Sustainable supply chain operations driven by ‘remanufacturing + product sharing’: operation mode selection and decision optimisation

Abstract

Consumers’ attention to sustainable production and consumption is promoting innovation in sustainable supply chain operations. We build an extended sustainable supply chain with remanufacturing (and/or) product sharing, and consider three operation modes: Sustainable supply chain operation with remanufacturing but No product Sharing mode (SNS), Sustainable supply chain operation with product sharing but No Remanufacturing mode (SNR), and Sustainable supply chain operation with both product Sharing and Remanufacturing mode (SSR). How does sustainable consumption (i.e. product sharing) affect sustainable production decisions and how to choose the optimal operation mode? Our findings: The SSR mode positively reinforces the sustainability-oriented market segmentation and can be globally optimal with an integrated value-added effect of ‘remanufacturing + product sharing’. From the perspective of total benefit optimisation, when the commission rate of a sharing platform and the proportion of service consumers are higher (lower), the transformation from the SNS mode to the SSR mode (from the SNR mode to the SSR mode) can be the best operational strategy. Maximising total benefits may have a compression effect on product sharing, which can be effectively adjusted by improving consumers’ perceived value of remanufactured products. This study provides guidance for selecting combination strategies for sustainable supply chains in the context of carbon emission reduction.