Optimal production planning for remanufacturing with quality classification errors under uncertainty in quality of used products

Abstract

This paper discusses a green supply chain with a manufacturer and a collection trader, and it proposes an optimal production planning for remanufacturing of parts in used products with quality classification errors made by the collection trader. When a manufacturer accepts an order for parts from a retailer and procures used products from a collection trader, the collection trader might have some quality classification errors due to the lack of equipment or expert knowledge regarding quality classification. After procurement of used products, the manufacturer inspects if there are any classification errors. If errors are detected, the manufacturer reclassifies the misclassified (overestimated) used products at a cost. Accordingly, the manufacturer decides to remanufacture from the higher-quality used products based on a remanufacturing ratio or produce parts from new materials. This paper develops a mathematical model to find how quality classification errors affect the optimal decisions for a lower limit of procurement quality of used products and a remanufacturing ratio under the lower limit and the expected profit of the manufacturer. Numerical analysis investigates how quality of used products, the reclassification cost and the remanufacturing cost of used products affect the optimal production planning and the expected profit of a manufacturer.