Generic Model of Reverse Logistics Network Design

Recoverable product environments are becoming an increasingly important segment of the overall push in industry toward environmentally conscious manufacturing. Moreover, reverse logistics is receiving much attention because of the growing environmental and economical concern. The efficient implementation of reverse logistics requires appropriate logistics network structures to be set up for the arising products flow from users to producers. The recovery options are multiform, such as repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, cannibalizing, and recycling. But in the published literatures on the design of reverse distribution network, only one type, especially remanufacturing, has been considered. In this work, the design of a reverse distribution network is studied, with the repairing and remanufacturing options being taken into account simultaneously. A mixed integer formulation is developed, which is solved using standard B&B techniques. Finally, a numerical example is conducted to illustrate the efficiency and practicability of the model. © 2008 China Association for Science and Technology.