Exploring reverse supply chain management practices in Turkey

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the current state of reverse supply chain management (RSCM) initiatives in several Turkish industries.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on an exploratory research regarding RSCM activities of Turkish automotive, white goods, electric/electronics, and furniture industries. The sample consists of all the companies included in the Top‐500 Industrial Enterprises List of The Assembly of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO).FindingsThe research findings show that the RSCM initiatives in the considered industries are still in a very early stage. Companies' involvement in product returns is mostly due to the legislative liabilities, and system inadequacies are emphasized as the most important reason for not being able to implement an efficient RSCM.Research implications/limitationsThis paper investigates the reverse supply chain practices of selected industries in Turkey and aims to enable researchers to use this study as a building block in understanding these practices and related problems. The limitation of this study is to solely include the medium and large‐sized companies in the industries.Practical implicationsReverse supply chain operations contribute to the economic sustainability by reducing waste and saving energy and material. In this research, an empirical study in the electronics, white goods, automotive and furniture industries is conducted, and potential research opportunities are discussed to streamline reverse supply chain activities in the industries. Hence, this study can be viewed as an attempt to increase the level of awareness on reverse supply chain issues.Originality/valueNo field study has been conducted to analyze reverse supply chain activities of the industries in Turkey. This research is a pioneering study and will provide a benchmark for the various research activities on related topics.

Who cares wins? A comparative analysis of household waste medicines and batteries reverse logistics systems

“…If enforcement cannot be applied through legislation, communication and education are found to be the key mechanisms to enhance public awareness, as well as to encourage positive and heightened environmental behaviour with regard to waste medicines (Erol et al, 2010;Prahinski and Kocabasoglu;. Our survey shows that greater personal or direct contacts with end users will be more effective in encouraging their engagement in recycling activities than just disseminating information on recycling.…”

“…Customers can be less engaged in EoU or EoL returns as they are not required to be engaged or do not get enough benefit from it. Research findings suggest that enhancing public awareness of environmental protection and conservation can have a significant influence on increasing product returns from consumers (Erol et al, 2010;Prahinski and Kocabasoglu, 2006), thus pushing the implementation of a RL system and achieving both economies of scale and sustainable development. Setting up an approved compliance scheme has also proven to be successful in enhancing public awareness of the necessity of reducing and recycling household waste.…”

“…To increase recycling rate of household waste, local authorities in the UK provide weekly kerbside collection service and operate household waste recycling centers (HWRCs). A nationwide RL system with widely spread collection points encourages residents to be more engaged with recycling (Erol et al, 2010).…”

“…Instead of making heavy investment in dedicated resources, companies may wish to : 1) outsource the RL activities to the third party providers (Min and Ko, 2008) who set up nationwide collection networks, or 2) use existing HWRCs to shift the risk and save significant equipment and infrastructure costs (Erol et al, 2010).…”

Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Literature Review and Research Agenda

“…(Erol et al 2010;Eng-Larsson and Kohn 2012;Kim and Lee 2012;Huscroft et al 2013), material usage and selection (Mayyas et al 2013;Lindahl et al 2014), and green supply chain practices (Sarkis 2012;Perotti et al 2012;Morali and Searcy 2013;Gimenez and Sierra 2013).…”