Adaptive remanufacturing for multiple lifecycles: A case study in office furniture

Remanufacturing has achieved viability in a diversity of industrial markets as a means to both maintain the value of products and minimize waste. From carpet tiling to manufacturing robots, a wide range of goods have presently established supply and consumer networks that support remanufacturing, and thus offer a point of entry into a more circular industrial economy. Based on this performance, it is reasonable to expect that remanufacturing can in some cases be made an iterative endeavor; that existing networks may be leveraged to create additional lifecycles for previously remanufactured goods at net environmental and economic gain over virgin production. This case study identifies and explores factors of Davies Office, Inc. (Davies) remanufacturing processes for office furniture that affect the economic and environmental practicality of creating multiple remanufacturing cycles. Specifically, we use Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to estimate the impacts of multiple remanufacturing cycles and how these are affected by “adaptive remanufacturing,” a neologism to describe the use of an end-of-life (EOL) product core to create a similar, but non-identical product. LCA results suggest that adaptive remanufacturing is both an environmentally preferable and economically viable business strategy. Specifically, the ability to update, reconfigure, and customize previously obsolete products to meet present market demands enables lifecycle extension beyond what is achievable with traditional remanufacturing. In this, the study posits that such adaptive remanufacturing techniques not only expand the potential environmental benefits of remanufacturing, but enhances the long-term economic viability of remanufacturing in durable product markets.