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Natural resources are being depleted at an alarming rate, also resulting in increased emissions and pollution. The call for a circular economy and sustainable strategies is now louder than ever. Remanufacturing can alleviate our environmental impact while still providing opportunities for profitable business. However, there is a need for a framework detailing the necessary steps for a successful remanufacturing start-up. This paper aims to identify the essential and supportive factors an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) must consider when transitioning part of its business to remanufacturing. Such factors could aid both current actors in the industrial setting as well as make way for further investigations and more advanced frameworks from the scientific field. The task is carried out through a novel combination of prior research on production development and remanufacturing, with support from a case study performed at an electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) manufacturer. This paper concludes that the first essential factors to be addressed when switching orientation towards remanufacturing can be contained in four categories: core acquisition and reverse logistics, labor skill and availability, remanufacturing facilities, and remanufacturing process and technology. Secondary supporting factors include design for remanufacturing and information feedback, remanufacturing process improvements, remanufacturing market knowledge, and organization, planning and control.

Lean philosophy, which promotes business excellence through continuous improvement, originates from the Japanese car manufacturer, Toyota's Production System (TPS). An area where lean has not been fully explored is remanufacturing, a process that brings used products back to useful life. Remanufacturing is often a more complex process than manufacturing due to the uncertainty of process steps/time and part quality/quantity. This study explored remanufacturing by identifying its challenges and opportunities in becoming lean. The challenges of a lean remanufacturing system do not exceed its advantages. Although some researchers state that it is difficult or even impossible to apply lean principles to remanufacturing, this research utilizes lean as a continuous improvement philosophy that focuses on improving the remanufactured products' quality, process lead times, and inventory levels.

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The consumption of resources is at an alarmingly high level, and there is a high need for resource-efficient alternatives to manufacturing. Remanufacturing is one way to reduce the use of both materials and energy, while still providing products with a like-new condition. This paper aims to define critical areas to assess when applying remanufacturing to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The research was conducted by interweaving remanufacturing’s role in a circular economy (CE) with a single case study at a robotic lawn mower OEM. The case study was split into three parts that separately investigated customer demand, product design and economic sustainability, respectively, all in the area of remanufacturing. This paper addressed the research gap in OEM strategy towards a CE with remanufacturing, defining five critical areas to assess when applying remanufacturing to OEMs: customer, product, sustainability (economic, environmental and social), business model, and production system. The findings of the paper could be useful for many OEMs willing to shift to a CE with remanufacturing.

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