Reverse Logistics - Tools to Manage Reverse Logistics
Reverse Logistics has received a considerable amount of attention recentlyand is fast becoming an integral discipline within supply chain management.A number of factors are driving this increased interest including improvingbottom line performance, social responsibility reporting, asset managementand environmental legislation, for example, the Waste of Electrical andElectronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive
Tools to Manage ReverseLogistics is a two-year research programme funded by the Departmentfor Transport. It is being undertaken by the Cranfield School of Managementand Sheffield University with support from the Chartered Institute ofLogistics and Transport (UK). It commenced May 2005.
The purpose is to develop a set of diagnostic tools to assist organisationsimplement effective reverse logistics operations. The project will buildon work previously undertaken which estimated that around £5.75billion goods are being returned within UK high street retailing alone.The logistics costs for handling these returned products was estimatedto be £500 million a year. The outputs from the reverse logistics project are now available in download form from the Department for Transport Freight Best Practice website.
The report based on the earlier research, entitled, 'The Efficiencyof Reverse Logistics' is available to download.