دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی فعالیت های لجستیک معکوس در سه شرکت صنعت فرایند - الزویر 2018

1. Introduction

Reverse logistics (RL) aims at recovering part of the original value of used goods, producing economic, environmental, and social gains, mainly in industrialized regions (Carter and Easton, 2011). In regions with an expressive generation of waste, RL helps to reduce the pressure on public sanitation systems (Berthier, 2003), giving a proper destination to obsolete materials generated by obsolete technology-based products or by industrial processes (Chung and Wee, 2011). Furthermore, stringent legislation and consumer pressures (González-Torre et al., 2004) force companies to establish and pursue environmental objectives (Bernon and Cullen, 2007). Among other possibilities such as eco-design and cleaner production techniques, RL can help achieving such environmental objectives (Lee and Dong, 2009). RL differs from direct logistics (DL). While DL moves goods towards the customer, RL moves goods from the customer (Sellitto et al., 2015). RL and DL involve the same elements: transportation, warehousing, inventory management, and information systems (Lambert et al., 2011), sharing networks and activities (Hu et al., 2002; Schultmann et al., 2003) such as after-sales services and after-consumption collection (Rogers et al., 2012). Operations include waste identification, collection, sorting, compaction, intermediate storage, recollection, transportation, delivery, and value recovery (Ravi et al., 2005). Management stages include the definition of routes and vehicles and the integration with direct channels for resource optimization (Rogers et al., 2002), which maximizes value recovery and eco-efficiency of the entire operation (Heese et al., 2005).

6. Conclusion

The theme of the article was the use of reverse logistics and reverse channels in the process industry, aiming at recovering part of the original value of used goods. The objective of the article was to identify how to recover value from waste generated by process industries. The research methodology was the multiple case studies in three companies of the process industry. The research techniques were the bibliographical research, meetings with experts of the industry, and guided visits to the operations. The research question was: What are the reverse operations with the greatest potential for recovering value in process industries?

Answering the research question, the study concluded that the reverse operations with greater potential for recovering value in the process industry are: (i) reuse of internal and external waste in the manufacturing; (ii) remanufacturing of parts, subsystems, and machines originated from maintenance activities; (iii) reuse of returnable pallets, containers, crates, and packaging in the distribution of products; and (iv) recycling of post-consumer solid waste. In the cases, the supply operation does not offer significant opportunities. The companies also do not need the final disposal channel (landfills) to give a correct destination to their waste. Only one operation was observed, involving very small non-toxic volumes dumping to landfills. The major implications of the study are directions for further research and to guide practitioners that want to recover value in the process industry. Other important outcomes are: (i) practitioners can achieve important reduction in logistic, maintenance, and manufacture costs if they emphasize the reuse, the remanufacturing, and the recycling of the waste they generate in their industrial plants; (ii) companies can create and maintain a positive corporate image if they support social initiatives such as waste collectors´ cooperatives; and (iii) municipalities can enlarge the useful life of landfills, if they stimulate companies to support cooperatives.