Planning system of inverse logistics networks

Abstract

It is required to establish the "Recycling-based society" in the 21st century. Development of effecive inverse logistics networks and recycling system in consideration of cost and environmental burden is a key issue. This paper describes planning system of inverse logistics networks. Application of the planning system makes it possible to evaluate optimized logistics network and also capabilty of recycling facilities by using actual operational data. It is difficult to get the optimal solution for the large-scale and complex problem of inverse logistics supply chain, because it involves specific constraints and the recycling requirements often vary. The proposed logistics planning system adopts effective discrete optimization. High performance inverse logistics network (flow and storage recycling facilities network) can be designed by using the planning system which is combined with the Geographical Information System (GIS). The planning system has been applied to planning and evaluating inverse-logistics networks for recycling municipal waste plastics.