Obsolete Products Research Articles

Implementation Barriers to Process Innovation among Malaysian Manufacturing SMEs: A Review

Process innovation is widely recognised as a crucial driver of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The SMEs that could not rapidly evolve core business strategies may become uncompetitive owing to obsolete products and processes. Hence, SMEs should consider the potential benefits of refining current processes apart from focusing on existing product offerings. Fostering process innovation could significantly improve competitiveness, efficiency, and plant visibility. Nonetheless, most SMEs struggle to implement efficient and effective process innovations in existing production operations. The current study aims to review the barriers encountered by manufacturing SMEs to facilitate process innovation.

Understanding product hibernation periods with children's products and exploring motivations and barriers for product care to encourage their reuse

Product hibernation, where end-of-life products are kept but no longer used, poses a significant barrier to prolonging product lifespans within a circular economy. Obsolete products challenge users' decision-making process for the after-use phase and are often discarded despite being perfectly functional. This is especially common in households with growing children, where children's products are outgrown but not discarded. This paper presents the survey findings of 157 hibernating children's products, and interviews with five UK families, exploring reasons for product hibernation, and related reuse barriers. An idea generation workshop further explored the owners’ reuse experience with their children's products and identified fourteen factors that suggest opportunities to shift users' perception of end-of-life product value, care and reuse for these products, ultimately reducing product hibernation. This paper makes an original contribution to product reuse knowledge with the development of a framework for understanding reuse motivations and barriers through the lens of care.

Multiobjective Multiverse Optimizer for Multirobotic U-Shaped Disassembly Line Balancing Problems

The development of technology accelerates the upgrade of products, which results in a significant number of obsolete products. This research aims to solve the Multi-robotic Multi-product U-shaped Disassembly-line-balancing Problem (M2UDP), in which different products are disassembled on a U-shaped model in a pre-set cycle time and assigned tasks to robots in each workstation reasonably. A linear mixed-integer model is established to maximize disassembly profit and minimize carbon emissions. An improved multi-objective multi-verse optimizer (IMMO) that utilizes the sigmoid activation function in neural networks is proposed to find the optimal plan for the model. The improved algorithm is verified via a set of real-life instances and compared with three classical multi-objective optimization algorithms. The experimental results show that the proposed IMMO performs better than those peers in solving the M2UDP problems.

Comprehending e-waste limited collection and recycling issues in Europe: A comparison of causes

In today's technological age, the issue of e-waste management is becoming increasingly critical. Although several studies have detected and proposed innovative technologies to both enable and increase e-waste recycling performance, end users often dispose of obsolete products inappropriately. The present work aimed at investigating the criteria that influence user behavior regarding e-waste recycling, starting from seven criteria (i.e., intention to recycle e-waste, awareness of the importance of e-waste recycling, environmental concern, attitudes towards e-waste recycling, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, WTP for e-waste recycling) identified in the literature as most relevant. A questionnaire administered to students, interviews of academic experts, and several analytical techniques (i.e., descriptive statistics, the analytic hierarchy process, econometric regression) were used to identify the most relevant criteria for e-waste recycling. With willingness to pay (WTP) used as a reference criterion, the remaining six criteria were investigated as variables, with the aim of uncovering the relations among them and determining which had the most significant impact on WTP. The results revealed that individuals with strong pro-social attitudes were more aware of the need to recycle e-waste. Furthermore, those who disposed of waste correctly in specialized centers were more aware of the need to recycle. The study highlights the importance of raising awareness at a group level to promote e-waste disposal as a social norm.

A Study of the Current Position of Traditional Chinese Hanging Lanterns Among Young Chinese

Traditional Chinese lanterns were invented during the Eastern Han Dynasty and were originally intended to be sources of light. To most Chinese people, traditional Chinese lanterns represent joy, good fortune & social status. However, they are decreasing in popularity and most Malaysian young Chinese regard them as a dispensable decorative item for festivals. The usage of traditional Chinese hanging lantern is on the decline – studies have shown that the advent of modern lighting technology has thrown the production and useage of traditional Chinese lantern into crisis and turned it into an obsolete product. Through content analysis, researchers evaluated the current situation and explored the issues surrounding traditional Chinese hanging lanterns among young Chinese people. Results indicated that Malaysian young Chinese gradually lost interest in traditional Chinese hanging lanterns due to the lack of enthusiasm towards inherited Chinese culture and an increase in available exotic lighting accessories. This study may serve as a supplementary reference in the research and development of new cultural products, providing other researchers with a clearer direction to make their work easier and faster.
 Keywords: Traditional Chinese lanterns, Ramadan lanterns, anous, Kandeel

A mixed-integer linear programming model for sustainable blood supply chain problems with shelf-life time and multiple blood types

The blood supply chain (BSC) is a complex system with optimization challenges, whose activities impact carbon emissions and the environment, especially with regard to the disposal of expired blood bag waste. This study proposes a new mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model that considers multiple echelons, multiple blood types, transportation and production emissions, and blood bag shelf life to maximize profit in the blood supply chain system. The model is applied to a real-world case study. The research results confirmed that the model could mitigate the BSC challenges. We also conducted sensitivity analysis of patient demand parameters, blood production capacity, selling price, and shelf life to investigate the impact of the key factors affecting the total profit, costs, carbon emissions, and number of obsolete products.

A typology of consumers regarding perceived obsolescence: The paradox of eco-conscious consumers

The lifespan of durable goods is a global concern because it has consequences not only in terms of waste management and natural resources but also in terms of consumer well-being. Companies and consumers are concerned, in particular, by the frequency of product replacement, which itself depends, on the consumer side, on their evaluations of the product's perceived obsolescence. The objective of this article is to better explain the intention to replace a durable good while it is still in working order. More specifically, we investigate the role of perceived product obsolescence (PPO) on product replacement intention. An exploratory qualitative study (n = 10) leads to a definition of PPO as the difference between the perceived value of a product owned and what is currently available on the market. Four data collections (n = 948) form the basis for the development of a PPO measurement scale involving five dimensions (aesthetic, social, technological, commercial, environmental), and their association with product replacement intention is demonstrated. Finally, a typology of consumers with respect to their “PPO scores and individual characteristics” is built. We show that the most ecologically aware consumers are also the ones who intend to replace the perceived obsolete product the quickest, as they perceive that it is not ecologically efficient enough. These results and this paradox allow us to formulate societal recommendations.

Remanufacturing of Industrial Electronics: A Case Study from the GCC Region

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region has witnessed significant growth in the global electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) market, especially in the industrial field due to the high demand from oil and gas and other related sectors. However, the lifespan of these end-of-life (EoL) products has become shorter, leading to electronic failure and generating electronic waste (e-waste). Disposing of such waste in recycling centers and landfills poses a challenge for policymakers and waste management officials due to its environmental impact. However, it is imperative to implement new management practices to overcome e-waste from landfills; thus, we propose the remanufacturing process as a viable and economic strategy for e-waste management. The process of industrial remanufacturing has the potential to decrease e-waste and promote the reuse of obsolete EEE and industrial devices., including those used in the Oil and Gas sector. This paper advocates for industrial remanufacturing as a solution to e-waste, aiming to increase the reusability of EoL EEE products. The authors provide a detailed analysis of the troubleshooting process and the tools employed, emphasizing the requirements for adopting this crucial remanufacturing solution. Moreover, the benefits of remanufacturing to industries and stakeholders are highlighted by offering a cost-effective alternative to replacing equipment, increasing the reusability of obsolete products, and reducing e-waste. By addressing the challenges of adopting remanufacturing, limitations and areas for future focus to enhance sustainability can be identified. Additionally, a comprehensive technical survey of the most common reasons for electronic failure at the board level demonstrates the feasibility and practicality of remanufacturing processes. These valuable insights reveal the possibility of realizing remanufacturing and guide technicians and stakeholders in implementing remanufacturing practices in various sectors, including oil and gas, petrochemicals, power generation, and factories. Lastly, by showcasing an example of a GCC region facility specializing in remanufacturing industrial electronic equipment, the potential contribution to a more sustainable future is emphasized,; this makes it easier to advocate for the adoption of remanufacturing as a more sustainable and economically viable approach in the industrial sector, particularly in oil and gas, for effective e-waste management.

Multi-Life-Products – towards a new paradigm of product development aligning on module's multiple usage-scenarios

Successfully applying the principles of Circular Economy (CE) to products is predicted to save 53% of primary raw materials and 83% of CO2 emissions by 2050. Since 80% of the environmental impacts of a product result from its design, product design is one of the most decisive drivers for CE. This paper proposes the concept of "Multi-Life-Products" - a promising approach to designing products for a high level of circularity. It aims to maintain the value of obsolete products while saving energy and CO2 emissions. The "Multi-Life" concept intends to design products modularly so that their modules can be economically and ecologically applied in multiple usage scenarios (lives) after their first application's End of Life. As these modules are designed to be integrated into other technical systems after their life in the first application ends, multiple business cases can be built around them. "Multi-Life" is derived from the high-value strategies of reuse and repurpose, which are rethought in the context of product design. Different modules of a product may have different usage scenarios after their first application's End of Life. Products are thus to be understood as temporary configurations of modules, which will take different paths into different next-life applications. The potential of the concept is evaluated using existing performance criteria of CE and existing product examples. Some implications for the identification and design of "Multi-Life-Products" are discussed for further research work.

Pricing decisions of the “Internet +” recycling platform considering consumer behaviour

Online recycling platforms that allow consumers to recycle their obsolete products through the internet have flourished in recent years. Recycling pricing for obsolete products is usually a difficult task for an online recycling platform because there is always uncertainty in consumers’ valuation of obsolete products in a web-based estimation system. The discrepancy between the final recycling price and the initial estimated price of obsolete products in online recycling could deter consumers from participating in such recycling. Moreover, the situation is even more complicated by the fact that consumers' recycling decisions are strongly influenced by their behaviour. In this paper, by considering the channel preference and price prediction behaviour of consumers in the online recycling process, we propose a game-theoretic analytical model to determine the optimal price of the obsolete products in the “Internet +” recycling platform. The optimal pricing strategy for the “Internet +” recycling platform with and without brick-and-mortar recycling competition is obtained. Through numerical studies, we find that the recycling platform can obtain a higher profit when there are no brick-and-mortar recyclers competing. Then, the loss of the value of returned obsolete products benefits the “Internet +” recycling platform but harms the brick-and-mortar recycler, and this benefit to the recycling platform disappears when consumers engage in price prediction behaviour. Last, when the “Internet +” recycling platform has the leader advantage, adopting the price decision to conclude partial online recycling transactions can alleviate the negative impact of consumer price prediction behaviour on the recycling platform, and the same is true for increasing the proportion of grades-matched obsolete products.

How a novel option contract helps a green product to enter a traditional product's retailing channel: A mathematical modeling approach

Multi-sourcing is a practical strategy in retail channels that allows retailers facing uncertainties to respond more effectively to consumers' needs by distributing market demand across multiple supply sources. In this respect, this research investigates a price-setting retailing channel, including two manufacturers (a traditional manufacturer and a green manufacturer) and one retailer where end-of-life products can be collected. The retailer faces an uncertain price-dependent demand and sets orders from both supply directions based on a low-cost ordering approach. The primary purpose of this study is to develop an optimal solution to allow the green product to enter the retailing channel of the non-green product. Accordingly, this research develops and compares two different contractual mechanisms from the standpoint of the green manufacturer/retailer and the supply chain (SC): (1) a penalty-based contract and (2) a modified call option contract mixed with a cost-sharing mechanism. The main contribution of the current paper is to investigate an option contract for the effective management of a closed-loop supply chain and combine it with a cost-sharing contract as a new approach. Another contribution is that the developed model considers two practical channels for collecting and returning obsolete products to the green manufacturer: (1) the retailer is responsible for collecting and returning obsolete products, and (2) collecting and returning obsolete products is outsourced to a third-party logistics provider (3PL). Eventually, the models' efficiency is verified by investigating different numerical experiments, discovering that the proposed reservation-based contract outperforms the penalty-based contract for both parties' profitability and retailing channel's improvement. Besides, the present study finds that hiring 3PL significantly increases the green manufacturer's profit compared to other scenarios.

A comparative study of GA and PSO approach for cost optimisation in product recovery systems

ABSTRACT A product recovery system is proposed to reduce the bulk of waste sent to landfills by retrieving materials and parts of obsolete products for using them in remanufacturing and recycling. Product recovery is a significant strategy for enhancing customer satisfaction with regard to environmental concerns. Considering the fact that some products are returned, it becomes challenging to analyse whether to manufacture a new product or to rework the returned product at every step of the product recovery chain. Our approach uses a mixed integer linear programming model with the genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimisation, where two meta-heuristic algorithms are introduced for solving the MILP problem. Here, a recovery scenario is modelled, subject to the time and type of product to be processed. The study is intended to enhance the overall productivity of the product recovery chain. To demonstrate the approach, a case study is presented in the fast-moving consumer goods industry in which the proposed model demonstrates a reduction in the overall cost in the product recovery chain.

Capacitated multi-objective disassembly scheduling with fuzzy processing time via a fruit fly optimization algorithm.

This work proposes a capacitated fuzzy disassembly scheduling model with cycle time and environmental cost as parameters, which has broad applications in remanufacturing and many other production systems. Disassembly scheduling is not always given accurately as a time quota in a production system, particularly in the obsolete product remanufacturing process. It is important to study novel models and algorithms based on uncertainty processing time to solve uncertainty disassembly scheduling problems. In this paper, a mixed-integer mathematical programming model is proposed to minimize the cycle time and environmental cost, whilst a metaheuristic approach based on a fruit fly optimization algorithm (FOA) is developed to find a fuzzy disassembly scheduling scheme. To estimate the effectiveness of the proposed method, the proposed algorithm is tested with different size cases of product disassembly scheduling. Furthermore, experiments are conducted to compare with other multi-objective optimization algorithms. The computational results demonstrate the proposed algorithm outperforms other algorithms on computational efficiency and applicability to different problems. Finally, a case study is described to illustrate the proposed method. The main contribution of this current work shows the proposed algorithm to solve the problem of disassembly scheduling in an uncertain environment practically and efficiently.

On the legal regulation of economic and commercial activities in Ukraine

The article is devoted to the study of the current state of regulatory and legal regulation of trade activities in Ukraine. The problems of the place in the economic legislation of trade, its signs, system and tendencies of formation are considered. The conditionally general and special legislation regulating trade activity is allocated. There is a certain direction in the systematization of legal regulation depending on the object of regulation, namely the organization of the market and commodity affiliation. The analysis of the basic regulations in the field of trade is carried out. Formulation of the problem. One of the factors that influenced the scientific interest was modern sociological research. Among them, it is widely believed that the global economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus has brought trade to the forefront of the national economy on the basis of growth in development. Thus, the Razumkov Center’s Annual Survey states: “According to the results of 2019, the share of manufacturing in the structure of GDP by production method was 10.8 %, wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles – 13.2 %, then according to the results of three quarters of 2020. the corresponding figures were 10.2 % and 14 %. That is, the characteristic of the Ukrainian economy is increasingly not the creation of new modern products, but the repair and resale of obsolete products. In addition, recently there has been systemic uncertainty regarding the management and organization of economic activity by central government, which, accordingly, does not contribute to overcoming the crisis. Analysis of recent research and publications. In the domestic science of economic law there are no modern studies of trade regulation as a kind of economic. Among the scientists who have conducted research in this area in the past can be distinguished G.F. Shershenevich, Ye.O. Krasheninnikov, D.V. Zerkalov, A.A. Popov. In the modern literature, some attention was paid to the legal regulation of trade L. Mikhnevych, N.V. Shigarova, K.I. Krolevetsky. Recognizing the contribution of these researchers, it should be noted that science does not meet the high demand for the formation of legislative policy to regulate trade relations, the creation of a single state ideology in the areas of legal regulation of trade and as a result - high business demand for legislation

Consumer e‐waste disposal behaviour: A systematic review and research agenda

AbstractE‐waste is the world's fastest‐growing waste stream, and it contains toxic chemicals that are harmful to human health. Research has shown that the vast majority of consumers are unwilling to dispose of e‐waste, preferring to keep obsolete products at home rather than returning them to manufacturers for recycling. Despite the evident importance of this area of research, there is yet to be a systematic assessment of e‐waste disposal behaviour that summarises the relationships among constructs in the forms of antecedents, decisions, and consequences from the perspective of consumer behaviour. With this knowledge gap in mind, the current paper's goal is to provide a comprehensive examination of available studies on consumer e‐waste disposal behaviour. In particular, the purpose is to promote e‐waste disposal behaviour by looking at how such behaviour has been utilised as a construct in the literature and what theories, contexts, characteristics, and methodological approaches have been used to strengthen this behaviour. Towards this aim, we used VOSviewer to examine N = 43 research publications on e‐waste disposal behaviour published in Scopus‐indexed journals between 2000 and 2021, noting discrepancies, identifying major research gaps, and developing comprehensive research agendas (provided in the form of testable propositions).

Особливості інноваційного менеджменту в діяльності міжнародних компаній

The article considers the role of innovation management in the enterprise on the experience of foreign companies. The essence of innovation management, its tasks and functions are substantiated. Innovation management - is one of the areas of strategic management, carried out at the highest level of the organization. Its purpose is to determine the main directions of production and scientific and technical activities of the enterprise. This is primarily the development and implementation of new technology and products, modernization and improvement of products and technology, further development of production of traditional products and withdrawal from production of obsolete products. Innovation management is characterized by goal setting and strategy selection, as well as four stages of the cycle: planning, setting conditions and organization, implementation, leadership. The allocation of functions in innovation management is due to the diversity of management activities in the chain idea - research - development - design - production - implementation of innovations. Under the functions of management means the type of activity that is necessary for the implementation of the general objectives of innovation management. On the example of foreign companies: Whirlpool, General Electric, DuPon, Visa the results of the introduction of innovation management are shown. The practice of the leading companies of the developed countries of the world shows that their success is connected with the development of a holistic system of innovation management, which is in constant and continuous development in accordance with changes in both the organization and the external environment. These companies create such an innovative structure and management culture in which the directions of innovative development are integrated into general strategic plans related to the constant development of promising new products and the creation of new business areas. Innovation management creates a long-term advantage if it meets one or more of three conditions: innovation is based on a new principle that challenges the orthodoxy of management; system innovation, covering a number of processes and methods; and this is part of the current program of the invention, where progress is combined with the passage of time.

Investigating the disposal of E-Waste as in architectural engineering and construction industry

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possibility of using certified recycled electronic waste in place of coarse aggregates in construction. The term E-waste refers to electronic waste, which includes electronic products that are no longer useful to their owners, are no longer functional, or have reached the end of their useful life. In today’s information technology age, consumption of electronic equipment such as mobile phones, laptops, and LED lights has increased manifold, resulting in massive amounts of obsolete products, or e-waste. Direct disposal of e-waste can wreak havoc on the environment. Previously, numerous research studies concluded that e-waste could be used in place of coarse aggregates in rigid pavements. The effect of incorporating grinded PCB (Printed Circuit Board) sheet by partially replacing coarse aggregates up to 20% with a constant interval of 5% was evaluated in this study, and the resulting compressive strength was compared to that of conventional concrete.

An optimal put option contract for a reverse supply chain: case of remanufacturing capacity uncertainty.

Reverse supply chain (RSC) management can be implemented to ameliorate environmental and economic goals simultaneously. In 2020, the devastating influences generated by the COVID-19 global pandemic had established high uncertainty in the manufacturers' capacity, which can hinder the fulfillment of such goals. To address such a problem, in this research, we analyze a two-echelon RSC, including a re-manufacturer who, despite facing the remanufacturing capacity uncertainty, remanufactures eligible obsolete products, then re-enters the marketplace, and a collector who accumulates eligible obsolete products from consumers. We survey centralized and decentralized decisions, and also a condition where the collector, as a Stackelberg game leader, offers a put option contract as a risk-sharing approach and decides on both option and exercise prices; in return, the re-manufacturer determines the order quantity. Contrary to previous studies in which the value of option contracts has been analyzed under demand disruptions, this paper aims to address the performance of a put option contract to mitigate the remanufacturing capacity uncertainty in an RSC. Our results demonstrate that by offering the put option contract and determining the option price as nearly low as the marginal refund cost, not only can the collector motivate the re-manufacturer to augment its order quantity but both parties also attain a win–win profit-sharing outcome. Besides, the customized put option contract can achieve Pareto-improving channel coordination in the condition of remanufacturing capacity uncertainty.

Формування маркетингових стратегій для інноваційних товарів на окремих стадіях їх життєвого циклу

The aim of the article. In the current market conditions, the main objectives of the product policy of the enterprise are to manage the competitiveness of products, adjusting their life cycles and assortment. For this purpose, the commodity strategy of the enterprise which is directed on achievement by the enterprise of target positions in the market by means of the products should be developed. The product is the subject of many management decisions: it is created, brought to market with the support of various marketing activities, if necessary modified and, if economically feasible, withdrawn from production. The aim of the article is to form marketing strategies for industrial products on the market on the basis of the developed classification of innovative goods depending on the level of their efficiency at separate stages of the product life cycle. Analyses results. The article develops the classification of innovative industrial products depending on the level of their efficiency at the separate stages of the product life cycle. The authors formed the recommended marketing strategies based on the proposed classification of products, depending on the range of levels of efficiency in which the product is. The article also presents the practical use of the developed recommendations on the example of the life cycle of the innovative electric motor of PJSC «Electromotor», which confirms their practical significance and suitability, allowing industrial enterprises to effectively manage their range. The article also builds a graph-analytical model of comprehensive efficiency indicators of an innovative electric motor, which allows to clearly track their dynamics over the entire period of its life cycle. Conclusions and directions for further research. In market conditions, each enterprise must determine the directions of formation and implementation of marketing product policy, taking into account the characteristics of each product. Forming a marketing product policy, the company must work on updating the range and bringing new products to market, because the right strategy for product range management will provide the desired volume of sales and corresponding profits. Thus, due to the proposed classification of goods at different stages of the life cycle, depending on the level of efficiency in which the product is or will be, the company can develop specific marketing strategies and tactics, including research and development (R&D), development of production, selection of sales channels, improvement of forms and methods of advertising, price regulation, development of new ones, modernization of existing and removal of obsolete inefficient products, etc. The use of effective marketing solutions can affect the duration and course of the product life cycle and consequently to achieve maximum profits. Keywords: efficiency, innovative product, product life cycle, marketing strategy, assortment management.

Marketing strategies for refurbished products: Survey-based insights for probabilistic selling and technology level

The selling of refurbished products is considered a sustainable practice for businesses looking for strategies to improve their market image. However, companies still struggle to sell refurbished products for different reasons ranging from consumer's attitudes towards refurbished products to in-efficient pricing policies adopted by remanufacturing and manufacturing companies due to the lack of understanding of the actual market of refurbished products. This impacts the profitability of the remanufacturing industry on a large scale. This paper aims to discuss the importance of understanding the market of the refurbished product and the role of consumer purchase behavior. With an emphasis on the refurbished cellphone market, this study has run a survey analysis to test several hypotheses about consumer's viewpoint toward refurbished electronics and identify marketing strategies that may benefit promoting the sale of refurbished consumer electronics in the market. The survey analysis results suggest that consumers’ willingness to pay for refurbished cellphones depends on the degree of the technological obsolescence of the product. Consumer's willingness to purchase refurbished cellphones is higher for more technologically obsolete products. Also, the use of probabilistic selling or opaque selling might be a good strategy for selling refurbished products. Therefore, companies may consider using opaque selling as a marketing strategy since consumer choice decisions would change when dealing with an uncertain deal or probabilistic deals.