Whether you call it the story of stuff, materials economy, or the story of sustainable, closed loop supply chains, this clip is a nice illustration of how we have traditionally looked at supply chains and their “externalities” and what that does to us. Watch it!
Gyöngyi
Buying a car? Another way to look at the reverse logistics question is to include potential failure rates in the purchasing decision, e.g. via including maintenance and repair operations during the product life cycle. As a practical example, “autojen vikasarja” tests for flaws and failures of different models, new and used cars alike. The principle behind it? Total cost of ownership applied to cars…
Gyöngyi
Posted in Reverse Logistics, Socks and sandals
“Reverse logistics” or “product returns” and “returns management”? “Disposal” or “waste management”? We are talking about the same issues, just use different terms whether we are at a marketing conference (hence product returns) or a logistics one (where we go as far as to talk about closed loop supply chains). In any case, marketers have now also opened their channels for more research on disposal, from it’s cultural and lifestyle elements to products and processes. So the Journal of Consumer Behaviour now calls for papers for a special issue “Unpacking disposal“. Deadline Mar 31, 2009.
Gyöngyi
Posted in Call for papers, Reverse Logistics
Here is a brief piece on Reverse Logistics I wrote for Supply Management, published in their issue from 31st January 2008.
Is Reverse the Top Gear in logistics?
Árni
Posted in Reverse Logistics, Sustainability
Manufacturing ‘strategies’ and -approaches such as flexible specialisation, lean and agile are very often explained relative to the good old mass-production and Henry Ford’s model T.
In essence, from push to pull.
At the same time, we may ask whether today’s products are inteded to bye easy and cheap to repair, which was one of the cornerstones in Ford’s ideas?
It happens that things go break down, sometimes of reasons that are beyond the control of the user/consumer.
What do you do when a 14 month old mobile phone breaks down? Or when a service light starts blinking in your car? Or when a wheel falls of your kids toy car? Do you safe old stuff for spare parts?
What happened to products that are easy and cheap to repair?
Árni
It can sometimes be difficult to leave the research topics behind us.
Today, I was buying a digital camera, and the search was down to two similar models of different brands. The price was identical. The first salesperson we asked recommended brand A. Another salesperson came by, and he got the same question. The firm answer was: B.
After a long day of shopping, you either trust your own instinct, or rely upon the personal opinion of the salesperson that was the last one to give you an advice.
Or…you ask the reverse logistics question: About the return rate of the product, and in particular, the reason(s) why customers would be returning the product.
The salesperson started shaking his head, saying “Ohh no….no no no….you don’t want to buy this one” pointing at camera B and looking us straight into our eyes.
The decision was made. 
I wonder what the reaction will be if the reverse logistics question is the first thing you ask when a friendly salesperson approaches you?
Árni
Posted in Reverse Logistics, Socks and sandals
In many textbooks and almost every major (and minor) student assignment, I read about the ever fierce competition in many industries, fueled by globalisation and IT, and of course, this does put logistics & supply chain management into the centre of the Universe.
I had one of these crazy moments of thougth at the LRN 2007 conference last week during one of the sessions. During the last 20 or 30 years, many business models in logistics call for integration and substantial reduction of redundancies (cut down inventories, etc). Well, so far so good.
Recent vocabualry in the SCM literature includes resiliance, risk, robustness, sustainability, product recalls, reverse logistics.
Is this due to the fact that the business environment is changing fast? Or can it be the case, that many ‘business models’ do not allow realistic (e.g. in terms of time and cost) reaction to changes? Further, has this new vocabulary developed as a consequence of the incompletness of the ‘old business models’, that have left businesses with a vulnerable design of their supply chain?`
In other word, and as stated in a previous blog: Is supply chain management the solution to a particular problem, or maybe the problem itself?
Árni
Yes, not recycling, but freecycling.
Consumers are now involving themselves into reverse logistics via an Internet based platform: uk.freecycle.org
“Freecycle groups match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them” and the objective is to
“keep usable items out of landfill”.
Árni
Posted in Reverse Logistics, Sustainability
Here is an interesting blog on recycling that also contains some practical information, especially for those who live and work in the UK.
Árni
This is the sustainability discourse entering the world of womens magazines: “green is the new black” (and we thought “black was the new black” a while ago; and yes, even your sanitary items might get affected by this fashion dictate).
Anyway, green is the new black (funnily one of the “eco-friendly” clothing lines being called Noir). As a difference to previous fashion statements, the reference is not to the colour but to “sustainable” clothing lines. Interestingly, instead of waste management and the end-of-pipe solutions of second hand clothing, this means that companies are either closing the loop of their supply chain (as in discovering the benefits of recycling), or go as far as to redesign their products and the choice of suppliers (see “organic jeans” etc.). Who says reading fashion magazines wouldn’t teach you a lesson in supply chain management?
Gyöngyi
