4 Total questions (discussion board post and replies)

1. Write two solid paragraphs with at least one reference to fully answer the following:

Describe some of the challenges in the integration of forward and reverse supply chains.

2. Write a solid one or two paragraph reply to the following:

Describe some of the challenges in the integration of forward and reverse supply chains.

Reverse supply chains have been implemented in recent years. Whether it be mandatory for environmental reasons to reduce waste, or in an effort to recover revenue from end-of-life products, companies around the world are implementing it. There are various types of supply chains, but must of these are designed to carry out five key processes; product acquisition, reverse logistics, inspection and disposition, remanufacturing or refurbishing, and marketing (Kumar, 2011).

Kumar also provides two examples of reverse logistics in two separate industries. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the recovery and refurbishing of PC's. Statistics have risen to more than 70 million since 2012. the article goes on to mention the delay of personalization of PC's in the supply chain, which helps effectively minimize the return chain.

The second industry that Kumar mentions is the auto industry.  While the cost of reverse logistics in this industry compared to computer industry can be much larger, it is still a necessity. Car manufacturers salves and recover parts and materials from end-of-life vehicles, remanufacture used parts, as well as take returns of new parts from their dealers. the Vehicle Recycling Development Center (VRCD) was created by an alliance of the 3 major car dealers in the U.S. in order to increase recyclability of cars. The focus of the VRCD has been to make the disassembly of vehicles easier by reducing parts and snap fitting those parts instead of bonds or screws in an effort to create more parts to be possibly put back in to the supply chain for remanufacturing and resale.

While the idea of reverse supply chain is good, many challenges arise, with the main one being cost. In order for a reverse supply chain to be effective, the revenue generated by the remanufacturing of a used or defective product must outweigh the cost of putting the product back into the supply chain. The obvious goal is to keep this cost as low as possible while keeping resale value as high as possible.

3. Write a solid one or two paragraph reply to the following:

Discuss some of the differences between take back legislations in US compared to other countries.

Take-back legislations are "waste management policies in which manufacturers are responsible for taking back their products from end users at the end of the products' useful life, or partially financing a collection and recycling infrastructure" (Wikipedia, 2015). The three goals listed are: encourage companies to design products for reuse, recyclability, and materials reduction; correcting market signals to the consumer by incorporating waste management costs into the product's price; and promotion innovation in recycling technology. These legislations are meant to address increasing volumes of electronic waste and the hazardous waste they pose to the environment. The most influential legislative law in Europe is the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive which states that "manufacturers must provide a way for consumers to return e-waste free of charge in order to meet specific targets - or percentages of overall e-waste - for recycling or recovery" (Atasu & Van Wassenhove, 2011). Most companies in this area create a collective system where producers collectively create a recycling program which each company pays into based on their market share. In the United States, each state determines its own take-back legislation which lean towards producer responsibility for handling the collection of waste which allows for greater flexibility (Atasu & Van Wassenhove, 2011). The major difference noted was that producers in the US "typically share costs based on return shares, while in Europe, cost-allocation models are mostly based on market share... [which] in return-share models, producers do no pay based on their sales volume, but on their volume of product collected" (Atasu & Van Wassenhove, 2011). The significance of this difference is that it leads to companies with lower return volumes not wanting to share costs with firms that have higher return volumes.

Write at least two solid paragraphs with at least one reference to fully answer the following situation:

Air China is regularly selling out the cargo belly hold capacity on its scheduled Beijing to Los Angeles passenger flights.
Air China is considering leasing a Boeing 747-400 freighter (originally a passenger aircraft, but converted to all- cargo) to provide more cargo capacity on this route. What is your advice?

There are many aspects to this question ranging from additional needed information to supply, demand, cost, and pricing. You may address one or more aspects as desired.