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profitability and customer satisfaction, and at the same time be beneficial to the
environment.
Many actors are involved in the design and operation of a reverse logistics
network. Even though extended producer responsibilities present in the legislations
in various countries give the responsibility of recovering used products to original
equipment manufacturers, governments need to establish the necessary infra-
structure. Responsibilities can be shared among different parties, such as producers,
distributors, third-party logistics providers, or municipalities, in designing and
operating the reverse logistics networks.
In a reverse logistics network, end-of-life or end-of-use products can be gener-
ated at private households and at commercial, industrial, and institutional sources,
which are referred to as generation points. Products are usually collected at special
storage facilities called collection or inspection centers. Products are then sent
for proper recovery through reusing, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, or
recycling. Inspected or recovered products and components can then be sold to
suppliers, to (re)manufacturing facilities, or to customers in the secondary market.
A generic reverse logistics network is depicted in Fig. 16.3 .
Unlike forward logistics networks, where demand occurs at the lower echelon
facilities, in reverse networks demand (for recovery) arises at the upper echelon
facilities. However, a reverse logistics network is not a mirror image of a forward
network. In addition to the typical forward supply chain actors, different actors
and facilities are involved in reverse logistics networks, such as disposers, reman-
ufacturers, and the secondary market. Moreover, unlike forward networks, which
are mostly driven by economical factors, there are further factors motivating the
establishment of reverse logistics networks such as environmental laws.
In Sect. 16.3.2 , a generic mathematical formulation for the design of a multi-
purpose reverse logistics network is presented. The required notation and the
Fig. 16.3
A generic reverse logistics network
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