The Impact of Product Recovery on Logistics Network Design

Efficient implementation of closed-loop supply chains requires setting up appropriate logistics structures for the arising flows of used and recovered products. In this paper, logistics network design in a reverse logistics context is considered. A generic facility location model is presented and differences with traditional logistics settings are discussed. The model is used to analyze the impact of product return flows on logistics networks. The influence of product recovery is very much context dependent. While product recovery may efficiently be integrated in existing logistics structures in many cases, other examples require a more comprehensive approach redesigning a company's logistics network in an integral way.