Title: A Lagrangian relaxation heuristic for solving the multi-echelon, multi-commodity, close-loop supply chain network design problem

Authors: Hokey Min, Hyun Jeung Ko, Byung In Park

Addresses: UPS Center for World Wide Supply Chain Management Burhans Hall – Shelby, Suite LL23, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA. ' UPS Center for World Wide Supply Chain Management Burhans Hall – Shelby, Suite LL23, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA. ' Yosu National University San 96–1 Dundeokdong, Yosu, Chunnam 550–749, Korea

Abstract: In some industries such as e-tailing, e-auction and catalog sales, returns account for significant portions of total shipments, causing substantial increases in cost. As cost pressures continue to mount in this era of economic slowdowns, returns management has become a top priority for companies seeking to increase their bottom lines. As such, there is a growing need for developing a close-loop supply chain network that can help companies coordinate and manage both forward and reverse logistics flows associated with product sales and recovery. However, most of the existing studies on closed-loop supply chains focus on the backward flow of returned products and neglect the multi-echelon, integrated aspects of both forward and reverse logistics activities. To study this aspect of the problem, this paper proposes a Lagrangian relaxation heuristic for solving the practical size return centre location-allocation problem within closed-loop supply chains.

Keywords: closed-loop supply chains; location-allocation; Lagrangian relaxation; returns management; forward logistics; reverse logistics; supply chain management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2005.006292

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2005 Vol.1 No.4, pp.382 - 404

Published online: 14 Feb 2005 *

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