A Collocation-Based Approach to Designing Remanufacturing Closed–loop Supply Chain Network

Closed-loop supply chain network design is a critical issue due to its impact on both economic and environmental performances of the supply chain. In this paper, we address the problem of designing a multi-echelon, multi-product and capacitated closed-loop supply chain network. First, the problem is modeled with a mixed-integer, non-linear programming model that aims to maximize the total closed-loop supply chain profit. To reduce the complexity of the model, it was first linearized and solved by LINGO. Computational results and sensitivity analysis are conducted to demonstrate the performance of the proposed model. The main contribution of the proposed model is to address two economic viability issues of a closed-loop supply chain. The first issue is the collection of a sufficient quantity of end-of-life products that are assured by retailers against an acquisition price. The second issue lies in exploiting the benefits of the collocation of forward facilities and reverse facilities.