Collaborative Research: Analytical Approaches for the Design and Operation of Closed-Loop Supply Chains

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This grant provides funding for the development of a modeling framework for the design and operation of closed-loop supply chains in remanufacturable product industries. Remanufacturing extends the scope of traditional manufacturing and logistics activities to include forward and reverse flows as well as the corresponding forward and reverse channel activities. As a result, the traditional unidirectional supply chains need to be transformed into closed-loop supply chains. To ensure a successful transformation, this research will develop analytical models and efficient computational procedures for the optimization of network design and inventory/production planning decisions arising in the context of closed-loop supply chain systems. The results will provide analytical and computational tools for a comparison of cost and other logistical performance implications of i) alternative network design strategies, and ii) inventory/production planning policies under different seeding and product collection practices.If successful, the results of this research will broaden the theory of logistics as applied to closed-loop supply chain problems. The results are also expected to elicit insights into the efficient design and operation of closed-loop supply chains, and, hence, facilitate successful and widespread implementation of remanufacturing practices in industry. Moreover, as the research agenda has been developed in collaboration with industry, the project will foster the development of stronger interactions between the industry and academic partners.