Designing a Closed-Loop Supply Chain Inventory Management System for a Plastic Recycling Company
MAGAZINE №1 (102) - 2021
AUTHORS
FEDOROVA T.V. - environmental projects specialist, «EcoTechnologies» (Moscow, Russia)
CATEGORY Green Logistics& Supply Chain Inventory management Return flows management (reverse logistics)
ABSTRACT
Over the past 70 years, the production of plastics worldwide has increased 215 times – from 1.5 million tons in 1950 to 322 million tons in 2015 [Darrin Qualman, 2017], and already in 2017, production volumes exceeded 400 million tons [UN Environment, 2018]. Plastics are produced from by-products of the oil and gas industry, primarily from associated petroleum gas. According to Plastics Europe – the European Association of Plastic Producers, between 4 and 6% of the oil produced is used for plastic production [Plastics Europe, 2017]. According to experts, this figure may reach 20% by 2050, due to the growing demand for plastic products, which increases the need for their production. Although renewable, the Earth's oil and gas reserves are limited, and they cannot be used forever to make new polymer products.
According to the report of the multinational company "BP" [BP, 2018], the world's oil reserves will last for 50.2 years, gas-for 52.8 years. In Russia, as one of the largest countries producing hydrocarbon raw materials, oil and gas reserves with existing exploration technologies will last for 25.8 and 55 years, respectively. At the same time, many products can be produced completely or partially without the use of polymers. In addition, plastic waste can be used as a secondary raw material, so that the demand for oil and gas processing products can be reduced.
Plastic waste produced by businesses and the public is a global problem [UN Environment, 2018] that threatens the health of people and the entire ecosystem of the Earth. At the same time, plastics take a very long time to decompose in the environment. For different types of plastic, these terms are in the range from 100 to 500 years. Plastic breaks down into small particles – microplastics that cannot be completely recycled by the ecosystem, such as paper or wood. This microplastic penetrates into the soil, as well as into water bodies and thus ends up in the stomachs of animals and fish. The United Nations estimates that every year 1 million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals and turtles, as well as countless fish die from microplastics entering their bodies [Sustainable Development United Nations, 2017].
Damage to the ecosystem can be avoided if non-degradable waste is not allowed to enter the environment. To do this, the production cycle must be closed. Thus, many companies around the world began to move from linear supply chains to closed ones, in which return flow management or reverse logistics appeared. Therefore, the task of organizing work with plastic waste is quite relevant in scientific and practical terms.
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Green Logistics in Retail Companies
MAGAZINE №5 (94) October 2019
AUTHORS ELYASHEVICH I.P., ELYASHEVICH E.R.
CATEGORY Industrial companies’ corporate logistics Green Logistics & Supply Chain Return flows management (reverse logistics)
ABSTRACT
The search for effective ways of waste management is an urgent scientific and practical task that companies involved in various sectors of the economy face. On the one hand, this is due to the need to comply with environmental legislation which imposes requirements to reduce the negative burden on the environment in the implementation of their activities. On the other hand, the effective organization of waste collection and transfer for recycling can help reduce the costs of companies and create an additional source of income, which will increase business profitability.
The article considers possible directions of work with waste generated in result of domestic retail chain companies' activities. The classification which can be used for the purposes of separate waste collection organization and their subsequent processing is offered. The analysis of logistics theory method whose modification will promote introduction of ecological principles in retail business is carried out. The results of domestic market analysis of waste processing, their nomenclature, and specifics of treatment, and prices for disposal are presented. Calculations of possible revenues of retail chain companies from waste transfer to recycling are based on industry averages.
The methodological principles set forth in the article are based on a systematic analysis of the relationships between the elements of logistics and environmental systems in the process of managing direct and return material flows. The methods of technical, economic and financial analysis, mathematical statistics and information processing were used to assess the economic efficiency of the solutions proposed in the article. The calculations carried out show that the organization and implementation of separate waste collection by retail chain enterprises can reduce the cost of removal and disposal of waste and have a positive impact on the environment.
Keywords: Green logistics return flows return flows management return management recycling solid waste waste management municipal solid waste
Return Flows in Internet Retail: General Description and Causes of Occurrence
MAGAZINE №6 (83) December 2017
AUTHORS
VINOKUROVA V.O. - Assistant, Department of Supply Chain Management, National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russia)
CATEGORY Analytics and reviews E-commerce corporate logistics Return flows management (reverse logistics)
ABSTRACT
In the article the questions concerning reverse logistics in internet retail are discussed. The authors justify the actuality of this topic in scientific and practical environment. The justification is based on several parameters: the internet retail development, the returns level in this field, the customers’ attitude concerning the internet retail companies’ returns policies, the number of articles devoted to this topic and the reverse logistics impact on the logistics service.
The criteria for the returns classification in internet retail logistics are defined and the classification with the detailed description of all components is suggested. The authors investigate and systematize the reasons for return flows. Also, the identification of supply chain links that are responsible for the return flows is made. The investigation is meant to be a kind of basis for the complex approach to returns management in companies operating in the internet retail field.
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Opportunities of supply chain cooperation to influence the volume of return finished goods flows
MAGAZINE №6 (67) December 2014
AUTHOR ERMOLINA M.V.
CATEGORY Reverse logistics Green Logistics& Supply Chain Logistics integration and coordination Planning the supply chain
ABSTRACT
Retun flows are becoming of larger interest to supply chain managers as “green logistics” awareness and opportunities for recycling and use of returned goods and materials grow. Reverse logistics definition fully corresponds with the definition of logistics as it is except that it refers to the material flow running from end consumers to suppliers. So, one might suggest that cooperation in return flows management would give the same benefits as cooperation in direct supply chain. And, above all, it must influence the volume of return flow, that is, ability to maximize or minimize it depending on the constituents of the flow and business goals. The article refers to the options allowing to include issues of the desired return volumes management into existing supply chain cooperation practices. It demonstrates that mostly cooperation helps to minimize probability of unplanned returns emerging, and proposes that it is most advisable to include return flows issues into the existing cooperation processes rather than start new cooperation basing on return flows.
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