GOALI: Modeling and Optimization of a Responsive Reverse Logistics Channel for Electronic Products

Texas Tech University, Lubbock TX

Investigators

Abstract

This Grant Opportunity for Academic Liaison with Industry award provides funding for a collaborative research that is targeted to modeling and optimizing the reverse logistics channel of end-of-life electronic products to improve its responsiveness to the market demands from both ends of the channel. The objectives of this research are three fold: i) establish a long term university-industry collaboration team in research of end-of-life management, ii) integrate market demand and customer return service requirement into logistics and reverse production scheduling to improve the responsiveness, and iii) investigate the integration and coordination issues in the whole reverse logistics channel among participants to optimize the performance at the system level. The following methodologies will be developed in this university-industry collaborative research to achieve the initial objectives: 1) Use random-sized batch arrival priority queuing system to model the logistics channel in regard to dynamic market demands and stochastic service requirements; and 2) Model the product return process and stochastic reverse inventory to optimize the reverse inventory policy. The market of the reverse logistics is estimated at 55,000 millions in US in 2004. The results of this research in this regard will produce marked benefit to the industry through providing optimized decisions support with improved efficiency of business operations. While the findings of the research will bridge the gap between the current knowledge and the new requirements of the reverse manufacturing industry through integration of market demand into decision process and negotiation based coordination, the methodology developed can also be applied to other scenarios where responsiveness and coordination is required. The roadmap in this project will also guarantee the maximization of the potential benefit to education and the society.