Product end-of-life problem in the context of reverse supply chain analysis

Abstract

An increasing number of products are now arriving at the end-of-life (EOL). The total mass of mechatronics products and planes entering the EOL phase is large. Addressing the various aspects of the EOL problem is challenging for rural and urban managers. Due to factors such as the overall business of treating materials and toxic waste from aircraft EOL, the culture of secrecy and the complexity of aircraft, it is not easy to apply reverse supply chain and related treatment approaches to resolve this problem. However, practices and solutions applied for designing reverse logistics and the green supply chain for mechatronic industry can be adapted for the aerospace business context. The increasing importance of sustainable development means that the insertion of social and environmental concerns into the supply chain has become crucial for producers and waste, urban and rural managers. This paper addresses various issues in aircraft EOL and the effects of these problems on the original manufacturer's supply chain and dismantler's reverse chain. The objective of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for analysis of the different aspects of the EOL problem in the context of reverse logistics and other related aspects. The relationship between different operations of the EOL problem and green supply chain elements is presented. Environmental and social impacts affect rural (aircraft storage and disposal) and urban areas (dismantling, spare parts storage, materials and toxic waste recycling). For the proposed conceptual framework, the challenges and opportunities with respect to applying these practices while considering the impact on supply chain are addressed in this study. In the context of green reverse supply chain, to evaluate the effects of applying effective planning and development for EOL practices it is essential to design a framework for performance measurement. Our results include proposals for better practices in aircraft EOL treatment. We can conclude that the conceptual framework is quite different for aircraft EOL treatment than for other products.