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Inventory Management in Closed Loop Supply Chains

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Supply Chain Management and Reverse Logistics

Abstract

Inventory management is playing a key role in setting up efficient closed loop supply chains. Companies are recognizing product returns as a critical supply source, which they need to integrate into their material management. Uncertainty and a limited span of control add to the complexity of managing this particular source. In this chapter we review inventory management issues related to closed loop supply chains. We start by discussing different roles of inventories in this context and by proposing an overall framework. Subsequently, we review literature on corresponding mathematical inventory control models. To this end, we follow a standard structuring of traditional inventory theory and discuss applications to closed loop settings for each case. Our analysis is centered around highlighting novel characteristics entailed by a closed loop supply chain structure, in terms of both mathematics and business implications.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rotterdam School of Management / Faculteit Bedrijfskunde, Erasmus University Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, NL-3000 DR, Rotterdam, Netherlands

    Moritz Fleischmann & Stefan Minner

  2. Faculty of Economics and Management, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, PO Box 4120, D-39016, Magdeburg, Germany

    Moritz Fleischmann & Stefan Minner

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  1. Moritz Fleischmann
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  2. Stefan Minner
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaft, RWTH Aachen, Templergraben 64, 52056, Aachen, Germany

    Harald Dyckhoff (Lehrstuhl für Unternehmenstheorie) (Lehrstuhl für Unternehmenstheorie)

  2. Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Universität Dortmund, Vogelpothsweg 87, 44221, Dortmund, Germany

    Richard Lackes (Lehrstuhl für Wirtschaftsinformatik) (Lehrstuhl für Wirtschaftsinformatik)

  3. Fachbereich Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften Lehrstuhl für Produktion und Wirtschaftsinformatik, Universität Lüneburg, Scharnhorststraße 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany

    Joachim Reese

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Fleischmann, M., Minner, S. (2004). Inventory Management in Closed Loop Supply Chains. In: Dyckhoff, H., Lackes, R., Reese, J. (eds) Supply Chain Management and Reverse Logistics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24815-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24815-6_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-07346-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-24815-6

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