| As reverse logistics has become more widespread due to regulatory and consumer pressures to minimize waste, manufacturers have had to address disposition of returned products in addition to potential internal waste materials. Research into the re-use of returned products has focused on discrete product manufacturers. Re-use practices by producers of homogenous, process industry products have been largely ignored.; This research addressed that gap through an exploratory study of manufacturers of homogenous products. The sources of returned products were captured. This included both internal sources, such as obsolete materials, and external sources, such as returns due to shipping errors. Also, the re-use options chosen were studied. Both the sources and options used were analyzed against a number of descriptor variables to understand why a given firm might have certain sources or re-use options.; The results indicated that for homogenous products producers, a larger percentage of returns are from internal rather than external sources. Common internal returns include out-of shelf-life products, obsolete products, partial container returns, and rework. Common external returns are returns due to shelf-life issues and shipping damage.; Common re-use options are “dispose or destroy”, repackage, “blend into the same or a similar product”, and “find a customer or market”. For both sources and re-use options, plants tended to differ based on industry, whether or not a product was for human contact or consumption, the nature of the product, and the customer. Twenty-five research propositions were developed as a result of this study. |
