State of the art review of quality, reliability and maintenance issues in closed-loop supply chains with remanufacturing

Abstract

The design of reverse logistics and remanufacturing processes and the recovery of end-of-life products have been well-studied in the literature. Quality, reliability, maintenance and warranty for recovered products and the remanufacturing activities that extend their life are integral issues in reverse logistics. This paper reviews recent and relevant literature on these issues in closed-loop supply chains, with a focus on remanufactured or second-hand products. The published literature is first classified into domain areas of research and practice. The wide array of mathematical tools and techniques used in the literature are then identified and mapped. Finally, the findings are summarised and the main research gaps are highlighted.

Keywords:

• closed-loop supply chain
• reverse logistics
• re-manufacturing
• refurbishing
• re-use
• quality
• reliability
• maintenance
• warranty

Notes

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.