Reverse Logistics Supply Chain Research Articles

Optimizing COVID-19 medical waste management using goal and robust possibilistic programming

During the global Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the exponential rise in Hazardous Medical Waste (HMW) due to increased demand for personal protective equipment and heightened medical requirements posed significant threats to public health. This study proposes an innovative approach using a reverse logistics supply chain network that comprehensively integrates sustainability factors (e.g., cost, working conditions, exposure risks, and environmental impact) to manage the risks associated with medical waste effectively amid the pandemic. This research focuses on employing a guideline-based allocation of medical waste to specific technologies, leveraging the Torabi-Hassini (TH), Lp-metric (Lebesgue metric), and Goal Attainment (GA) approaches and robust possibilistic programming to address uncertainties. A real-case study validates the proposed model, demonstrating its ability to balance multiple objectives by optimizing the flow among treatment centers and introducing new Temporary Treatment Centers (TTCs). Also, we analyze broad sensitivity through weights assigned to the objective functions to obtain Pareto solutions. The convexity of the Pareto front confirms the conflict among the objective functions. The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach specifies that the Lp-metric approach outperforms the others, and the TH approach is regarded as the second rank. The study's findings highlight the model's efficacy and provide crucial managerial insights for health organization administrators in efficiently managing the HMW supply chain network.

On Exploration of Possible Hierarchical Inter-Relationship amongst the Challenges Faced by Reverse Logistics Supply Chain in India

On Exploration of Possible Hierarchical Inter-Relationship amongst the Challenges Faced by Reverse Logistics Supply Chain in India

Presenting a Fuzzy Multiobjective Mathematical Model of the Reverse Logistics Supply Chain Network in the Automotive Industry to Reduce Time and Energy

The current research aims to design a fuzzy multiobjective model of the reverse logistics supply chain network in the automotive industry, taking into account the energy and time reduction approach. The automobile industry is one of the industries with a high demand worldwide. To continue the competition, the manufacturers of the leading car equipment should strive for better product quality by continuously improving their production processes, directing the production of greenhouse gases with low carbon levels, and increasing sustainability. In this regard, reverse supply chain networks and closed-loop chains have unique features that are very useful in the industry under review. The goal is to transform this model into a supply chain of a secure link in the automotive industry. Deterministic methods, genetic algorithm, particle swarm algorithm, and several scenarios with different aspects have been used to solve the model. The results show that the effectiveness of the three ways in terms of solution time is higher in the deterministic solution method. Proper use of the proposed process can help managers effectively manage the flow of recycled products concerning environmental considerations, and this process provides a sustainable competitive advantage for companies.

Modeling a Reverse Logistics Supply Chain for End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Risk Management: A Fuzzy Risk Analysis Approach

The automotive industry is one of the largest consumers of natural resources, and End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) form bulky wastes when they reach the end of their useful life, hence environmental concerns. Efficiency in recycling ELVs is therefore becoming a major concern to address the number of ELVs collected and recycled to minimize environmental impacts. This paper seeks to describe several activities of a closed-loop reverse logistics supply chain for the collection and recycling of ELVs and to identify the related potential risks involved. This study further investigated the potential risks for managing the efficient recycling of ELVs by modeling and viewing the end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling system as a reverse logistics supply chain. ELV recycling steps and processes, including collection and transportation, as well as the laws and technologies, were analyzed for risk factor identification and analysis. The major aim of this research is to perform a unified hierarchical risk analysis to estimate the degree of risk preference to efficiently manage the ELV supply chain. This study also proposes a risk assessment procedure using fuzzy knowledge representation theory to support ELV risk analysis. As a result, the identified key risks were ranked in terms of their preference for occurrence in a reverse supply chain of ELV products and mapped into five risk zones, Very Low, Low, Medium-Low, Moderate, Serious, and Critical, for ease of visualization. Hence, with a step-by-step implementation of the presented solution, ELV recycling organizations will see benefits in terms of an improvement in their activities and thus reduced costs that may occur due to uncertainties in their overall ELV business.

Managing the Material Flow in Textile and Clothing Closed-loop Supply Chain with Product, Material, and Energy Recoveries: A Conceptual Framework

The emerging era of fast fashion has broadened the issue of sustainability and post-consumer waste in the textile and clothing industry. Textile and clothing manufacturers carry out Reverse Logistics (RL) and Closed-loop Supply Chain (CLSC) operations to manage waste related to used garment products. This study reviews existing literature on RL and CLSC in the textile and clothing industry and develops a conceptual framework for material management. This study proposes a framework to manage the flow of material in CLSC with three recovery alternatives, i.e. product, material, and energy recovery. We suggest a CLSC model involving a textile manufacturer, garment manufacturer, fashion retailer, and MRF (Material Recovery Facility). We propose an RL scheme with 100% recovery and no disposal activity. The proposed model allows the CLSC system to recover waste into energy and utilise it as an alternative energy in the upstream supply chain. We discuss some of the model limitations along with its challenges for implementation.

A BIM–WMS Management Tool for the Reverse Logistics Supply Chain of Demolition Waste

In the construction industry, the reverse logistics supply chain (RLSC) is one of the measures used to effectively manage demolition waste. However, there are still many problems associated with its operation, including inaccurate calculation of demolition waste supplies and insufficient interaction between supply and demand information, and waste suppliers usually choose transportation alternatives associated with high carbon emissions to obtain economic benefits. These issues have hindered the sustainable development of the RLSC. This paper proposes a waste recycling facility selection system (WRFSS) that integrates building information modeling (BIM), web map service (WMS), and an application programming interface (API) plug-in. Compared to the actual transportation scenario, the transportation distance of the WRFSS was reduced by 30.6 km and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 0.0259 tons. This selection system realizes an optimal selection mechanism for waste recycling facilities and develops the shortest transportation plan, thereby reducing carbon emissions during transportation and achieving sustainable development.

Sustainable development-oriented location-transportation integrated optimization problem regarding multi-period multi-type disaster medical waste during COVID-19 pandemic.

After the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, devising an effective reverse logistics supply chain to clean up disaster medical waste is conducive to controlling and containing novel coronavirus transmission. Thus, the focus of this paper concentrates on multi-period multi-type disaster medical waste location-transportation integrated optimization problem with the concern of sustainability, which is formulated as a tri-objective mixed-integer programming model with the goals of maximizing total economic benefits, minimizing total carbon emissions and total potential social risks. Then, a real-world case from Wuhan using CPLEX solver is used to validate the developed model. Results indicate that constructing DMWTTSs with flexible capacity in different periods is encouraged to handle the sharply increasing disaster medical waste. The multi-period decision model outperforms the single-period one in disaster medical waste supply chains because the former has the capability of handling the uncertainties in the future periods. Increasingly, since the increase of budget doesn’t always work well and social resources are limited, the estimation of minimum budget to obtain optimum overall performance is of great importance.

Expression of concern: “A novel multi-objective scenario-based optimization model for sustainable reverse logistics supply chain network redesign considering facility reconstruction” [Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 270, 10 October 2020, 122405

Expression of concern: “A novel multi-objective scenario-based optimization model for sustainable reverse logistics supply chain network redesign considering facility reconstruction” [Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 270, 10 October 2020, 122405

Modelling the cause and effect relationship risks in reverse logistics supply chains for demolition waste

PurposeThe reverse logistics supply chain (RLSC) for demolition waste management (DWM) is a complex process that inherits significant interdependent risks. However, studies on the RLSC have not explicitly identified the risks of its inter-relationships by disentangling their effects on operational performance. Accordingly, this paper aims to identify and assess the inter-dependencies of the risks in the RLSC to improve quality-related operational performance.Design/methodology/approachA sequential exploratory mixed-method research approach, consisting of qualitative and quantitative methods, was employed. The qualitative approach involved 25 semi-structured interviews, whereas the 18 subsequent structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders in the entire RLSC as part of the quantitative method. These were used to identify the cause and effect relationships of the identified risks. The data were analysed using thematic analysis, and the Bayesian belief network (BBN) technique was used to develop a conceptual risk model.FindingsIn total 20 risks in four RLSC sub-processes, namely, dismantling and on-site process, off-site resource recovery process, marketing of secondary products and residue disposal, emerged. Among cause and effect relationships of identified risk factors, inferior quality of secondary products was found to have the strongest relationship with customer satisfaction. Under-pricing of dismantling job, improper landfill operations and inadequacy of landfill levy are independent risks that initiate other risks down the supply chain. The aggregate effects of these risks affect customer dissatisfaction of the end-product, as well as health and safety risks in on-site, off-site and residue disposal.Research limitations/implicationsThis study only identify the cause and effect relationships of the identified risks within the RLSC for DWM operations. It has not targeted a specific construction material or any secondary production, which could be practiced through a case study in future research.Practical implicationsThe results encourage the investigation of RLSC process quality by maintaining the relationship between recycler and customer to enable a safe workplace environment. Hence, the role of relevant practitioners and government is inseparable in supporting decision-making. Future research could discuss the impact of those inter-related risks in relation to time- or cost-related operational performance criteria.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the field through presenting the first major study on the identification and assessment of the inter-dependencies of the risks in the RLSC in South Australia. The RLSC process mapping had been identified as a tactical and operational management approach. However, the risk management process is a strategic management approach. Therefore, the integration of both process mapping and the risk management approaches in one platform is germane to construction management research.

Minimizing Macro-Level Uncertainties for Quality Assurance in Reverse Logistics Supply Chains of Demolition Waste

In light of the increasing detrimental effects on sustainability, the reverse logistics supply chain (RLSC) has emerged as one of the remedies in the construction industry, whereby the bulk of demolition waste (DW) is returned into the production cycle. Quality assurance (QA) plays an important role in RLSCs, which needs an information-rich environment enriched with external stakeholders’ influence strategies. However, due to ineffective external stakeholders’ influence, useful information is not available, making macro-level uncertainties for QA. Given this, the current study aimed to identify the macro-level uncertainties for QA in the RLSC of DW. The study used a qualitative approach involving 21 semi-structured interviews representing five external stakeholder categories. The study found the regulatory uncertainties are the root causes that propagate through incentivizing and contractual uncertainties to influence QA in the RLSC. The external stakeholders could employ measures such as ‘reforming regulatory instruments’, ‘employing effective incentivizing schemes’ and ‘active involvement of forward supply chain actors’ to minimize uncertainties at their source. The external and internal stakeholders can use these findings as a roadmap to determine suitable measures to overcome macro-level uncertainties in the RLSC. Furthermore, the study paved an avenue to integrate stakeholder theory and organizational information processing theory (OIPT) in future research.

Research on Carbon Emission Measurement of Construction Products Based on BIM

With global warming, environmental issues have gradually received attention. Surprisingly, the construction industry contributes most of the greenhouse gases. In order to reduce carbon emissions, the construction industry has proposed many energy-saving and emission-reduction methods from the perspectives of construction technology, reverse logistics supply chain optimization, and design optimization. However, problems in the prediction and measurement of carbon emissions have always been the focus and difficulty of the construction industry. Recently, BIM technology has continuously penetrated into the construction industry, which has influenced many scholars to gradually use BIM technology to reduce carbon emissions. Unlike other scholars, this research uses the Revit API to integrate carbon emission measurement functions into the Revit environment. These not only reduce the dependence on third-party software and tedious operations, but also provide architectural designers with reference information for environment optimization during the design stage.

Value recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries: A review on technologies, environmental impacts, economics, and supply chain

<abstract> <p>The demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has surged in recent years, owing to their excellent electrochemical performance and increasing adoption in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. As a result, the expectation is that the primary supply of LIB materials (e.g., lithium, cobalt, and nickel) will be insufficient to satisfy the demand in the next five years, creating a significant supply risk. Value recovery from spent LIBs could effectively increase the critical materials supply, which will become increasingly important as the number of spent LIBs grows. This paper reviews recent studies on developing novel technologies for value recovery from spent LIBs. The existing literature focused on hydrometallurgical-, pyrometallurgical-, and direct recycling, and their advantages and disadvantages are evaluated in this paper. Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment have quantified the economic and environmental benefits of LIB reuse over recycling, highlighting the research gap in LIB reuse technologies. The study also revealed challenges associated with changing battery chemistry toward less valuable metals in LIB manufacturing (e.g., replacing cobalt with nickel). More specifically, direct recycling may be impractical due to rapid technology change, and the economic and environmental incentives for recycling spent LIBs will decrease. As LIB collection constitutes a major cost, optimizing the reverse logistics supply chain is essential for maximizing the economic and environmental benefits of LIB recovery. Policies that promote LIB recovery are reviewed with a focus on Europe and the United States. Policy gaps are identified and a plan for sustainable LIB life cycle management is proposed.</p> </abstract>

Quality assurance in reverse logistics supply chain of demolition waste: A systematic literature review.

The reverse logistics supply chain (RLSC) facilitates the greening of the traditional construction industry supply chain. Despite the growing interest in this approach, limited studies focus on quality assurance (QA) in RLSC, which is crucial to resolve the issue of the low quality in reprocessed products. This study aims to explore the elements which contribute to the QA of RLSC of demolition waste (DW) by conducting a systematic literature review (SLR). A total of 91 articles available in six search engines between 2000 and 2019 were exposed to descriptive and content analysis. The descriptive analysis revealed that most of the articles were experimental studies (35%) and published during the recent period of 2013-2019 (64%). Furthermore, 60% of articles were originated from developed countries while 32% originated from developing countries. The results of the content analysis established that an information-centric integrated system of process, people, policy and technology is needed for QA in RLSC, which is supported by government, regulatory bodies, industry and universities/research institutions. The study addresses the existing gap by proposing a conceptual framework, which could be considered as the foundation in enforcing QA in the RLSC of DW. Finally, the implications for research and practice and some recommendations for further research were presented. The study facilitates in paving the path to sustainable development through building the foundation to enforce QA in RSLC of DW.

A multi-objective stochastic model for a reverse logistics supply chain design with environmental considerations

Some electronic devices have a short lifetime, and variety-seeking and consumerism are increasingly growing in today’s societies. Moreover, electronic wastes contain precious substances such as gold, silver, copper, and aluminum. The proper disposal and processing of them by recycling offer considerable advantages to the environment, given the hazardous natures of such devices’ substances. The proposed reverse logistics with waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is an important task considered by researchers, the use of which offers economic benefits and reduces the environmental impacts of wastes. The present study models the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) reverse logistics process as a bi-objective mixed-integer programming model under uncertainties. The mathematical model investigates two objectives: an economic objective and an environmental objective. The first is minimizing cost, while the second is maximizing the environmental score by reverse logistics processes in recovering and recycling. The parameters of demand and WEEE return rate which is obtained from the customer were considered as two uncertain parameters. A scenario-based stochastic programming (SSP) approach is applied to deal with the uncertainties. A case study of an electronic equipment manufacturer in Esfahan, Iran was included. The model was solved by a nominal approach and an SSP approach via the epsilon-constraint (EC) and augmented epsilon-constraint (AEC) methods to obtain optimal Pareto solutions and compare the methods. Finally, the optimal results of the two approaches were evaluated. The results indicated that the SSP approach using the AEC method had better outcomes.

A novel multi-objective scenario-based optimization model for sustainable reverse logistics supply chain network redesign considering facility reconstruction

With the increase of concern from environmental pollution and waste of resources, manufacturing firms have realized that the recovery of used products becomes an environment-friendly way to support sustainable development. However, many enterprises face a problem that is how to implement the recovery of used products into their existing forward logistics networks. In this case, it is necessary to redesign a novel sustainable reverse logistics supply chain network by reconstructing the existing facilities into hybrid processing facilities. To handle the foregoing problem, a multi-objective scenario-based optimization model is proposed. It aims to maximize the expected total monetary profits, minimize the expected total carbon emission costs, and maximize the expected total created job opportunities. To solve the proposed model, we develop a method to linearize the model and then apply the weighted-sum method to reformulate it as a single-objective one. In addition to the weighted-sum method, an augmented E-constraint method is used to obtain a set of efficient Pareto-optimal solutions and the trade-off among three conflicting objectives is presented. Finally, several numerical instances from a tire supply chain are performed to validate the proposed model and some managerial implications are also concluded.

ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ ВИКОРИСТАННЯ РЕВЕРСИВНОЇ ЛОГІСТИКИ В АГРОПРОМИСЛОВОМУ КОМПЛЕКСІ: ЕКОЛОГІЧНИЙ АСПЕКТ

This paper involves the use of the reverse logistics tools to manage reverse flows of grain goods in Ukraine effectively. The object of the study is the reverse logistics. The purpose of the study is the theoretical analysis of reverse logistics in order to implement its tools within agro-industry and assessment of the prospects for that. Methods of the study are the analytical approach and mathematical methods. The reverse supply chain management is a key business strategy of any international manufacturer within such industries as car manufacturing, producing of household appliances and medicine. The reverse logistics is widely used to increase company`s profit and cut down the loses. The authors of this article offer to implement the reverse logistics tools within the agro-industry of Ukraine to efficiently design the reverse supply chain. While analyzing the agricultural businesses in Ukraine, authors found out that using the traditional reverse supply chain can not use the capacity of all the logistics players to the full. The liquidator services are offered in order to maintain value added by the returns of bulk goods. Moreover, considering the sustainability of such a reverse flow we offer to store the returns in the warehouses owned by stevedoring companies located in port of Odessa. In such way the decreasing of gas emissions by 25,2% can be established. The results of the study may be recommended for implementation by every logistics player within the agro-industry of Ukraine. KEYWORDS: REVERSE LOGISTICS, AGRO-INDUSRTY OF UKRAINE, REVERSE FLOW, REVERSE LOGISTICS SUPPLY CHAIN OF BULK GOODS, REVERSE SUPPLY CHAIN INTERMEDIARIES.

Garment E-commerce Return and Exchange 4PL Innovation

Starting from the research on the existing problems in the return and exchange process of existing clothing e-commerce, this paper proposes the clothing e-commerce return and exchange 4PL platform innovation mode for the three pain points, namely, the long return and replacement cycle, the out-of-stock in change of season and the insufficient development of the residual value of returned clothing. Based on this, this paper introduces a 4PL-led dual pre-strategy and then expounds the advantages of the dual pre-strategy by means of comparison. At last, this paper describes in detail how to implement the dual pre-strategy under this mode, and constructs the concept model of 4PL platform, thus realizing the optimization of the reverse logistics supply chain of apparel e-commerce.

Rethinking reverse logistics: role of additive manufacturing technology in metal remanufacturing

PurposeAlthough the adoption of metal additive manufacturing (AM) for production has continuously grown, in-house access to production grade metal AM systems for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is a major challenge due to costs of acquiring metal AM systems, specifically powder bed fusion AM. On the other hand, AM technology in directed energy deposition (DED) has been evolving in both: processing capabilities and adaptable configuration for integration within existing traditional machines that are available in most SME manufacturing facilities, e.g. computer numerical control (CNC) machining centers. Integrating DED with conventional processes such as machining and grinding into Hybrid AM is well suited for remanufacturing of metal parts. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachClassical facility location models are employed to understand the effects of SMEs adopting DED systems to offer remanufacturing services. This study identifies strategically located counties in the USA to advance hybrid AM for reverse logistics using North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) data on geographical data, demand, fixed and transportation costs. A case study is also implemented to explore its implications on remanufacturing of high-value parts on the reverse logistics supply chain using an aerospace part and NAICS data on aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities.FindingsThe results identify the candidate counties, their allocations, allocated demand and total costs. Offering AM remanufacturing services to traditional manufacturers decreases costs for SMEs in the supply chain by minimizing expensive new part replacement. The hubs also benefit from hybrid AM to repair their own parts and tools.Originality/valueThis research provides a unique analysis on reverse logistics through hybrid AM focused on remanufacturing rather than manufacturing. Facility location using real data is used to obtain results and offers insights into integrating AM for often overlooked aspect of remanufacturing. The study shows that SMEs can participate in the evolving AM economy through remanufacturing services using significantly lower investment costs.

Information-based quality management in reverse logistics supply chain

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the synergies among reverse logistics supply chain (RLSC), quality management (QM) and information management (IM) concepts to enhance the effectiveness of demolition waste management (DWM) practices.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted using 70 articles published between the years of 2006 and 2017, which were subjected to descriptive and thematic analysis.FindingsThe descriptive analysis established that the RLSC concept was dealt within the majority of the publications (61 per cent), followed by concepts related to quality in RLSC (24 per cent). Only 14 per cent of the articles were based on IM concepts related to RLSC. Quality and information are interrelated in the effective implementation of RLSC. The thematic analysis demonstrated that there is a need for using quality parameters in a regulatory environment in an information-based environment. Based on the findings, future research directions were developed.Research limitations/implicationsThe study encourages researchers to identify novel directions by combining these three concepts. The study developed a future research agenda regarding use of building information modelling (BIM) for existing buildings under novel technologies; analysis of secondary market demand and supply; and assessment of cost and safety management with quality in a BIM-enabled environment.Practical implicationsThe practical implications include the application of sustainable management principles based on stakeholders and the regulatory environment.Originality/valueIntegration of the three concepts is an emerging area. This integration developed a robust approach to achieve QM in RLSC operations under a sound information flow enabling the optimisation of DWM.

Information flow-centric approach for reverse logistics supply chains

Reverse logistics supply chain (RLSC) helps resources recovery at the End-of-life (EoL) of buildings. However, there is a huge potential for improving the existing RLSC through systematic information management. Very little research has been carried out on the interactions between RLSC operations and information needs for an efficient and effective resources recovery process. This study proposes a conceptual model of a building information model that could effectively address the information needs during demolition, testing, grading and reprocessing of salvaged materials. The study uses semi-structured interviews and action research to identify information needs and Building Information Modelling (BIM) functionalities to develop the conceptual model using an Application Programming Interface (API) plug-in. The model when fully developed can extract the volumes of salvage, sorting, testing, reprocessing and integrate that information for optimised resources recovery. The extracted information in a single platform can help demolition planners and recyclers to design downstream operations, particularly testing and grading of salvaged products enabling an information flow-centric reverse logistics supply chain.