The conception of logistics as a concept that manages activities related to movement and storage in a coordinated way, in addition to the perception of the utility of logistics as a generator of added value dates back to 1844, when the French engineer, mathematician and economist Jules Juvenel Dupuit, establishes the idea of commercially associating inventory costs with transportation costs.
Already in the following years the conceptual advances in logistics are attributed to the American military development, due to some of its most outstanding strategic members such as Alfred Thayer Mahan, Cyrus Thorpe and Henry E. Eccles, who established important bases in the classification of processes. logistic and in the formation of their vocabulary.
In 1962, the professional organization of logistics managers, teachers and professionals CLM (Council logistics Management) was founded, with the aim of capturing the essence of logistics management or direction in commerce and business.
In 1985 and harvesting a group of concepts and elements that emerged from the fifties, such as cost reduction, marketing, outsourcing, technological flows and quality management, the Council of Logistics Management (CLM) defines logistics as: "A part of the supply chain process that plans to implement and control the efficient and effective flow and storage of goods, services and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to satisfy customer requirements."
Definition that marked the current logistics route, and around which a set of investigations and operations have emerged in order to perfect the conceptual essence of the CLM logistics idea.
So much so that 18 years later (2003) the change in the definition was little, contrasting with the advance and emergence of practices related to the logistical purpose, since the CLM restated its definition as: “A part of the process of the chain of supplies that plans to implement and control the efficient and effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to satisfy customer requirements ", proposing a new concept known as reverse logistics.
Logistics concept
From English logistics, logistics is the set of means and methods that allow the organization of a company or a service. Business logistics involves a certain order in the processes that involve the production and marketing of merchandise.
Therefore, logistics are said to be the bridge or link between production and the market. Physical distance and time separate the productive activity from the point of sale: logistics is in charge of uniting production and the market through its techniques.
In companies, logistics involves planning and resource management tasks. Its role is to efficiently implement and control materials and products, from point of origin to consumption, with the intention of satisfying consumer needs at the lowest possible cost.
The origin of logistics lies in the military sphere, where the organization tended to attend to the movement and maintenance of troops in the field. In times of war, efficiency in storing and transporting items is vital. Otherwise, soldiers may suffer from a shortage of means to cope with the harshness of the fighting. (Porto, 2009)
Based on these experiences, business logistics undertook to study how to place goods and services in the right place, at the right time and under the right conditions. This allows companies to meet the requirements of their customers and obtain the highest possible profitability.
Figure 1 shows the logistics process.
"Who pollutes pays"
Let's see in detail the changes that this new paradigm has brought about in each of the fundamental links in the life cycle of a product:
The design now has to go beyond the aforementioned, it must contemplate in its nature less polluting or directly non-polluting, recyclable elements, reduction of material variation, simplify the number of compositions and ease of disassembly, as well as a directed design to the reuse of the product. Raw materials must now focus on reducing the impact on the environment, incorporating materials from their recycling, simplification and standardization at their base. The production phase must now emphasize not only the usefulness of the product itself, but most especially the accompanying packaging. The environmental impact of said containers is especially notable, especially those that are difficult to eliminate and / or recycle.
Now marketing and distribution must take into account, first the positive impact on society that a product is non-polluting or has a minimal impact on the environment, second at the same time the new standards of packaging as well as its optimization. The acquisition and use phase in which, as previously mentioned, is the phase where the product interacts with the consumer, is affected by the growing awareness of respect for the environment in all its aspects, facilitating its classification when the end of life is reached. Reaching the end of life phase, it is notable to highlight the extraordinary change that all of society as well as the company in particular has had and has to make if we compare it with, say, 30 years ago.It is precisely in this phase where reverse logistics has fully entered to effectively manage these products at the end of their useful life as such.
Companies have appeared that operate as reverse logistics operators for both urban solid waste and industrial waste, recyclers, etc., which not only solve an ecological problem but also and very importantly add value and increase our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a country with its business activity. (Ecca, 2016)
Reverse Logistics
Reverse logistics is responsible for the recovery and recycling of packaging, packaging and hazardous waste; as well as the processes of return of excess inventory, customer returns, obsolete products and seasonal inventories. It is even advanced to the end of the product's life, in order to give it an exit in markets with higher turnover. Therefore, the activities included in the concept of reverse logistics are numerous.
Based on these activities, the classification by type of reverse logistics carried out is: Returns and returns, waste or products out of use and use of capacities. This term reverse logistics is not only used to refer to the role of logistics in product return, but also refers to source reduction, recycling, reuse of materials, substitution of materials, removal of waste and scrap, repair and remanufacturing. Its introduction is the result of growing environmental awareness in industrialized countries, which leads to the question of waste collection and used products or components and their recycling.
Benefits
- Improve the relationship between distributors and customers. It favors the image of the company by reducing the environmental impact. It reduces the costs of industrial packaging if it is reused correctly. It minimizes the industrial impact on the environment. It allows the creation of product substitution campaigns to build customer loyalty.. 6. Allows reused materials to be used as substitutes for virgin materials. Drastically reduces the amount of products in inventory. Opening of new markets for reused products. Possibility of obtaining state and European subsidies to develop this function. Reduce costs and increase profits.
Disadvantages
- Carry out previous studies to establish decision policies on the subject. It is not just a simple manipulation of the product. Reverse logistics requires that all the departments of the company are related to the activities that allow it to be implemented. Reverse Logistics processes are "unpredictable". Inspections must be carried out on each product individually and thoroughly. The new (reverse) chain includes a number of non-existent processes in direct logistics, which implies planning that involves the corresponding processes. must decide whether the company should carry out the different activities with its own resources or whether, on the contrary,will require the services of an operator. Returns in small quantities tend to represent higher costs when they are integrated into the system. (Coringrato, sf)
Types of reverse logistics
1.- Reuse: the main characteristic of this example of reverse logistics is the idea of giving a new use to products that have already been used in the market but have not suffered significant deterioration. The reuse of materials, such as in a plastic products manufacturing company, has also been implemented in raw material manufacturing companies, giving surpluses of the manufacturing process a new use.
2.- Outlet Sale: in the same sense that the reuse more and more companies opt for the sale of outlet products, for example, products with small defects but that can be used perfectly so that at least they can make a profit with the sale of the same. With this system, companies can avoid having surpluses and stock in their warehouses, while giving a second life to products that were originally going to be discarded.
3.- Repair: more and more companies offer repair services for their products, for example in the case of household appliances, many times they are damaged as a result of their use or a defective part. If the same company offers a repair service, it is also responsible for the complete satisfaction of the customer for its service so that if in the future you need another product, it will not buy it from the competition for the good service provided.
4.- Restoration: In the case of product restoration, it is about giving them a new useful life through the use of new technologies. So if you upgrade a commercial jet software system, for example, instead of changing it completely, you save customers money. We could say that restoration is about using so-called ICT technologies to products already sold for the complete satisfaction of customers.
5.- Remanufacturing: Remanufacturing aims for an object that has already been used to be manufactured again. It may sound a little strange said with the official definition, what remanufacturing is about is that a product that has already been used can be recovered through different processes so that it can be used again in whole or in part. What you want to achieve is to replace the parts that are worn out of use so that the product has a second life, thus avoiding the re-implantation of the initial manufacturing system, saving costs for the company.
6.- Cannibalization: With cannibalization, it is intended to use a part of the components of products that have already ended their useful life to be able to use them again in the manufacturing process of the new product so that the company saves the purchase of this product, being able to use again the one used for the old product. It is very typical of technology companies.
7.- Recycling: Recycling seeks the recovery of a material that in principle is considered as a waste in order to be able to use it again to manufacture a new product, for example plastic companies that use their components to make lamps or bicycles, the company reduces costs, waste while opening new markets.
8.- Controlled discharge: this reverse logistics method ends the useful life of a product. This method attempts to reduce the contamination of certain products by ensuring that the company is dumped in a suitable place.
9.- Incineration: With this system the materials are reused by burning them at high temperatures, with the combustion of the same one can get heating or electricity systems.
10.- Remanufacturing: this system aims to reuse products that may have become obsolete for the same customer, so that the company can offer this service so that the products are not discarded and are reused. As for example in jewelry, giving new life to some earrings.
(Navarro, 2015).
Business
DHL
Offering a product with "guaranteed satisfaction" clearly means that there will be returns. Managing returns effectively enables you to recapture the value of your products and still keep your customers happy. We will help you plan and implement a reverse logistics solution that saves time, money, and improves customer service.
DHL's reverse logistics services save costs significantly and improve performance for retailers in any market. Because we are leaders in supply chain management, you can trust our experience in product, inventory, and transportation management to protect the high value of your products and customer relationship to management at unprecedented levels.
We provide precise management, resources and technology to reverse logistics in order to increase control and asset recovery, improve information management and save administrative time. Whether you manage the return of your products in order to recapture the value of your products or manage your recycling processes to be able to safely dispose of your merchandise, we can make this task easier for you. (DHL, sf)
Walmart
Four years ago, Walmart in Mexico paid for the collection of cardboard and waste, in 2013, instead, the retail chain achieved savings of 207 million pesos thanks to reverse logistics and prevented its transport units from running empty. more than 33 million kilometers.
"One of the most serious damages that we have is the generation of CO2, it is possible to avoid that this CO2 is useless and that the truck moves empty by sending the units to the stores to collect merchandise, beach and cardboard," warned Fernando Savater, divisional manager of Reverse Logistics of Walmart Mexico and Central America in his participation in the Radio Logistics program.
Despite these savings, Savater acknowledges that the professionalization of reverse logistics is still a nascent issue in the country, since it is still seen as an expense while in the United States or Europe it is integrated within the value chain as a benefit.
According to data from the “Consumer Returns” study carried out annually by Worldwide Business Research's (WBR) Consumer Returns to the main self-service chains and point of sale, 70% of companies have a corporate return strategy and 13% are in its creation process.
In 25% of cases, returns are handled by the operations department, 17% by quality and 13% are under the supervision of the supply chain area. Only 8% of the companies surveyed have a department specialized in reverse logistics. (Sanchez, 2014).
The future of reverse logistics
E-commerce is one of the great revolutions in the world of transport, and Reverse Logistics is going to be one of the great protagonists. Its role is going to be essential when it comes to helping companies win customer trust in a critical area: the management of returns.
The road to reverse logistics optimization never ends and every day new opportunities arise. For example, among the most popular trends is the redesign of packaging and products. Traditionally, wrappers have only been intended to fit things into them and then remove them only once. However, it is more and more frequent that the need to reintroduce the products in their packaging in case they need to be returned is taken into account during design.
Making the entire Reverse Logistics process visible and integrating it into our Supply Chain will be another of the priorities of this field in the coming years.
conclusion
Reverse logistics is a necessity and an opportunity to increase the quantity and quality of recycled material. In turn, reverse logistics allows companies to maintain a closer relationship with distributors and customers, favors the brand image by reducing the environmental impact by reducing waste, while reducing the costs of industrial packaging by allowing its reuse. Reverse logistics is an important basis for other environmental actions such as ecodesign, where both are synergistic; or as an initiative to minimize the total global environmental impacts of a product.
References
Coringrato, F. (sf). Reverse logistics. Obtained from
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