THEORETICAL FRAMES FOR DESIGNING REVERSE LOGISTICS PROCESSES

Logistics processes of return flow became more and more important in present business practice. Because of better customer satisfaction, environmental and financial aspects many enterprises deal with reverse logistics performance. The paper is a literature review focused on the design principles of reverse logistics processes Keywords: reverse logistics, designing.reverse logistics, designing

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

The importance of reverse logistics for retail activity

Reverse logistics (RL) refers to a set of programs or competencies aimed at moving products in the reverse direction in the supply chain (i.e., from consumer to producer). It entails more than the mere re-use of containers and the recycling of packaging materials. It is the process of moving a product from the point of consumption to another point for the purpose of recapturing the remaining value, or for the eventual proper disposal of the product. The state of development of RL is analogous to that of inbound logistics between 10 and 20 years ago. The scope of RL has, since, expanded from service parts management to include other areas and has attracted significant attention of a great majority of companies. The reverse logistics process can generate periodic negative cash flows that are difficult to predict and account for, but are important when managing retailer liquidity. Uncertainties surrounding reverse logistics create the possibility that the retailer may be strained in meeting short-run financial obligations or opportunities.reverse logistics, retail activity, product recovery, network design, liquidity

Relationship Between Green Product Design, Reverse Logistics Product Disposition and Business Performance Among Electrical and Electronic Manufacturing Firms

This thesis is derived from the concept of reverse supply chain management and focuses on environmental and economic perspectives of reverse logistics product disposition. The current business environment accentuates the need for recoverable products, and manufacturers are encouraged to design products that facilitate multiple recovery capabilities. Returns with higher residual value deserve attention because business benefits from reverse logistics potentially improve firms‟ performance by extending the useful life of products which had underperformed earlier than expected. The product‟s structure and composition challenge reverse logistics implementation and these necessitate quantitative research on anteceding factors, particularly green product design and resource commitment, on reverse logistics product disposition. The study also examined the successive influence of reverse logistics product disposition on business performance and investigated whether institutional pressures moderate capability-performance relationships. A mail survey was administered to 177 ISO14001 certified E&E manufacturers in Malaysia and 89 usable responses were empirically tested. The research findings revealed that green product design (design for disassembly and design for environment) and resource commitment were antecedents of reverse logistics product disposition. Consequently, repair, remanufacture and recycling contributed to business performance (profitability and sales growth). By maintaining environmental compliance and shareholder interest, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that institutional pressures exerted significant moderating influence to warrant desirable outcome from reverse logistics activities, that is, repair, recondition, remanufacture, recycle and disposal. If firms have interest on reverse logistics implementation, disassemblability takes precedent over recyclability of products. When risk of penalties from regulatory violation is present, firms are motivated to generate benefits via extended producer responsibility. This study provided insights into antecedents and outcome of reverse logistics and acknowledged the moderating influence of institutional pressure, particularly, coercive and ownership pressure. Instead of analysing green product design and reverse logistics as components of green supply chain management, the relationship between both components was investigated. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed

Decision support system and design for reverse logistics

This paper studies the relative positions of some selected elements in relations to flexibility and cost factors in information system and logistics design settings. Moreover, this study investigates the extent to which organizations can relate, today, to the importance of information technology in logistics and design for reverse logistics in their operational planning and activities. The findings show the degree of their in terest and policies for reverse logistics, and the creation of joint efforts to reduce costs and to increase flexibility

Blockchain post-implementation analysis in reverse logistics from a strategic alignment lens

Blockchain technology (BCT) has the potential to transform strategic alliances for reverse logistics, yet its specific impact on sustainability remains unclear. This study aims to ascertain the post-implementation impact of BCT-based strategic alliances on information technology reverse logistics. Drawing on a qualitative research design, it presents a preliminary understanding of BCT-based strategic alliances (i.e., collaborations) in reverse logistics. To address this study’s research question, a conceptual framework based on a prior literature review is proposed to guide qualitative data collection. Next, the study analyzes the respondents’ voices considering the dynamic capability perspective. Sustainability realization is viewed as the main driver for reverse logistics alliances, and the study explores these alliances’ capabilities for sustainability through BCT technology. The study findings significantly contribute to the BCT literature in reverse logistics by assessing BCT-based strategic alliances in reverse logistics and realizing sustainability

Design of a Third-party Reverse Logistics Network under a Carbon Tax Scheme

© 2016 Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology. Reverse logistics network involves significant inherent uncertainties, which cannot be completely characterized because of a lack of adequate historical data. In this study, a multi-product and multi-period interval programming model was developed on the basis of partial information to design an effective reverse logistics network. In addition, the trade-offbetween economic benefits and the environmental burdens from carbon emissions was analyzed by considering the effect of a carbon tax scheme on the reverse logistics network design. Through an improved and modified interval linear programming method, the optimal interval solution was obtained with LINGO. Finally, numerical simulations were conducted to explore the effectiveness of the model and the effect of the carbon tax scheme. Results show that the optimal solution of the reverse logistics network design is robust. The effect of the carbon tax scheme is trivial when the carbon tax is low and significant when the carbon tax is high. As carbon tax gradually increases, carbon emissions effectively decrease, but sharply declines the total profit sharply declines. The findings indicate that the proposed model can effectively solve the reverse logistics network design with partial information under a carbon tax scheme

e-RL : the Internet of things supported reverse logistics for remanufacture-to-order

With the increasing globalization, there are many sources of uncertainty across the entire reverse logistics for end-of-life product recovery. Information sharing is a key ingredient in this respect because it helps to eradicate potential uncertainties related to various corporate behaviors, especially in remanufacture-to-order aspect. However traditional reverse logistics does not fully address itself to this issue. As a result, the progressive loss of product information as it moves through its lifecycle becomes inevitable which leads to a difficulty in implementing remanufacture-to-order strategy. Motivated by this fact, this study presents an ongoing design of novel reverse logistics (i.e., e-reverse logistics). The Internet of things technology is introduced into this framework for the purpose of keeping product life cycle information integrity. Furthermore, the cooperation and collaboration between actors involved in proposed architecture are treated in multi-agent system philosophy. The design characteristics and working principles of e-reverse logistics are detailed in this paper and it serves as a start point for further implementation

Reverse Logistics Network Structures and Design

Logistics network design is commonly recognized as a strategic supply chain issue of prime importance. The location of production facilities, storage concepts, and transportation strategies are major determinants of supply chain performance. This chapter considers logistics network design for the particular case of closed-loop supply chains. We highlight key issues that companies are facing when deciding upon the logistics implementation of a product recovery initiative. In particular, we point out differences and analogies with logistics network design for traditional 'forward' supply chains. Moreover, we discuss the strategic fit between specific supply chain contexts and logistics network structures. Conclusions are supported by a quantitative analysis