Quantitative Models for Reverse Logistics

Reverse logistics is the integration of used and obsolete products back into the supply chain as valuable resources. Economic, marketing, and legislative drivers are leading companies to take back and recover their products after use. The arising product flows pose novel challenges to supply chain management. This book discusses quantitative models to support reverse logistics decision-making. To this end, it characterizes managerial issues based on recent case studies. It then develops models that highlight the underlying trade-offs and provide a basis for optimizing decisions. The focus is on logistics network design and on inventory control issues.