A strategic framework for the design and implementation of remanufacturing operations in reverse logistics

Reverse logistics (RL) is a systematic process that manages the flow of products/parts from the point of consumption back to the point of manufacturing for possible recycling, remanufacturing, or disposal. Although the concept of RL is well-known in logistics and supply chain management, the available holistic literature and theory of RL are scarce. This paper surveys current RL literature and identifies the present state of theory in RL by formulating the propositions for strategic factors. The approach used is grounded theory development. The strategic factors are in turn delineated and evaluated in terms of specific sub-factors associated with each factor by the use of interview protocol and within the context of an in-depth analysis of two companies in different industries that are engaged in remanufacturing/recycling operations within RL systems. The analysis of these case studies, using the grounded theory approach, resulted in insights regarding their RL practices. Based on these insights and strategic factors and sub-factors, a framework for effective design and implementation of remanufacturing/recycling operations in RL is provided. This framework allows for the determination of the viability of returned products/parts in the RL system. The findings outline how our RL theory is enhanced and how our understanding of RL practices with respect to remanufacturing/recycling operations is improved. In conclusion, managerial implications and future research directions are presented.     

Pressure analysis for green supply chain management implementation in Indian industries using analytic hierarchy process

Due to growing awareness about environment protection, firms are forced to implement environmental practices to enhance their green image. In recent times, academicians and practitioners have shown interest in green marketing and green supply chain management (GSCM). Fields of green branding and sustainability have seen special interest from different business disciplines including information management, marketing, supply chain management, etc. Due to economical and ecological impact, there is a growing concern for the environment and related critical issues. Pressure on the environment is dynamic and diverse, and demands new levels of accountability, financial commitment and supply chain capabilities. Indian manufacturing industries have started adopting green concepts in their supply chain management giving special attention to environmental issues based on pressures from different directions, e.g. customer pressure, government regulations etc. Yet, industries struggle hard to identify essential pressures for implementation of GSCM. This work focuses mainly on identifying such pressures for implementation of GSCM. Initially 65 pressures were identified through detailed literature and categorised into six groups. Then common acceptable pressures were identified through a questionnaire survey from different industrial sectors in Phase 1. Finally, essential pressures are prioritised with the help of analytic hierarchy process in Phase 2.     

The Internet and the revolution in distribution: a cross-industry examination

Distributors and channels of distribution have existed since time immemorial. Channels of distribution have existed to get products to consumers cheaper, faster, and more effectively. Distribution encompasses various types of activities, depending on the type of and point in the supply chain where value is added. A supply chain constitutes a set of activities ranging from production and manufacturing, to logistics, warehousing, transportation, and final delivery of goods to the customer (Handfield RB, Nichols EL. Introduction to supply chain management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1999). Through their interactions with suppliers, manufacturers, and end customers, distributors thus perform an important intermediary role in matching supply with demand.In this paper, the impact of the Internet on the value chain is discussed. In order to explore issues pertaining to this transformation in greater detail, three industries that have been either radically altered by the Internet, or that are facing tremendous challenges as they head into the future, are considered. They are (a) the retailing industry, (b) banking, brokerage and financial services, and (c) the music industry. The objective is to elicit the underlying managerial implications and imperatives through this cross-industry examination.     

基于多方博弈的制造企业逆向物流的研究

分析我国实施逆向物流的现状及实践,提出第三方物流(3PL)、制造企业、政府及消费者等两阶段多方博弈模型,第1阶段是制造企业、政府、消费者之间的"多方博弈"模型,第2阶段是制造企业与3PL之间的"委托-代理"模型.根据产品回收价值的高低和对环境影响程度的大小进行产品分类,分析不同种类的产品的博弈过程,得出各主体的逆向物流参与决策,以及制造企业物流模式的选择.以废旧台式电脑逆向物流为例进行博弈分析和计算,结果表明该模型计算的有效性和可行性.     

From waste to value – a system dynamics model for strategic decision-making in closed-loop supply chains

Although the field of closed-loop supply chain management has attracted a lot of attention in recent years and the management of reverse logistics processes has become a major field of supply chain management, there is still a lack of research conducting analyses using a comprehensive approach that takes the complexity of problems of reverse logistics processes into account. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to develop a model that allows an original equipment manufacturer in the electronics industry to test different value recovery strategies for business-to-business products in a closed-loop supply chain setting. For this purpose system dynamics is used because this approach enables one to capture the high complexity of reverse logistics processes and is suitable, contrary to traditional optimisation approaches, for analysing the dynamic behaviour of closed-loop supply chains comprehensively. The simulation analysis identifies leverage points for the improvement of decisions concerning reverse logistics. In particular, the simulation runs conducted highlight the high complexity and connectivity inherited with various value recovery processes. The paper contributes to a better understanding of supply chain dynamics, the impact of product backflow, and reverse logistics.     

Implications of postponement for the supply chain

As a marketing, logistics and manufacturing concept, postponement has been around in the literature for a long time. Its application can also be dated to the 1920s. However, only in recent times has it been used as a supply chain strategy. Postponement fosters a new way of thinking about product design, process design and supply chain management. In this paper, we rethink the supply chain from a postponement point of view and present the implications of postponement for the decoupling point, supply chain integration, control of the supply chain and capacity planning issues. The objective is to extend the significance of postponement towards the perspective of a holistic supply chain context.     

面向供应链的制造业库存决策支持系统的分析与设计

从制造型企业自身的特点出发,结合供应链环境下制造商库存管理的对象和方法,在分析库存决策机制的基础上,设计了供应链环境下面向制造业的库存决策支持系统,并讨论了本系统数据仓库的设计,模型库的组织与存储,以及所采用的数据挖掘方法等关键技术.本文所设计的库存决策支持系统适用于大型制造型企业,有助于提高供应链环境下企业的库存管理水平.     

Supply chain cell activities for a consumer goods company

The supply chain cell is a new cross-functional area in many industries in India. It involves the integration of production planning, dispatch order generation and logistics planning, apart from general logistics, which primarily includes distribution. This paper deals with the study conducted for a fast moving consumer goods company having 14 production locations and 22 branches/clearing and forwarding agents. There were 36 packing lines, with each line packing different varieties of stock-keeping units. In this company, supply chain cell activities were concentrated on the middle of the classical supply chain. An attempt has been made to integrate production logic with the logistics by considering the total cost concept. The total cost concept also includes non-quantifiable parameters, which have been incorporated by the use of the analytical hierarchy process. An optimization technique has been proposed simultaneously to support the planning logic developed. The supply chain cell helps to optimize the total supply chain cost as well as enabling it to supplement other benefits such as an improvement in inventory turnover and a reduction in the inventory carrying cost.     

The Integration Model of Closed-Loop Supply Chain Resource Allocation Considering Remanufacturing

Logistics resource planning is an integration model of materials requirement planning and distribution resource planning which is a resource allocation technology. It is a technology of satisfying both production material supply and resource allocation optimization which is based on inventory management. For the remanufacturing supply chain, recycling and rebuilding of products form a reverse materials movement loop which challenges the traditional logistics resource planning system. For the characteristics of reverse logistics of remanufacturing supply chain, we propose a closed-loop supply chain resource allocation model based on autonomous multi-entity. We focus on integration resource allocation model of materials requirement planning and distribution resource planning considering remanufacturing.     

基于物流的供应链系统的敏捷化集成

回顾了制造系统集成所经历的不同发展阶段．论述了对制造系统进行过程集成的必要性。探讨了物流活动与制造资源或制造企业、物流活动之间的不同逻辑组合以及物流活动状态变化等关系，提出了分布异构环境下，供应链系统不同参与企业之间基于系统已有的资源实现物流集成的流程定义、工作流机及服务端等结构模型，以及进行物流或制造资源集成的集中与分布的运行控制与协作方式。并基于供应链系统中的物流信息，提出了供应商、制造商与分销商等之间在运行过程中的信息交互、协作与运行监控的机制。     

云制造中产品个性化定制研究综述

消费者对个性化产品购买需求的增加,对制造企业的定制生产能力提出了越来越高的要求。而现有制造企业存在的信息化水平不高、制造资源不足等问题,严重影响了制造企业向个性化生产转型的进程。针对上述情况,结合云制造概念及技术提出了云制造中产品个性化定制生产模式。为了更加深入地研究云制造中产品个性化定制的运行模式及阐述云制造平台在定制生产过程中的主要作用,从体系架构、服务流程、关键技术等方面对相关研究进行了回顾和介绍,然后列举了个性化定制生产模式在汽车、软件和服装行业的应用,最后对研究趋势进行了展望。分析表明,云制造平台汇聚全球的制造资源为个性化定制服务,能够有效解决单一制造企业实施个性化定制过程中面临的一系列困难,做到以较低的成本快速高效地满足消费者日益多样化、个性化的需求。     

Robust closed-loop supply chain network design for perishable goods in agile manufacturing under uncertainty

In this study, a general comprehensive model is proposed for strategic closed-loop supply chain network design under interval data uncertainty. The proposed model considers various assumptions such as multiple periods, multiple products, and multiple supply chain echelons as well as uncertain demand and purchasing cost. In addition, bill of materials for each product is considered via a new approach in management of forward and reverse flows of products for producing new products and reusing or disassembling returned products. Uncertainty of parameters in the proposed model is handled via an interval robust optimisation technique. The model assumptions are well matched with decision making environments of food and high-tech electronics manufacturing industries. The factors that make these two industries similar are time-dependent properties of products such as prices and warehousing lifetime period. The computational results of solving the proposed model via LINGO 8 demonstrate efficiency of the proposed model in dealing with uncertainty in an agile manufacturing context.     

Use of linear physical programming and Bayesian updating for design issues in reverse logistics

Reverse logistics aims at capturing the remaining value in end-of-use products. This also means saving natural resources, energy, clean air and water, landfill space, and money. Strategic planning (also called designing) of a reverse supply chain is a challenging problem due to various crucial issues, such as what end-of-use products to collect, where to collect them, how to reprocess them, where to reprocess them, etc. To this end, this paper addresses the following two crucial issues, and proposes a quantitative decision-making model for each of them: (i) how to select efficient collection centres? and (ii) how to evaluate whether repairing an end-of-use product is more sensible than remanufacturing/recycling the same? For the first problem, we propose a Linear Physical Programming model, and for the second problem, we employ Fuzzy Logic and Bayesian Updating. The models are demonstrated via numerical examples.     

基于专利保护下闭环供应链的快递包装回收定价研究

针对快递包装回收的定价问题,构建了由一个生产商、一个再制造商以及一个物流服务商构成的快递包装回收闭环供应链系统,利用Stackelberg博弈方法对非专利保护和专利保护两种回收模式进行对比,可知专利保护对于生产商和再制造商都可以获得更大的利润,实现双赢的局面,在专利保护下,通过考虑两者之间同时回收的竞争关系,可知竞争对两者都带来负面影响。对生产商何时参加竞争给出建议。最后通过数值验证了结论的正确性。研究结果不仅丰富了闭环供应链的理论研究,而且也对国家实行专利保护政策具有借鉴意义。     

A study on investments in the big data-driven supply chain,performance measures and organisational performance in Indian retail 4.0 context

The use of digital technologies such as ‘internet of things’ and ‘big data analytics’ have transformed the traditional retail supply chains into data-driven retail supply chains referred to as ‘Retail 4.0.’ These big data-driven retail supply chains have the advantage of providing superior products and services and enhance the customers shopping experience. The retailing industry in India is highly competitive and eager to transform into the environment of retail 4.0. The literature on big data in the supply chain has mainly focused on the applications in manufacturing industries and therefore needs to be further investigated on how the big data-driven retail supply chains influence the supply chain performance. Therefore, this study investigates how the retailing 4.0 context in India is influencing the existing supply chain performance measures and what effect it has on the organisational performance. The findings of the study provide valuable insights for retail supply chain practitioners on planning BDA investments. Based on a survey of 380 respondents selected from retail organisations in India, this study uses governance structure as the moderating variable. Implications for managers and future research possibilities are presented.     

Multi-agent systems applications in manufacturing systems and supply chain management: a review paper

This paper offers a review of the development and use of multi-agent modelling techniques and simulations in the context of manufacturing systems and supply chain management (SCM). The objective of the paper is twofold. First, it presents a comprehensive literature review of current multi-agent systems (MAS) research applications in the field of manufacturing systems and SCM. Second, it aims to identify and evaluate some key issues involved in using MAS methods to model and simulate manufacturing systems. A variety of different MAS applications are reviewed in three different classified research areas: production design and development, production planning and control, and SCM. In presenting a detailed taxonomy of MAS applications, the paper describes MAS application domains from five different perspectives. The review suggests the MAS approach represents a feasible framework for designing and analysing real-time manufacturing operations, since the approach is capable of modelling different levels of agent behaviour and dynamical interactions. The paper also highlights a number of key issues which have to be taken into account in attempting to design MAS-based research paradigms for future applications in manufacturing systems.     

Manufacturing lot-sizing,procurement and delivery schedules over a finite planning horizon

In this study, an integrated manufacturing system for technology-related companies whose products are experiencing continuous price decrease during the life cycle is studied for optimal procurement, production and delivery schedules over a finite planning horizon. The model considers the inventory cost both at manufacturing and at delivery from supplier. Since the price is continuously decreasing, a manufacturing firm delivers the finished goods in small quantities frequently. Frequent deliveries in small lots are effective to reduce the total cost of the supply chain. The key for high-tech industries is to reduce the inventory holding time since the component prices are continuously decreasing, and this can only be achieved by implementing an efficient supply chain. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated inventory model for high-tech industries in JIT environment under continuous price decrease over finite planning horizon while effectively and successfully accomplishing supply chain integration so that the total cost of the system is minimal. An efficient algorithm is developed to determine the optimal or near-optimal lot sizes for raw material procurement, and manufacturing batch under a finite planning horizon. Finally, the solution technique developed for the model is illustrated with numerical examples.     

Lean,agile or leagile? Matching your supply chain to the marketplace

Many enterprises have pursued the lean thinking paradigm to improve the efficiency of their business processes. More recently, the agile manufacturing paradigm has been highlighted as an alternative to, and possibly an improvement on, leanness. In pursuing such arguments in isolation, the power of each paradigm may be lost, which is basically that agile manufacturing is adopted where demand is volatile, and lean manufacturing adopted where there is a stable demand. However, in some situations it is advisable to utilize a different paradigm on either side of the material flow de-coupling point to enable a total supply chain strategy. This approach we have termed the Leagile Paradigm. This paper therefore considers the effect of the marketplace environment on strategy selection to ensure optimal supply chain performance. Real-world case studies in the mechanical precision products, carpet making, and electronic products market sectors demonstrate the new approach to matching supply chain design to the actual needs of the marketplace.     

Perspective: a review of lifecycle management research on complex products in smart-connected environments

Smart-connected technologies, such as the Internet of things and cloud computing, are transforming how industries and enterprises do business by improving the lifecycle management of their product. Therefore, to study the lifecycle management of complex products under smart-connected environment, many studies have been published outlining new methods for smart development, intelligent manufacturing, and data-driven services. This paper first proposes the concept and architecture of smart-connected products and then systematically reviews the current research about new paradigms of product development, manufacturing and services. The paper also summarises the conceptual framework, research issues and opportunities of each phase of the product lifecycle management.