A Comparative Study of Conservative & Innovative Reverse Logistics Management for Supply Chain Sustainability

MAJOR PROJECT DISSERTATION

PROPOSAL

A COMPARATIVE STUDY TO EXAMINE THE ROLE OF CONSERVATIVE & INNOVATIVE REVERSE LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT (RLM) AS A TOOL FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN SUPPLY CHAINS

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE TOPIC

Reverse logistics is referred as a new green business concept, simply referred as a productivity management. The idea of RLM i.e. Reverse Logistics Management prioritise environmental perspective, especially concerned to sustainability and social responsibility.RLM is truly a new approach for the firms to attain performance effectiveness and efficiency based on the sustainability concept. RLM encompasses three key dimensions; including RPP i.e. return policy & procedure, ROR i.e. remanufacturing or refurbishment & WAD i.e. waste disposal, all these dimensions prioritise recapturing value from the items, especially assemble-to-order or electronics (Prajapati et al., 2019).

RESEARCH AIM, OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS

Aim: This research paper aims at exploring areas prioritised by supply chain managers to improve reverse logistics management.

Objectives

• To make a thorough analysis on Reverse Logistics Management

• To analyse benefits & setbacks of conservative RLM systems on supply chain sustainability

• To analyse benefits & setbacks of contemporary RLM systems on supply chain sustainability

• To compare conservative & innovative RLM tools and identify which one is best

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

The extant studies have evidently shown that one central barrier affecting the management of reverse flows, particularly identified with a focus on return management/reverse logistics is inferior policy, which means deficiency in the existing business policy. As stated by Klapalová (2013) there is a gap in the existing literature linked to multiple aspects of reverse logistics management, such as studies have not shown evidences on the linkage between reverse logistics & corporate functions and this gap stresses the focus of the scholars on the development of RL policy within firms while examining benefits of interrelating it with the rest of the corporate management. Concerning this gap, this research aims at contributing while enriching the existing body of knowledge by showing significant relationship between the innovativeness of RL policy & improved supply chain performance. Adding to this, this study attempts to reveal significant differences between the corporations adopting conservative RL policy & the corporations adopting innovative RL policy while looking into perceived existence of a few barriers for the management of reverse logistics.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Klapalová (2013) defined Supply chain management is one major prospect that is followed in the operations of the organisation. This holds inclusion of number of prospects in the operations as well as necessary sets of practices is followed by the organisations in their operational context. Logistics is one among major prospect that is followed in the operations of supply chain management. Logistics operations in the supply chain management concerns with the movement of the products and goods in the operations. The logistics management can be identified in two types one of forward logistics management and other is reverse logistics management.

Klapalová (2013) adding to the above statement, stated that Forward logistics management includes movement of the material and products in the operations for manufacturing and further distribution in the process. Whereas reverse logistics management refers to the processes that are related to the reverse journey of the products in the operations for the purpose of return, replacement, repair maintenance, recycling and other practices in which the product moves back to the organisations warehouse and manufacturing area.

In a study carried out by Govindan and Bouzon (2018), the focus throughout was on understanding the concept of RL (reverse logistics) policy innovativeness and on the analysis of significant relationship between the innovativeness of RL policy & improved supply chain performance, also the study attempts to reveal significant differences between the corporations adopting conservative RL policy & the corporations adopting innovative RL policy while looking into perceived existence of a few barriers for the management of reverse logistics and based on a thorough analysis, the study confirmed that innovative RL policy is marked as one of the influencing factors that could highly support firms to remain profitable and outbreak other players in the industry.

RESEARCH METHOD

This research will be focused over exploring areas prioritised by supply chain managers to improve reverse logistics management. In order to assess the developed objectives in the operations the researchers will tend to focus over conducting a research that will be helpful in for identifying the areas.

RESEARCH APPROACH: DEDUCTIVE

In this research the researcher will follow deductive approach in the research. The purpose of selecting the deductive approach in the research process is the focus of the researcher is over assessing the developed objective through referring to the existing sources to gain appropriate understanding relating to the areas that can be prioritised by the supply chain managers that for the improvement of the reverse logistics management (Govindan and Bouzon, 2018). The researcher will focus over identifying the relevant literary resources and articles that are related to concerned objectives. Further the researcher will deduce the information from these literary sources in the operations.

RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY: POSITIVISM

Research philosophy concerns with the philosophical stance that is focused by the researcher in the research process for the development of information. In this research the researcher will focus over data gathering and development of information by following positivism philosophy (Sherif, 2021). This philosophy is considered to be appropriate in the operations to that an effective level of data relating to the developed objectives can be developed. Following positivism will be helpful for the researcher to identify the reverse logistics management in the operations. Considering the focus of the philosophy the researcher will tend to refer to factual data sets so that their knowledge and understanding can be developed.

RESEARCH CHOICE: MONO

A research can involve 2 data types in a research this includes and research can chose any of the data in the research process. It can either qualitative or quantitative or both data types can also be selected, these choices are also derived in different form. In this research the researcher will tend to use mono method as an appropriate choice for data development and the data types that will be preferred in the research is qualitative. Based on the selected data types the researcher will tend to assess and analyse the existing data available in the operations (Sherif, 2021).

RESEARCH METHOD: SECONDARY

In order to identify and explore the areas prioritised by supply chain managers to improve reverse logistics management, the researcher will follow a secondary research commencement in the operations. Following the secondary research approach the researcher will tend to rely only over the secondary sources that refer to identification and assessment off existing sets of data in the operations. The researcher will tend to analyse the data by following other major prospects in the operations so that effective understanding can be developed (Sileyew, 2019).

DATA COLLECTION: LITERATURE REVIEW

In this research, the researcher will tend to follow the literature review as an appropriate report that can be utilised for gaining effective level of understanding in the process. the researcher will tend to assess and analyse the available literary sources such as articles, journals, research papers, websites, blogs etc. and referring to these sources the researcher will tend to develop the information respective to the research objectives in the process.

DATA ANALYSIS: CONTENT

In this research, the researcher will tend to assess analyse the data developed in the process. The researcher will follow the content analysis in the research process for the development of information in the research. This data analysis method will be followed in the research using which the research will tend to assess the contemporary and conservative reverse logistics in the operations and also analyse the interrelationship between the conservative & innovative RLM tools. This will be helpful for the researcher in gaining appropriate sets of information that can be used for addressing the developed aims and objectives.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: DATA PROTECTION

In this research the researcher will focus over ensuring effective inclusion of ethical consideration in the research. The researcher will ensure effective compliance with the data protection prospects in the operations. The data collected and referred to in the research will be stored safely. The physical data developed in operations will be stored in the secure cabinets and the virtual and digital data will be stored in flash drives and cloud storage and will be secured using password.

REFERENCES

Govindan, K. and Bouzon, M. (2018). From a literature review to a multi-perspective framework for reverse logistics barriers and drivers. Journal of cleaner production, 187, pp.318-337.

Klapalová, A. (2013). Reverse logistics policy–differences between conservative and innovative reverse logistics management. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 61(7), pp.2285-2294.

Mohajan, H.K. (2018). Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and related subjects. Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, 7(1), pp.23-48.

Prajapati, H., Kant, R. and Shankar, R. (2019). Bequeath life to death: State-of-art review on reverse logistics. Journal of cleaner production, 211, pp.503-520.

Quinlan, C., Babin, B., Carr, J. and Griffin, M. (2019). Business research methods. South Western Cengage.

Sherif, V. (2021). Qualitative secondary analysis (QSA) as a research methodology. In Secondary Research Methods in the Built Environment (pp. 40-54). Routledge.

Sileyew, K.J. (2019). Research design and methodology. In Cyberspace (pp. 1-12). Rijeka: IntechOpen.