Perspectives in reverse logistics: A review

This paper investigates the current development in research and practice in reverse logistics (RL) through content analysis of the published literature. We have used various web based search engines, books and conference proceedings to locate and review the literature. The review finds that research and practice in RL are focused on all aspects of RL—from collection of used products, their processing and finally to the outputs of processing, namely, recycled materials, spare parts, remanufactured products and waste material disposal. Many of the literature have also focused on case studies on various aspects of RL. The review also shows that mathematical modeling in RL research is mainly focused on deterministic methods and there are limited research papers considering stochastic demand for the remanufactured products and supply of used products by the customer. Also, it is found that the pricing models for acquiring used products are still developing. We believe that the characteristics of RL provided here can help the researchers/practitioners to advance their work in the future.