Reverse logistics and reverse supply chain management in the automotive sector
Abstract
For decades, supply chain management has focused on ‘forward’ activities only. Nowadays, environmental issues in supply chain and operations management are growing significantly. Operations managers are increasingly facing internal and external pressure to apply environmentally friendly measures to their daily activities. This paper establishes the context for product recovery operations and discusses the significance of the two disciplines reverse logistics and reverse supply chain management by placing a particular emphasis on the automotive sector. The empirical basis is provided by an in-depth case study of a car engine remanufacturing plant, where end-of-life engines are recovered into products with an “as good as new” condition. Thirty interviews were conducted, and process maps of the operations were drawn to provide a holistic picture of product recovery management in the automotive sector. Our findings reveal managerial insights on how product returns are organised (reverse logistics) and how product recovery chains are established and managed.