EURO-Online login
- New to EURO? Create an account
- I forgot my username and/or my password.
- Help with cookies
(important for IE8 users)
3709. Benefits of Vendor-Managed Inventory Strategies for the Reverse Logistics Operations in Closed-Loop Supply Chains
Invited abstract in session WD-23: Information sharing in sustainable supply chains, stream Circular Economy, Remanufacturing and Recycling .
Wednesday, 14:30-16:00Room: 82 (building: 116)
Authors (first author is the speaker)
| 1. | Vivien Schoepf
|
| WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management | |
| 2. | Arne Strauss
|
| WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management |
Abstract
As closed-loop supply chains (CLSCs) are gaining importance in many industries as key enablers of reduced waste and ecological footprint, new challenges arise in the integration of forward and reverse logistic flows. This research focuses on a variation of the production inventory problem with open routes and explores the benefits of vendor-managed inventory (VMI) systems for the reverse logistics operations of reusable transport items (RTIs). A stochastic two-stage program considering uncertainty of return flows is developed and solved under use of sample average approximation (SAA) and relaxation-based bounds. We find that the benefits of vendor-managed inventory strategies are not only linked to lower operational cost but also lower stockout risk in long-term planning. Further, in hybrid networks of partially VMI and non-VMI nodes, the strategic choice for which nodes to implement VMI can positively impact the network performance. This application of VMI in reverse logistics has been scarcely explored in the field and provides new managerial insights for practitioners in the industry.
Keywords
- Reverse Logistics / Remanufacturing
- Programming, Stochastic
- Inventory
Status: accepted
Back to the list of papers