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With the prevalence of a circular economy, extended producer responsibility, and the maturity of intelligent manufacturing technology, Design for Remanufacture (DfRem) has become a new driving force for the profitability of the modern supply chain. DfRem activities occur at the stage of new product design but have a significant impact on subsequent remanufacturing operations. Based on the closed-loop supply chain operation systems with DfRem, we systematically explored the impact of DfRem on supply chain operation decisions through a case study and modeling analysis and built up a modeling research framework of DfRem-driven closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) operation decision-making. Our research identified DfRem-driven model design elements and discussed the modeling of DfRem-driven investment decision problems, involving different approaches to obtain DfRem investment (i.e., DfRem-driven horizontal or vertical supply chain cooperation) and the ownership of DfRem-level decision-making rights. Moreover, the DfRem-driven two-stage and multi-period modeling processes are elaborated in detail. The aim of this paper is to provide other scholars with a more comprehensive understanding of DfRem research issues, and to establish an integrated DfRem-driven research framework for subsequent scholars to better conduct modeling research on DfRem.

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In the carbon neutrality era, firms are facing increasingly intense environmental pressure and market competition. This paper considers two competitive supply chains with consumers’ low-carbon preference under the cap-and-trade regulation, each of which consists of one manufacturer and one retailer. Considering competition or integration in vertical and horizontal directions, four different supply chain structures are modeled. By applying a game-theoretical approach, the equilibrium pricing, carbon emission reduction (CER) level, profit, and social welfare are obtained. Through comparison and analysis, the economic and environmental impacts of supply chain competition are explored. The results show that (1) the carbon quota acts as a kind of financial subsidy and brings direct economic profit to the supply chain, which cannot be used to incentivize the firm to invest in CER technology; (2) the HCVI strategy can bring the highest CER level, the most market demand, and social welfare among the four strategies; (3) for the enterprise and the government, it is recommended to take measures and enact policies to strengthen the vertical integration and horizontal competition between supply chains. Our study can guide firms on how to cope with increasingly fierce industry competition and environmental pressure by adjusting their operational decisions and supply chain structure.

Green product design is a vital measure to support sustainable development in a circular economy era. This paper studies the multi-product pricing and green product design strategies under different supply chain structures and government subsidy strategies. Considering different channel leadership, we establish the centralized (C), manufacturer-led (MS), and retailer-led (RS) supply chain models, respectively. By applying a game-theoretical approach, corresponding equilibrium pricing, green product design, and government subsidy decisions under different supply chain structures are obtained. Through comparison and numerical analysis, we find that: (1) the different subsidy strategies of the government have an important impact on green product development. When the government provides a uniform subsidy strategy, a RS supply chain can bring greener product, more market demands, more profit, and more social welfare; (2) when the government provides a differentiated subsidy strategy, MS and RS supply chain structures can bring greener product and more market demand than the centralized supply chain. They can also bring the same social welfare and the same product to the green design level. However, the MS supply chain structure can bring more profit for the firm; (3) the consumers’ green awareness positively impacts the design and development of green product. Therefore, it is beneficial for the firm to adopt reasonable measures to boost the environmental awareness of consumers in order to realize the sustainable development of our society.