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Reverse Logistics and Challenges: Supply Chain Management of Automobile Industry

Authors:
Advances in Applied Sciences
2017; 2(5): 80-86
http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/aas
doi: 10.11648/j.aas.20170205.15
ISSN: 2575-2065 (Print); ISSN: 2575-1514 (Online)
Reverse Logistics and Challenges: Supply Chain
Management of Automobile Industry
Syed Abdul Rehman1, Yu Zhang2, Syed Shahid Khan3
1School of Economics and Management, Chang’an University, Xi’an, China
2School of Economics and Management, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, China
3School of Foreign Languages, Happy Home Foundation, Karahi, Pakistan
Email address:
asifbasit121121@gmail.com (S. A. Rehman), 2646592586@qq.com (Yu Zhang), syed_sss@hotmail.com (S. S. Khan)
To cite this article:
Syed Abdul Rehman, Yu Zhang, Syed Shahid Khan. Reverse Logistics and Challenges: Supply Chain Management of Automobile Industry.
Advances in Applied Sciences. Vol. 2, No. 5, 2017, pp. 80-86. doi: 10.11648/j.aas.20170205.15
Received: January 22, 2017; Accepted: February 4, 2017; Published: October 30, 2017
Abstract: The concept of reverse logistics has gained immense popularity in the recent times. There is no doubt about the
fact that reverse logistics in the supply chain management of automobile industry is becoming important. The purpose of this
paper remains to introduce the importance of reverse logistics in the domain of supply chain management, largely focusing
over the automobile industry. Highlighting the important challenges for reverse logistics in the automobile industry also
becomes an important aim of this paper. Reverse logistics is basically a phenomenon which refers to the management of
products when they are of no use to the consumers. Using such products with an aim to maximize the economic value for the
automobile companies reflects the importance of reverse logistics. The underlying challenges like less willingness to pay,
cannibalization, competition, lack of support from retailers, dealers and distributors, and consumers’ perception create hurdles
for companies for implementing the reverse logistics successfully, are highlighted in this paper.
Keywords: Reverse Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Automobile Industry, Challenges,
Importance of Reverse Logistics, Reverse Supply Chain
1. Introduction
According to Baenas, Castro, Battistelle and Junior (2011),
reverse logistics has become an important topic within the
domain of supply chain management in the recent times.
Reverse logistics basically means the reutilization of
products and materials. All the manufacturing concerns are
keen to be involved in the process of reverse logistics due to
the relevant advantages associated with it. There would not
be any exaggeration if it is suggested that there are several
challenges for reverse logistics in supply chain management
of the automobile industry. With the passage of time, the
importance of reverse logistics is enhancing. Many
companies, professionals and even academics are researching
for the benefits of reverse logistics. We live in a society
where resources are scarce and demands seem to constantly
maximize.
Demirel, Demirel and Gokcen (2014) and (Syed Abdul
Rehman Khan (2015) believe that entire business community
seems to be interested in the reverse logistics. For instance,
the major sectors like transport, consumer electronics,
textiles, press, and media remain few of the most important
ones to name involved in the reverse logistics. This particular
project would revolve around the importance and challenges
of reverse logistics in supply chain management in reference
with the automobile industry. An in-depth introduction of the
concept of reverse log istics will be provided in order to
assess the implications for supply chain management domain
of the automobile industry. The underlying challenges for the
reverse logistics to become prominent in the supply chain
management will be highlighted in this paper. The main
source of information for this research remains the supply
chain managers of automobile industry, who will be surveyed
through a well-developed questionnaire.
2. Literature/Theoretical Underpinning
The concept of reverse logistics remains an evolving one.
There is no doubt that the concept of reverse logistics has
81 Syed Abdul Rehman et al.: Reverse Logistics and Challenges: Supply Chain Management of Automobile Industry
always been in place; however, the usage of reverse logistics
became prominent in 1980s. Reverse logistics can easily be
defined as one of the most important processes that plans,
implements and control the backward flows of raw material
(Rubio & Parra, 2014). This is majorly done in the process
inventory, packaging and finishing of goods within an aim to
manufacture or distribute, to a point of recovery or point of
appropriate disposal. In simple words, recovery of value is
the basic essence of reverse logistics. People usually wonder
about the logic behind involving in the process of reverse
logistics (Bai & Sarkis, 2013; Khan, Qianli, & Zhang, 2016).
There are many reasons for implementing or operating
through the reverse logistics systems. Economic, legal, and
social reasons are the few important ones to name. The
economic reasons are the direct reasons behind the popularity
of reverse logistics. Reverse logistics essentially helps in
reduction of disposal costs and the usage of raw materials.
Also, any indulgence in the reverse logistics essentially
depict the significance of environmentally responsible
behavior for the ensuring the improvements in customer
relations (Ravi & Shankar, 2012; Khan, Zaman, & Zhang,
2016). There are also several legal bindings for being
indulged in the reverse logistics. For instance, the companies
in European Union are required to ensure the most
appropriate disposal or recovery of waste that is a result of
their production activities. According to Grabara, Man and
Kolcun (2014), social reasons behind the popularity of
reverse logistics can also not be undermined. There is an ever
increasing awareness in the society for protecting the
environment and capitalizing over the scarce resources. Thus,
reverse logistics facilitate the companies to be environment
friendly as carbon emission and waste generation is
immensely reduced (Rubio & Parra, 2014).
3. Reverse Logistics and Automobile
Industry
The significance of reverse logistics for the automobile
industry remains undeniable. It can be easily traced that the
concept of reverse logistics is becoming prominently
dominant in the automobile industry. There are various
obvious reasons behind this dominance. The most important
reasons to name are the constant product recalls, changing
legislative requirements, and focus over environmental
sustainability. With the passage of time, the increased
requirement for recovering the returned vehicles is gaining
more attention than ever mainly owing to the enhanced
environmental concerns. The most important aspect to
analyze in this aspect is that despite the obvious advantages
of the reverse logistics to the industry of automobiles, not
many manufacturers have successfully implemented the
system of reverse logistics (Aitken & Harrison, 2013).
Researchers suggest that reverse logistics only account for
three to four percent of a company’s total logistics costs in
the automobile industry. Ravi (2014) believes that the
advantages of reverse logistics systems essentially suggest
that automobile companies can save up to ten percent from
their yearly logistics. Companies like Bosch, Volvo and
General Motors are the few ones to name which have
successfully implemented the reverse logistics in their supply
chain management. Reverse logistics is an expanding domain
and is essentially emphasized by many automobile
companies. Companies realize the importance of reverse
logistics for their business operations (Lee & Lam, 2012).
However, the underlying challenges create hurdles for
companies to implement the reverse logistics in an effective
manner.
4. Challenges for Reverse Logistics
There are different challenges which underline the
implementation of reverse logistics in the supply chain
management of automobile companies. According to
Demirel, Demirel and Gokcen (2014) and Khan, Qianli,
SongBo, Zaman, & Zhang, (2017) these are the challenges due
to which automobile companies hesitate to become involved
in the process of reverse logistics. With the passage of time,
it is important to overcome these challenges in order to
capitalize the available resources in the most effective
manner (Chan, Chan & Jain, 2012). Few of the most
important challenges for the implementation of reverse
logistics in the supply chain management of automobile
companies are highlighted below.
Willingness to Pay: One of the most important
challenges that highlight the utilization of reverse
logistics is the minimum willingness to pay for the
products. There is a general assumption amongst
consumers that remanufactured products are not as
effective and useful as the newly made products are.
This assumption directly impacts the willingness to pay
for the remanufactured products. Consumers essentially
believe that the remanufactured products have lesser
value than the original products (Chan, Chan & Jain,
2012). Consumers are not at all willing to pay any
premium prices for such products as compared to the
genuine products. This is one of the most important
challenges that force the organizations not to be
involved in the reverse logistics process. Consumers
urge that companies must clearly state that the products
are remanufactured. If the remanufactured products are
priced low, consumers would believe that the quality is
low and thus only few consumers would pay for such
products (Ravi & Shankar, 2012).
Cannibalization: Cannibalization can be seen as another
important challenge related to the reverse logistics in
the supply chain management of automobile industry.
Remanufacturing of old products can essentially
cannibalize the sales of new products, if the customers
are convinced to purchase the remanufactured products.
This might lead to a situation where companies are not
able to sell their new products. However, the underlying
benefits associated with the remanufacturing can easily
outcast the costs of cannibalization (Aitken & Harrison,
Advances in Applied Sciences 2017; 2(5): 80-86 82
2013).
Competition: The immense competition from the end of
original automobile manufactures essentially has an
impact over the companies involved in
remanufacturing. In today’s competitive environment, it
becomes increasingly important for the organizations to
remain competitive in the market. According to Ravi
(2014), in the situations where new designs and
technologically advanced automobiles are manufactured
every other day, the survival of companies doing
reverse logistics becomes difficult. The ongoing
competition in the industry creates important challenges
in implementing the reverse logistics.
Consumers’ Perception: Another important challenge
that entails the domain of reverse logistics is related to
the consumers’ perceptions. Understanding the
importance of consumer behavior is relevant to
understand in this regard. Consumers do not buy
products without the satisfaction of the product’s
quality. Ahsan (2013) believe that there is a general
consumers’ perception that the remanufactured products
are low in quality. This perception impacts the sales of
remanufacturing products (Lee & Lam, 2012). Thus
when consumers’ are not ready to buy remanufactured
products, there is no point in being involved in the
entire process. Therefore, consumers’ perception
becomes an important challenge for the reverse logistics
in the automobile industry.
Lack of Support from Retailers, Dealers and Distributors:
Manufacturers always remain concerned about the support
from retailers, dealers and distributors. Grabara, Man and
Kolcun (2014) believe that one of the most important
challenges for reverse logistics is related to the lack of
support from retailers, dealers, and distributors. Retailers,
dealers and distributors do not support the remanufactured
products mainly because of the lack of interest of customers
to buy such products.
5. Methodology
Selecting an appropriate methodology remains extremely
important for righting an effective research paper. The basic
purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of reverse
logistics and the relevant challenges in supply chain
management of automobile industry. The automobile
industry within United States of America remains extremely
well-developed and efficient. However, not all the
automobile companies are encouraged to use the reverse
logistics in their supply chain mainly due to the associated
challenges. The methodology deployed in this research
project is mainly primary quantitative. About 200 supply
chain managers of different automobile companies were
surveyed through a designed questionnaire.
The basic aim of this survey was to identify the importance
of reverse logistics and the basic challenges in the supply
chain management of automobile industry relevant to the
implementation of reverse logistics. Primary quantitative
technique was adopted in order to gain the most relevant first
hand information about the topic from the relevant managers.
The data gathered through the questionnaires essentially
reflect the opinions of different supply chain managers within
the automobile industry in references with the importance
and challenges of reverse logistics. The data gathered
through questionnaires was analyzed through descriptive
statistics in order to present some important findings. The
most important findings and results of the questionnaires are
discussed in the next section.
6. Results/Findings
200 supply chain managers are surveyed in order to gain
the first hand information about the importance of reverse
logistics and the underlying challenges faced. Following
most important highlights are identified through the survey.
Table 1. Relevance of reverse logistics in supply chain.
N Range Minimum
Maximum
Mean Std. Deviation
Variance
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic Statistic Statistic
Std. Error
Statistic Statistic
4. On a scale of 0 to 4 (0 being the lowest and 4
being the highest) how would you rate the relevance
of reverse logistics in supply chain management for
automobile industry?
200 4.00 .00 4.00 1.3250 .06907 .97680 .954
Valid N (listwise) 200
The question asked about the importance of reverse logistics in supply chain management of automobile industry. Almost all
the respondents were aware of the importance of reverse logistics in supply chain management for automobile industry. This
aspect clearly reveals that reverse logistics is becoming important with the passage of time for the automobile industry.
Table 2. Improvement of overall firm’ supply chain.
N Range Minimum
Maximum
Mean Std. Deviation
Variance
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic Statistic Statistic
Std. Error
Statistic Statistic
5. Has your company’s overall supply chain
management improved due to the implementation of
reverse logistics?
200 1.00 .00 1.00 .1700 .02663 .37658 .142
Valid N (listwise) 200
This question asked about the level of improvements witnessed in the company’s supply chain due to the implementation of
83 Syed Abdul Rehman et al.: Reverse Logistics and Challenges: Supply Chain Management of Automobile Industry
reverse logistics. Almost all the respondents agreed that the overall supply chain management was improved due to the
implementation of reverse logistics. This aspect also reflects that reverse logistics is significance for the supply chain
management.
Table 3. Reverse logistics of supply chain in automobile industry.
N Range Minimum
Maximum
Mean Std. Deviation
Variance
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic Statistic Statistic
Std. Error
Statistic Statistic
6. On a scale of 0 to 4 (0 being the lowest and 4
being the highest) does the challenges in reverse
logistics of supply chain management in automobile
industry create hurdles in its effective
implementation?
200 3.00 .00 3.00 .6950 .07060 .99848 .997
Valid N (listwise) 200
The question asked the significance of challenges in reverse logistics of supply chain management in automobile industry.
The answers reveal majority of supply chain managers were hesitant to implement the reverse logistics due to the underlying
challenges associated with its implementation.
Table 4. Less willingness to pay for remanufactured products.
N Range Minimum
Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Variance
Statistic Statistic
Statistic Statistic Statistic Std. Error
Statistic Statistic
7. Less willingness to pay for remanufactured
products is an important reason behind the
less utilization of reverse logistics?
200 4.00 .00 4.00 1.3700 .06884 .97357 .948
Valid N (listwise) 200
The question asked whether willingness to pay for remanufactured products is an important challenge due to which
companies do not focus over the implementing the reverse logistics. The answers clearly reveal that majority of respondents
agree that less willingness to pay for remanufactured products is a major challenge for companies.
Table 5. Cannibalization of new products sales.
N Range Minimum
Maximum
Mean Std. Deviation
Variance
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic Statistic Statistic
Std. Error
Statistic Statistic
8. Cannibalization of new products sales can occur
due to reverse logistics in the automobile industry? 200 4.00 .00 4.00 1.7900 .06558 .92747 .860
Valid N (listwise) 200
This question asked for the importance of cannibalization as a challenge for reverse logistics. Almost all the respondents strongly
agreed with the cannibalization as an important challenge for the automobile industry while considering about reverse logistics.
Table 6. Implementation of reverse logistics in the automobile industry.
N Range Minimum
Maximum
Mean Std. Deviation
Variance
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic Statistic Statistic
Std. Error
Statistic Statistic
9. Increasing competition in the market also
impacts the implementation of reverse logistics in
the automobile industry?
200 4.00 .00 4.00 1.7600 .06621 .93637 .877
Valid N (listwise) 200
This question considered the increasing competition as an important challenge for implementing the reverse logistics.
Supply managers agreed that the increasing competition eventually results in creating hurdles for the reverse logistics.
Table 7. Challenge for reverse logistics in automobile industry.
N Range Minimum
Maximum
Mean Std. Deviation
Variance
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic Statistic Statistic
Std. Error
Statistic Statistic
10. Negative consumer perception regarding the
remanufactured products is an important challenge
for reverse logistics in automobile industry?
200 4.00 .00 4.00 1.2800 .05980 .84568 .715
Valid N (listwise) 200
Negative perception of customers is one of the most important challenges for reverse logistics. Respondents agreed that
negative perception of customers makes it difficult for the automobile companies to successfully implement the reverse
logistics.
Advances in Applied Sciences 2017; 2(5): 80-86 84
Table 8. Lack of support from retailers, dealers and distributors.
N Range Minimum
Maximum
Mean Std. Deviation
Variance
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic Statistic Statistic
Std. Error
Statistic Statistic
14. Lack of support from retailers, dealers and
distributors also hinder the adoption of reverse
logistics in automobile industry
200 4.00 .00 4.00 1.2800 .05722 .80924 .655
Valid N (listwise) 200
Lack of support from retailers, dealers, and distributors
immensely impact the implementation of reverse logistics in
automobile industry. Participants agreed that the lack of
support remains an important challenge for the reverse
logistics implementation.
7. Discussion
Survey results remain extremely important to depict the
importance of reverse logistics in the supply chain management
of automobile industry. All the questions asked in the survey
were majorly related to the importance of reverse logistics and
the underlying challenges faced in the implementation of reverse
logistics. All the participants of the survey were the supply chain
managers of different automobile companies within United
States of America. All the participants provided some important
information regarding the reverse logistics and its
implementation in the supply chain management of the industry.
The concept of reverse logistics is essentially relevant to the
domain of supply chain management. There would not be any
exaggeration if it is suggested that the concept of reverse
logistics is meant to impact the supply chain management in a
positive manner. According to Baenas, Castro, Battistelle and
Junior (2011) and Rehman Khan & Qian Li, (2015),
companies realize the importance of reverse logistics but are not
capable of implementing it in an effective manner.
The challenges for reverse logistics in supply chain
management of automobile industry remain one of the most
important reasons due to which companies do not implement
the system successfully (Bai & Sarkis, 2013). In simple
words, not all the companies have been capable of handling
the challenges of reverse logistics for recovering and reusing
the returned vehicles in an effective manner. The most
important challenges identified from the research revolves
around less willingness of customers to pay, cannibalization,
competition, negative perception of consumers, and most
importantly the lack of support from dealers, retailers, and
manufacturers towards the remanufactured products. All the
highlighted challenges are mainly related to the fact that
consumers perceive the remanufactured or refurbished goods
as low in quality. According to Ahsan (2013), it is important
for the marketers to change the perception of consumers in
order to promote the reverse logistics in the supply chain
management of automobile industry.
8. Implication to Research and Practice
The implication of this research to the automobile industry
remains significant. Throughout the research, it was
prominent that there are many significant challenges that
impact the implementation of reverse logistics in the
automobile industry. Through the identification of most
important challenges, the supply chain managers of the
automobile industry can essentially gauge the solutions to
deal with the specified challenges. The implication of this
research to practice can be seen in the manner that supply
chain managers are aware of all the potential challenges
related to the implementation of reverse logistics. Thus,
supply chain managers can make strategic decisions and
devise relevant strategies to cope up with the challenges and
fully deploy the concept of reverse logistics in the
automobile industry. Overall, the supply chain managers can
also realize the various benefits associated with
implementing reverse logistics in the company and will be
motivated to handle the challenges abruptly.
9. Conclusion
Reverse logistics can be seen as the procedure of transferring
the good from their final destination in order to capture value, or
making appropriate disposals. With the passage of time, the
importance of reverse logistics is increasing in the automobile
industry. It can be immensely beneficial for the world to focus
over reverse logistics in order to capitalize over the resources
available. This research essentially focused over the importance
and different challenges faced by the automobile companies in
implementing the reverse logistics. The most important
challenges identified in the research are less willingness to pay,
cannibalization, competition, negative perception of consumers’,
and lack of support from retailers, dealers and distributors.
Supply chain managers must come up with appropriate
strategies in order to deal with all the challenges highlighted in
the research.
Future Research
Not every research is always perfect. Every research is
conducted with an aim that it would provide reliable and
valid results for the industry. However, it is not practically
possible for researchers to cover all the aspects of any given
topic. Likewise, this research was meant to explore the
importance of reverse logistics along with the major
challenges faced by the automobile companies in
implementing the reverse logistics. Due to the shortage of
time, resources, and other factors, the research might have
some limitations. Therefore, the future researches must be
directed towards exploring further potential challenges along
with the relevant solutions for the challenges explored. Also,
85 Syed Abdul Rehman et al.: Reverse Logistics and Challenges: Supply Chain Management of Automobile Industry
researches can be made regarding the reverse logistics and its
importance in other industries than automobiles.
Appendix I – Questionnaire
1. How long have you been working in the supply chain
industry?
Less than 6 months
1 year to less than 3 years
3 years to less than 5 years
5 years or more
2. Are you aware of the concept of reverse logistics in
supply chain management?
Yes
Somewhat
No
3. On a scale of 0 to 4 (0 being the lowest and 4 being the
highest) how would you rate the importance of reverse
logistics in supply chain management?
Strongly Important
Important
Neutral
Not Important
Strongly Not Important
4. On a scale of 0 to 4 (0 being the lowest and 4 being the
highest) how would you rate the relevance of reverse
logistics in supply chain management for automobile
industry?
Strongly Important
Important
Neutral
Not Important
Strongly Not Important
5. Has your company’s overall supply chain management
improved due to the implementation of reverse
logistics?
Yes
No
6. On a scale of 0 to 4 (0 being the lowest and 4 being the
highest) does the challenges in reverse logistics of
supply chain management in automobile industry create
hurdles in its effective implementation?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
7. Less willingness to pay for remanufactured products is
an important reason behind the less utilization of
reverse logistics?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
8. Cannibalization of new products sales can occur due to
reverse logistics in the automobile industry?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
9. Increasing competition in the market also impacts the
implementation of reverse logistics in the automobile
industry?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
10. Negative consumer perception regarding the
remanufactured products is an important challenge for
reverse logistics in automobile industry?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
11. Designing reverse supply chain process is a difficult
task, which affects adoption of reverse logistics by
automobile industry
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
12. It is difficult for customers to follow return
authorization details or returns policy
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
13. Financial constraints also hinder the adoption of
reverse logistics
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
14. Lack of support from retailers, dealers and distributors
also hinder the adoption of reverse logistics in
automobile industry
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Advances in Applied Sciences 2017; 2(5): 80-86 86
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... OG2 OG3 OG4 TC1 TC2 TC3 TC4 IN1 IN2 IN3 IN4 IN5 PD1 PD2 PD3 PD4 PD5 SC1 SC2 SC3 O G1 (0,1,0) (0. 68 Table 8. Total relation matrix of specific barriers for an expert group. ...
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Recently, manufacturing companies aspire to implement reverse logistics in response to stakeholders' requirements to reduce negative environmental consequences, improve organizational sustainable performance and ultimately increase competitive advantage. However, implementing reverse logistics can be impeded by a criteria framework, and necessitates the careful analysis of how such criteria interact with each other in the presence of uncertainty. Thus, in this study, we propose an integrated multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methodology that leverages the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) under Intuitionistic Fuzzy (IF) environment and Evaluation Based on Distance to Average Solution (EDAS). Within the proposed methodology, firstly, the IF-DEMATEL is applied to obtain the interrelationships between the cri-teria/barriers and then, the EDAS method is applied to prioritize the criteria based on the appraisal scores evaluation. An application case within the Nigerian manufacturing sector was utilized to illustrate the viability of the proposed methodology. The study results indicate that the highly prioritized barriers to implementing reverse logistics within the Nigerian manufacturing sector include low product quality, risk of storing hazardous materials and low technical expertise. Consequently , this study makes a profound contribution to the theory and practice of reverse logistics by presenting an integrated MCDM methodology that can effectively address the criticality of barriers in the way of reverse logistics progression in a complex and uncertain scenario. Keywords: reverse logistics; multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM); barriers; IF-DEMATEL; EDAS
... Bilqis et al. (2018) is devoted to the reverse-logistical processes in the course of development of the efficient management of the waste of production enterprises of the Nigerian companies. Rehman et al. (2017) and Hosseini et al. (2015) are devoted to investigation of the problem of the reverse logistics in the course of the waste management, including management of the SMW in the automobile and construction industries (Rehman et al. 2017;Hosseini et al. 2015). The multi-criteria and multi-factor analyses were used in these articles. ...
... Bilqis et al. (2018) is devoted to the reverse-logistical processes in the course of development of the efficient management of the waste of production enterprises of the Nigerian companies. Rehman et al. (2017) and Hosseini et al. (2015) are devoted to investigation of the problem of the reverse logistics in the course of the waste management, including management of the SMW in the automobile and construction industries (Rehman et al. 2017;Hosseini et al. 2015). The multi-criteria and multi-factor analyses were used in these articles. ...
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