Optimal Design and Operations of Reverse Logistics Enterprises

为了以可持续的方式满足人类的基本需求，我们的世界面临着一些重大挑战，部分原因是全球竞争、人口老龄化、气候变化以及水和化石能源等自然资源的稀缺。这些挑战以及其他许多挑战，越来越多地影响着制造商开展业务的方式。传统上，制造商一直关注成熟的绩效指标，如产量最大化、生产率和质量改进。如今，除了这些传统的性能衡量标准外，制造商还必须应对更严格的环境法规，不断增加对产品消费的征税，以及对制造过程中使用的无毒物质的需求不断增加。由于这些额外的要求和限制，拟议的研究计划旨在解决这些问题，目标是设计环境无害和可持续的制造实践和逆向物流系统。可持续性可以被定义为“在不损害子孙后代满足自身需求的情况下满足当代人需求的能力”。逆向物流活动涉及废旧产品的反向流动，这些产品将在产品层面(再利用、修复)、零部件层面(再制造、拆分)或材料层面(回收)重新整合到供应链中。将研究和实施多目标建模、双层优化方法和系统动力学技术，以管理因退货时间、数量和质量而产生的不确定性。通过应用这些方法并引入(再)制造系统的现代生产计划和控制，我们可以帮助最大限度地提高逆向物流网络的效率和效果。*简而言之，拟议的研究计划旨在支持可持续性和提高逆向物流企业的盈利能力，并增强制造业的社会或“绿色”形象。

In order to meet basic human needs in a sustainable way our world faces some important challenges in part caused by global competition, an aging population, climate change, and scarcity of natural resources, such as water and fossil energy. These challenges and many others, increasingly affect the way manufacturers conduct their business. Traditionally, manufacturers have been concerned with well-established performance measures such as yield maximization, productivity and quality improvement. Nowadays, in addition to these traditional measures of performance, the manufacturers have to cope with tighter environmental regulations, continuously increasing levies on product consumption, and increasing demand for toxic-free substances used in the manufacturing process. Due to these additional requirements and restrictions, the proposed research program is aimed at addressing these issues with the goal of designing environmentally sound and sustainable manufacturing practices and reverse logistics systems. Sustainability can be defined as the ability to "meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Reverse logistics activities are concerned with the backward flow of used products that will be reintegrated in the supply chain at the product level (reuse, repair), the component level (remanufacturing, cannibalization), or the material level (recycling). The use of multi-objective modeling, the bi-level optimization approach, and systems dynamics techniques will be investigated and implemented to manage uncertainty created by the timing, quantity and quality of returned products. By applying these methods and by introducing modern production planning and control of (re)manufacturing systems we can help maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of reverse logistics networks. *In short, the proposed research program is aimed at supporting sustainability and increasing reverse logistics enterprise profitability as well as enhancing the social or "green" image of the manufacturing sector.