Closed‐loop supply chains with product remanufacturing: Challenges and opportunities

Abstract

The body of knowledge regarding remanufacturing's role in closed-loop supply chains (CLSC) has been dominated by case studies and analytic models (either empirically informed or fully stylized). The objective of this special issue is to offer insights into the pressure points in remanufacturing-focused CLSCs, identify and explore new policies and solutions that mitigate these pressure points, and outline future research opportunities.Research in this area uses various terms for closely related, if not identical, concepts: CLSC with remanufacturing, Reverse Logistics, OEM servicizing with product remanufacturing, and most recently, the Circular Economy (CE). While the CE literature has embarked on a vigorous effort to create a knowledgebase to develop systems that will be more environmentally friendly as well as economically viable, some of this knowledgebase already exists in the previous research in remanufacturing, reverse logistics, CLSCs, or product servicizing with remanufacturing. Efforts to re-develop this understanding from scratch are more likely to hold the field back rather than help it focus on issues that are different under the Circular Economy banner.The objective of this editorial is three-fold. First, we aim to identify significant research opportunities in CE that are not well-documented and for which new knowledge is needed. In doing so, we hope to highlight these knowledge gaps, map the research landscape of CLSCs with remanufacturing, and inspire future studies. Second, academic research often runs the risk of being insular and often, in the pursuit of academic excellence, somewhat disconnected with reality. We articulate the characteristics of future articles that would likely make them more impactful to industry, helping bring the social and environmental change that CE promises. Third, we describe the exemplars presented in this special issue that do have these characteristics with some important insights for making CE business models successful.