REVERSE LOGISTICS IN A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT: BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES

This theoretical paper investigates one of the supply chain management disciplines: reverse logistics. Reverse logistics is defined as the processes of receiving returned components or products for the purpose of recapturing value or proper disposal. Reverse logistics processes and plans rely heavily on reversing the supply chain so that companies can correctly identify and categorize returned products for disposition, an area that offers many opportunities for additional revenue. As shown in this paper, reverse logistics is an important business area and, due to many factors such as environmental concerns, legislations and customer demands, firms have started to invest time and efforts in order to build efficient reverse flows to gain competitive advantages and respect new environmental laws. Additionally, RL is a complex field and presents many challenges, which have to be overcome when businesses implement reverse flows. These challenges are still complex as RL remains a new business area and expertise, in this domain, is still being built.