Optimizing the supply chain in reverse logistics

Supply chain planning systems in reverse logistics present the industry with new problems that demand new approaches. The specific problem of the reverse logistics for the end-of-life (EOL) products addressed in this study is to determine the number of products to disassemble in a given time period to fulfill the demand of various components during that and subsequent time periods. We present a mathematical programming based model to solve the problem. When the problem is solved, it gives the number and timing of each product type to be disassembled in order to fulfill the demand of components needed at minimal disassembly and disposal costs. We illustrate the solution methodology with a case example.