The reverse part of the supply chain becomes more and more important due to the legislation, environmental concerns, higher volumes of returns, etc. As a result, companies cannot see the reverse supply chain as the additional costs only and have to think strategically. The right strategy for the reverse supply chain can help to achieve the competitive advantage. However, there are not so many researches made about strategies for the reverse supply chain yet, contrarily to the forward supply chain. Therefore, the need to adopt strategies for the reverse supply chain appears. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the applicability of the Lean and the Agile concepts in the Reverse Supply Chain strategy, and to investigate the driving forces and challenges for the implementation of the strategy in the Reverse Supply Chain. The inductive research approach was applied in this thesis. The qualitative study was the most suitable for the better understanding of the point of view, the attitudes, the perceptions of the interviewed participants regarding a wide range of issues related to the choice, and the implementation of the strategy for the reverse supply chain. Multiple case studies as the research strategy was chosen, thus data was collected from 13 interviews conducted at four companies: Fläkt Woods, Systemair, Swegon and Rettig ICC. The main conclusions from the analysis of the applicability of the lean and the agile concepts in the reverse supply chain are that the design of the reverse supply chain depends on the characteristics of the returns: the size, the volume, the life cycle, the B2B or the B2C returns; as well the reasons for the returns: the guarantee service/ after warranty service. When weighting the results about the lean and the agile concepts implementation in the reverse supply chain, it appears relatively more likely that none of the companies implement either only the lean or only the agile approach. Due to various reasons, there are different material flows and they require different strategic approaches. The agility is implemented close to the customer in order to ensure speed and high responsiveness. Lean flows are implemented from the manufacturer to the supplier or the third party (recycler, etc.). Even more, the companies seek to find the optimal combination of both strategies, or as it called – leagile. Two different approaches for leagile concept’s implementation are used: preponement and de-coupling point. Driving forces for the strategy implementation are green forces, increasing the demand for improving customer service level, cost reduction, and the new retail marketing strategies. Main challenges for the strategy implementation are the lack of formal operating procedures, the lack of information sharing with the suppliers, ‘false alarm’ returns, the lack of local competence, and the lack of forecasting possibilities.

<p>The reverse part of the supply chain becomes more and more important due to the legislation, environmental concerns, higher volumes of returns, etc. As a result, companies cannot see the reverse supply chain as the additional costs only and have to think strategically. The right strategy for the reverse supply chain can help to achieve the competitive advantage. However, there are not so many researches made about strategies for the reverse supply chain yet, contrarily to the forward supply chain. Therefore, the need to adopt strategies for the reverse supply chain appears.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the applicability of the Lean and the Agile concepts in the Reverse Supply Chain strategy, and to investigate the driving forces and challenges for the implementation of the strategy in the Reverse Supply Chain.</p><p>The inductive research approach was applied in this thesis<em>.</em> The qualitative study was the most suitable for the better understanding of the point of view, the attitudes, the perceptions of the interviewed participants regarding a wide range of issues related to the choice, and the implementation of the strategy for the reverse supply chain. Multiple case studies as the research strategy was chosen, thus data was collected from 13 interviews conducted at four companies: Fläkt Woods, Systemair, Swegon and Rettig ICC.</p><p>The main conclusions from the analysis of the applicability of the lean and the agile concepts in the reverse supply chain are that the design of the reverse supply chain depends on the characteristics of the returns: the size, the volume, the life cycle, the B2B or the B2C returns; as well the reasons for the returns: the guarantee service/ after warranty service. When weighting the results about the lean and the agile concepts implementation in the reverse supply chain, it appears relatively more likely that none of the companies implement either only the lean or only the agile approach. Due to various reasons, there are different material flows and they require different strategic approaches. The agility is implemented close to the customer in order to ensure speed and high responsiveness. Lean flows are implemented from the manufacturer to the supplier or the third party (recycler, etc.). Even more, the companies seek to find the optimal combination of both strategies, or as it called – leagile. Two different approaches for leagile concept’s implementation are used: preponement and de-coupling point. Driving forces for the strategy implementation are green forces, increasing the demand for improving customer service level, cost reduction, and the new retail marketing strategies. Main challenges for the strategy implementation are the lack of formal operating procedures, the lack of information sharing with the suppliers, ‘false alarm’ returns, the lack of local competence, and the lack of forecasting possibilities.</p>

Products at the end of life cycles that are thrown away by the consumers can be harmful to the environment, but could create additional profit as each product or part of the materials of the product can be remanufactured or refurbished and then resold in the market. In this paper, using the ink cartridge as an example, we first describe the product return process, then present the mechanisms for coordinating the customers, the retailers and the manufacturers in order to lure the customers to return the used items while simultaneously presenting potential profits for both the retailers and manufacturers. According to characteristics of ink cartridge industry, an alternative reverse supply chain design is proposed, where partnership is built between OEM and 3rd party refiller to better attract ink cartridge return. Further comparison analysis is conducted to find out which design is better under different circumstances.

Face à un environnement concurrentiel de plus en plus ardu et la montée en force de la réglementation environnementale dans certains secteurs industriels, la supply chain traditionnelle du fabricant d'origine (OEM) devient graduellement insuffisante pour assurer la survie de la firme. En effet, dans certains secteurs industriels, tels que ceux des photocopieurs et des ordinateurs, les firmes ne peuvent plus se contenter d'une unique chaîne de création de valeur. Ces firmes ont mis en place, ou essayent de mettre en place, une seconde chaîne de création de valeur, qui est la reverse supply chain. Cette innovation organisationnelle est fondée principalement sur la création de valeur par le remanufacturing des produits en fin de vie. Bien que les avantages d'une reverse supply chain à des fins de remanufacturing soient démontrés par la recherche académique et des expériences industrielles, le nombre des entreprises, qui sont arrivées à faire émerger une reverse supply chain viable, reste très limité.Cette thèse s'est déroulée dans le cadre d'un projet de recherche multidisciplinaire visant à élaborer une méthodologie d'aide à la conception des systèmes de remanufacturing, à partir d'une recherche intervention chez un industriel intéressé par le remanufacturing de ses produits en fin de vie.Outre notre contribution dans l'élaboration de cette méthodologie, nous avons profité de ce contexte afin d'explorer les facteurs stratégiques qui conditionnent l'émergence d'une reverse supply chain. / As competitiveness increases and environmental legislation toughens, companies can no longer solely rely on traditional supply chain OEM to remain competitive. Indeed for some companies such as copy machine or computer manufacturers, a unique value creation chain is no longer sufficient. These companies have created, or are trying to create, a second valuecreation chain, the reverse supply chain. This organizational innovation is mainly based on creating value through remanufacturing of end of the life products. The benefits of a reverse supply chain clearly emerge in academia and industrial test studies. Yet the number of companies that have been able to create and sustain a viable reverse supply chain is rather limited.This dissertation has been conducted under a multidisciplinary research project. The goal of the project was to create a methodology to facilitate the development of remanufacturing systems based on an intervention research conducted with a company seeking to promote the remanufacturing of its end of life products. This intervention also allowed us, beside to ourcontribution to the development of the remanufacturing methodology, to look into the strategic factors which influence the emergence of a reverse supply chain

Background It has become increasingly a problem that fashion products reach their end-of-life when they are still usable. Today, a fast-changing wardrobe has gained importance which is directly linked to overloaded landfills of textile waste and scarcity of natural resources. The pressure on companies to act upon this unsustainable consumption pattern is increasing. Different strategies are currently in the development. Within reverse supply chains, products are collected from the original user for value recovery. This study focuses is in particular on the reuse of clothing without additional treatments. Purpose The aim of this study is to investigate the value stream of a traditional fashion retailer entering the second-hand business. At the same time, possible challenges and potential areas of improvement should be identified. The reuse of garments should provide consumers a more sustainable alternative for consumption. To serve this purpose, a case study was conducted to describe key activities and formulate suggestions. Methodology The research was conducted as a qualitative case study. The data collection included personal communication, process observation and an in-depth semi-structured interview. The findings were analyzed using a value stream mapping method. Findings and Discussion The data collection offered a holistic insight into the processes and motivation that are involved in the second-hand concept of the studied retailer. The findings concerning the reverse logistics were depicted in the current-state value stream map. This was adjusted to a possible future-state map based on improvements which were elaborated with the reviewed literature. Additionally, a recommendation for a performance measurement framework was developed. Research limitations The studied retail concept was still at its start-up stage at the time of the research. Therefore, only a limited amount of empirical data was available to collect. Furthermore, the research was conducted over a short period of time and the impact of the recommended improvements for the value stream could not be observed and evaluated. A future research is suggested to focus on the monitoring of the implementation of the future-state map. The success can be assessed with the help of the proposed performance measurement framework and based on that a new future-state map should be created to ensure continuous improvement.

Unlike most of the existing literature on reverse supply chains, that focuses on product recovery or waste management, in this thesis we consider reverse supply chain operations for an independent retailer. The latter have forward and reverse supply chains that are independent of the manufacturers. We study three major problems related to Retail Reverse Supply Chains (RRSC) for independent retailers. In RRSCs, each retail store holds some products that are not selling (and/or under-selling) and wishes to salvage them optimally. We refer to these products as Ineffective Inventory. Salvage can be in many forms and take place by relocating a product within the reverse supply chain (RSC), such as sending the product from a franchise store back to a Distribution/Return Center (RC) and then forward to another franchise store, or returning it to a vendor, liquidation, etc. The RRSC network may includes system members such as stores (retailer owned and/or franchise), RCs, warehouses, vendors and liquidators. Each of the stores carries some inventory that is underselling, and it is important to reduce the inventory of such products in order to refill the space with inventory that is more likely to sell. In the first problem, we consider a basic RRSC with retail stores, vendors and a warehouse. The retail company allocates a budget for its RRSC activities. We refer to this budget as a Profit-Loss budget, due to lost income from the items that will be removed from the stores that was a part of the gains resulting from the previous year tax calculations. The objective is to use this Profit-Loss budgetary limitation as effectively as possible with the most suitable products to relocate products within the supply chain and/or return them back to their vendor. A heuristic algorithm is developed to solve this problem, by making use of the problem structure, and results are compared with the solutions of an exact state-of-the-art commercial solver. In the second problem, we consider a network optimization model with inventory decisions. The goal is to optimize ineffective inventory levels in stores and the disposition of their returns. We model a comprehensive RRSC network with multiple stores that could be Company-Owned or Franchise Stores, multiple warehouses, multiple RCs, multiple vendors, and liquidators. The objective of the retailer is to minimize costs for relocating some of this ineffective inventory within the network or scrapping. However, individual franchise stores have their own goals of how their excessive inventory should be handled. The franchisee goals may be conflicting with those of the franchisor in terms of how much inventory should be chosen from each store to be relocated. In return, this conflict may lead to a conflict among franchise stores. This issue is addressed and resolved through inventory transparency among all the supply chain members. The tactical decision making process of which RC should be used for handling returns is incorporated into the model. In order to overcome the complexities of the large size problem, a multi-stage heuristic is developed to solve this problem within reasonable times. The results are then compared with the solutions of state-of-the-art commercial solver. In the third problem, we focus on the strategic decision of developing optimal vendor contract parameters for the retailer, using optimization models. Specifically, we identify optimal return penalties and associated return thresholds, between an independent retailer and its vendors. This model will support the retailer in their contract re-negotiation for its RSC activities. Vendors use a multi-layered penalty structure that assigns higher penalties to higher returns. The objective is to find the optimal penalties and/or optimal return thresholds that should be negotiated with the vendors in order to pay a lower penalty in the upcoming return cycles compared to existing penalty structures. We first design a Mixed Integer Non-Linear Program (MINLP) where the model makes the decision of vendor penalty fees and return thresholds simultaneously for each vendor. We generate small size to large size problems and solve them via MINLP solvers such as DICOPT and ANTIGONE. In order to gain insights to the inner workings of the MINLP, the decision variables, vendor penalty fees and return thresholds, are considered as parameters and hence, two models are designed to find the optimal penalty structure and optimal return thresholds, respectively. Useful insights from both of the models’ solutions are derived in order to generate rule-of-thumb methodologies to find approximate solutions close to optimal penalty percentages and return thresholds via identifying all possible scenarios that can exist in the problem structure. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis deals with Retail Reverse Supply Chain (RRSC) management. We consider an independent retail company's and its franchise stores' ineffective inventory which may be constituted of unsold, under-selling, slow-moving, customer-returned, end-of-life, end-of-use, damaged, and faulty products within their inventory. We take into account the retailer's reverse supply chain structure and investigate the following problems: 1) How to manage a store's product returns under a given budgetary limitation for financial planning and taxation reasons, due to lost income from returned items, 2) Inventory optimization by taking into account the reverse supply chain structure of the retailer, and 3) Providing insight to the retailer on how it can best re-negotiate its vendor (buy-back) contracts for its product returns. The thesis covers decision making in all three levels: day-to-day operational decisions such as which products to be returned and where to allocate them within its reverse supply chain options, mid-term tactical decisions such as which Return Centers (RC) to be activated for the Reverse Logistics (RL) activities, and long-term strategic decisions such as what should be the optimal contract terms to re-negotiate with the vendors in order to cut future return costs.

No description available.

A company's decisions on how to manage its reverse supply chain (RSC) are important for both economic and environmental reasons. From a strategic standpoint, the key decision a manufacturer makes is whether or not to collect products at their end-of-life (EOL) (i.e., when their useful lives are over), and if so, how to recover value from the recovered products. We call this decision as the EOL option of a product, and it determines how the RSC is designed and managed overall. Many EOL options exist for a product such as resale, refurbishment, remanufacturing and part salvage. However, many factors influence the optimal EOL option. These factors include the product's: (i) characteristics, (ii) design, and (iii) pricing. A product's characteristics are its properties that impact the various costs incurred during its production, residual part values, and customer demand. In this work, the product design is viewed as the choice of quality for each of its parts. A part's quality-level determines, among other things, its cost, salvage value, and the likelihood of obtaining it in good condition from a disassembled used product. Finally, the manufacturer must determine how to price its new and used products. This decision depends on many considerations such as whether new and used products compete and whether competition exists from other manufacturers. The choice of appropriate EOL options for products constitutes a foundation of RSC design. In this work, we study how to optimally determine a product's optimal EOL option and consider the impact of product design and product pricing on this decision. We present a full description of the system that details the relationships among all entities. The system description reveals the use of a production planning type of modeling strategy. Additionally, a comprehensive and general mathematical model is presented that takes into consideration multi-period planning and product inventory. A unique aspect of our model over previous production planning models for RSC is that we consider the product returns as being endogenous variables rather than them being exogenous. This model forms the basis of our research, and we use its special cases in our analysis. To begin our analysis of the problem, we study the case in which the product design and price are fixed. Both non-mandated and mandated collection are considered. Our analysis focuses on a special case of the problem involving two stages: in the first stage, new products are produced, and in the second stage, the EOL products are collected for value recovery. For fixed product design and price, our analysis reveals a fundamental mapping of product characteristics onto optimal EOL options. It is germane to our understanding of the problem in general since a multi-period problem is separable into multiple two-stage problems. Necessary and sufficient optimality conditions are also presented for each possible solution of this two-stage problem. For the two-part problem, a graphical mapping of product characteristics onto optimal EOL options is also presented, which reveals how EOL options vary with product characteristics. Additionally, we study the case of product design under mandated collection, as encountered in product leasing. We assume new production cost, part replacement cost, and part salvage value to be functions of the quality-level of a part along with the likelihood of recovering a good-part from a returned product. These are reasonable assumptions for leased products since the customer is paying for the usage of the product over a fixed contract period. In this case, the two-stage model can still be used to gain insights. For the two-part problem, a method for mapping part yields onto optimal EOL options is presented. Closed-form optimality conditions for joint determination of part yields and EOL options are not generally attainable for the two-stage case; however, computationally efficient methods for this problem are developed for some relatively non-restrictive special cases. It is found that, typically, a part may belong to one of three major categories: (i) it is of low quality and will need to be replaced to perform remanufacturing, (ii) it is of high quality and its surplus will be salvaged, or (iii) it is of moderate quality and just enough of its amount is collected to meet remanufactured product demand. Finally, we consider the problem of determining optimal prices for new and remanufactured products under non-mandated manufacturer's choice of collection. New and remanufactured products may or may not compete, depending on market conditions. Additionally, we assume the manufacturer to have a monopoly on the product. Again, the two-stage problem is used and efficient solution methods are developed. Efficient solution methods and key insights are presented. / Ph. D.

A implantação de uma rede de Logística Reversa (LR) é fundamental em modelos de negócio Sistema Produto-Serviço (PSS) para o retorno, recuperação e maximização da vida útil de peças e componentes. Ambos os sistemas, LR e PSS, necessitam ser projetados a partir da perspectiva do consumidor para serem bem-sucedidos, pois o envolvimento prévio com o usuário possibilita o desenvolvimento de soluções especificas que atendem às suas demandas. Porém, há uma escassez de estudos que destacam as atividades de LR em um contexto de PSS, assim como o papel e a relevância do usuário. Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa busca compreender as necessidades do usuário na LR em um PSS, considerando como produto de análise o equipamento eletromédico bomba de infusão. Para isso, realizou-se um estudo de caso inicial com uma empresa que manufatura e comercializa dispositivos médicos no Brasil. Além disso, múltiplos estudos de caso foram realizados em organizações da área da saúde para a coleta in loco de necessidades relacionadas ao contexto de uso e retorno do equipamento. Como resultado, identificou-se quatro serviços que envolvem atividades de LR no modelo de negócio PSS. Vinte e cinco problemas que interferem diretamente e indiretamente a LR foram analisados para o entendimento em profundidade das necessidades dos usuários. O estudo ainda apresenta quais são os principais desafios e dificuldades de um fornecedor de PSS para operacionalizar a LR. Os resultados indicam que a ausência de agilidade no processo de retorno do produto pode propiciar situações críticas internas ao hospital referente à falta de equipamentos. A realização do inventário de equipamentos ao término do contrato de PSS pode gerar situações estressantes para todos os stakeholders envolvidos no processo. / The implementation of a Reverse Logistics network (RL) is important in Product-Service Systems (PSS) business model for returning, recovering and maximizing the life span of parts and components. Both systems, RL and PSS, need to be designed from the perspective of the consumer to be successful because the prior involvement with users seeks to achieve better solutions to satisfy their specific demands. However, there is a lack of studies that highlight RL activities in a PSS context, as well as the role and relevance of users. In this sense, this research aims to understand users\' needs in reverse logistics in a PSS, considering as main product the electromedical infusion pump. For this, I conducted a case study with a company that manufactures and markets medical devices throughout Brazil. In addition, five other case studies were carried out in health organizations for in situ collection of needs related to the context of use and return of the equipment. As a result, four services involving RL activities were identified in the PSS business model. Also, twenty-five problems that directly and indirectly interfere the operation of RL were analyzed for an in-depth understanding of users\' needs. The study further presents the main challenges and difficulties of a PSS provider to operationalize the LR. The results indicate that the absence of agility in the LR process can lead to critical situations inside the hospital regarding the lack of equipment. The inventory of equipment at the end of the PSS contract can generate stressful situations for all stakeholders involved in the process.

Returned products of many industries are transported backwards through supply chains for recovery, thus forming &ldquo / closed-loop supply chains&rdquo / . Benefits, forthcoming with more effective management of recovery of returns are gaining importance. However, some issues, such as lack of information required to assess the quality of the returned products, may translate into critical uncertainties in the product recovery decisions and prevent closed-loop supply chains from operating efficiently. Hence, it is envisaged that significant economies may be attained by increasing the quantity of information fed into the planning decisions related to returned products. Thus, the objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that ready availability of perfect quality grade information associated with returned products by means of &ldquo / embedded systems&rdquo / , may lead to improved over all performance of recovery operations. To this end, in this thesis, linear programming models of generic multistage recovery processes are built. It is demonstrated by computational studies that significant gains may be obtained especially in environments where the prices of recovered products are decreasing in time.