling; and examples of PRS around the world. Results were obtained through interviews, tours, a focus group, and literary searches. From our conclusions, we generated a framework