On the trade-off between remanufacturing and recycling

Abstract

Motivated by interactions with two reverse-logistics firms, we analyse the trade-off between two product-recovery approaches: recycling and remanufacturing. We consider a manufacturer who produces and markets a product with the objective of maximising profit. A unit of the product consists of two modules: A and B. After recovery, Module A can be recycled to recover its raw material, which can then be used to produce new units of either module. A recovered Module B is remanufactured and can be used in a remanufactured unit. Under this setting, we investigate three options: 1 only recycling of Module A 2 only remanufacturing of Module B 3 recycling of Module A and remanufacturing of Module B. We provide a complete theoretical characterisation of the regions of optimality of each option. Useful insights are offered by examining the influence of the fraction of green consumers, the take-back fraction, and product design characteristics.

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