Reusable containers management : From a generic model to an industrial case study
Résumé
Recent years, the management of product return flows traditionally named reverse logistics has received increasing attention from both academic and business worlds. Indeed, the industrial world is more and more concerned with the environmental and economic benefits of such a type of logistics. Nevertheless, the maturity levels on these returns management strongly differ from one company to another. The aim of this work is thus to develop a generic model for reverse logistics management focused on reusable containers. This generic model should be adaptable to the specific requirements of a company (logistics network design, containers management rules …). After positioning the problem within the literature and explaining the approach, we briefly describe the developed generic model. Then, we focus on a precise and real life industrial application at a luxury goods company, describing their problematic, the tailored model as well as the results obtained.