The impact of reverse logistics in retail industry

The impact of reverse logistics in retail industry 1. Background In todays business world, Companies are looking for ways to improve there businesses by reducing costs, and improving labour efficiency. This enables the companies to implement supply chain management into the business. Supply chain management is a process which binds and links the entire process from supplying a product until it gets delivered to the end customer. Reverse logistics is a very essential process which is included in the supply chain management process. Reverse logistics is the process which involves planning, implementing, cost effective flow of stocks and machinery, finished goods, in-process inventory and related information from the point of supplying to the point of final consumption. Remanufacturing and refurbishing are the two vital aspects of reverse logistics which helps in reutilisation and reselling of a product. It also involves recycling of programs, machinery fault or similar asset problems. Few more terms, often used with reverse logistics are: Reconditio ning the machinery when it is not performing up to its mark, repairing it and then using it again. Refurbishing is working on the same product and enhancing and changing it from inside completely. Remanufacturing is similar to refurbishing but may require completely disassembling the product. Reselling is done after one or more of the above three. Recycling happens only when the product is not in condition where it can be worked on like reconditioning, refurbishing, remanufacturing so as to resell it. Reverse logistics is also about keeping the environment healthy by not disposing too much waste, reducing the waste particles or reusing them. 2. Literature Review According to the Reverse Logistics Executive Council, reverse logistics is â€Å"the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point of consumption to the point of origin for the purpose of recapturing value or proper disposal† (Xiaoming Li, Festus Olorunniwo, 2008).   The reverse material movement from end customers to suppliers has received much less attention (Rogers and Tibben-Lembke, 2001).   Most returned products are processed to put back to shelf. Two alternative waste management policies are studied and compared. The first policy deals with the recovery chain, that is, the flow of used products from consumers to recovery facilities. The second policy deals with the disposal chain, in which used products are carried to landfills (Murphy, P R. and Poist, R F.2003).There exists a range of ordered sequencing that different companies adopt depending on which activities are engaged in by the firm. Most of the companies set up their processes based on some knowledge of materials flows: inbound receiving, sorting, testing, storing, and outbound shipping. Different products may go through different routes; same products with different types of damages also may undergo different operations. Companies have operational procedures for machine centres; however, returns flows among machine centres are informal in many cases or many factors are not considered (Trebilcock, 2002).   Using the information, we develop a generic returns process flow by integrating various broad factors: demand, package and product conditions, test and repair, secondary market, vendor, charity giving, recycle, and disposal. Now a days, managers reactions were not quite strong as to whether recycling materials that are un-useable generate considerable revenues or if channel clearing considerably reduces obsolete items inventory, and if repaired item s yield reasonable profits in secondary markets. These set of responses are quite surprising because they are contrary to observations from the experiences reported in the trade literature (Reese, 2005). Murphy and Posit (2000) have reported that recycling of materials, reducing consumption and reusing materials are the three most commonly utilized green logistics strategies. Design for recycling (DFR) has become an important dimension for some manufacturers in the recent times (Masanet, 2002).   The ultimate goal of reverse logistics programs is to produce reverse logistics. Resource reduction refers to the minimisation of materials used in a product and the minimization of waste and energy achieved through the design of more environmentally efficient products (Carterand Ellram, 1998).   The increase of eco-efficiency leads to reverse logistics activities in the firm. The outcomes of the eco-efficiency calculations will help authorities in formulating criteria for collection of disposed products and in monitoring end-of-life performance of take-back systems (Huisman, 2002).   Companies must recognize that reverse logistics has become an important source of opportunity for improving visibility and profitability and lowering costs across the supply chain.   Reverse logistics offers an opportunity for improving visibility and profitability while lowering costs across the supply chain. A reverse logistics system will enable us to plan in advance, often as early as the design process, the way to handle returns efficiently and ways this can most effectively feed into the product design plan. Returns provide a revenue generating opportunity via value recapture- return, refurbish, recycle. Sophisticated returns automation systems enable you to leverage a products value by quickly placing it in another product for resale before values depreciate (Anderson, Pat, 2009).   Formerly, firms have been spending significant time and money in improving their forward supply chains while ignoring their potential reverse supply chains. However, in todays competitive business environment, it is important that firms study the profitability and benefits of implementing a reverse supply chain while considering the uncertainties   associated with the supply and composition of used products, disassembly time, recycling or remanufacturing time, and demand for recycled or remanufactured goods(Pochampally, Kishore K. Gupta, Surendra M., Dhakar, Tej S,2009). Few research studies have published specific empirical data regarding the reverse logistics practices of companies.   This multi-stage study employed interviews, site visits, and a mail survey to collect responses from 230 members of the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) regarding their reverse logistics practices.   Results suggest that in spite of the growing importance of reverse logistics, few executives have product return processing as their primary responsibility and often u ndertake this activity along with other job responsibilities.   Most firms handle the product returns process themselves and typically within the same facilities that handle forward logistics. Returning items directly to stock, repackaging and returning to stock, and selling as scrap, were the three top disposition options employed by firms.   Results indicate that, contrary to general understanding, the majority of retailers and wholesalers reported a recovery rate of over 75% of product cost (James R. Stock and Jay P. Mulki, 2009).   If a firm is not able to resell the items, they often end up in land fills, or perhaps recycled. Also, the profit margins could be lower for the manufacturer because in addition to the refurbishing cost, the product often must be sold at a lower price. In view of this, manufacturers desire to maximize profits often dictates the proportion of product that gets refurbished (Vorasayan and Ryan 2006).   Retailer emphasis on training customers in t he proper use of their products which can help in improving customer relations as well as decreasing costs of product returns. Retailers can help a great deal by initial sorting and by making decisions on processing versus returning to manufacturer. This could reduce the uncertainty in the timing and quality of returns that has been blamed for the unpredictability of reconditioning and refurbishing returned products (Guide and Van Wassenhove, 2002).   A reverse logistics flow is much more active, with much less visibility. Retail stores like primark do not initiate reverse logistics activity as a result of planning and decision making on the part of the firm but in response to actions by consumers or downstream channel members.   When a customer returns an item to a retail store, the store collects the items to be sent to a centralized sorting facility.   At the time of return, information about the item and its condition may be entered into the retail stores information syste m, and forwarded to the returns processing centre (Ronald S. Tibben-Lembke and Dale S. Rogers, 2002).   3. Research questions Do you typically return a whole system, or rather just a subset of components, and where should the items go next?   What is the importance of reverse logistics in cost reduction? How reverse logistics influence environmental and social retail environment? How to improve supply chain management with the help of reverse logistics? How to encourage customer loyalty using reverse logistics? 4. Expected Contributions Primark, is a well known retail stores were people do a purchase in bulk due to its low prices.   Demand is changing with a high pace; customer may like something today and something else tomorrow and to keep up with this pace organizations need to adopt returns management. For a clothes store like Primark, which go as per the market demand, they need to update themselves with time as customers these days are all looking for style, current trends and so on. This isnt easy to predict, no one can really forecast what is in today and out tomorrow, this is where returns management comes in picture. A company should know how to reuse or resell by doing some refurbishment. Retail stores and even other suppliers have exchange policies or payback policies which provides customer with an ease of exchanging goods and supplies, once these items are returned, it then goes to production houses for refurbishment or to see what can be done with them in order to reuse or resell them. Organizations in order to survive the competition and to maintain a good customer relationship have to be good at exchange policies and need to shorten the time from accepting the returns to the actual supplier so that they can reduce the operational costs and increase profitability. The important task of management is to mind the gap between returning of products till the time it reaches the supplier; this plays an important role in reducing the costs and increasing the profitability. Keeping the customers happy is the only source of income, so satisfying all they need is really very important. A recent case study implies that Primark is looking for a solution which would facilitate an increase in its volumes which were projected to grow by 30% per annum- from 45,000 cartons daily to levels of 100,000 by 2010. 5. Methodology 5.1 The research method This piece of study or investigation emphasizes more on the utilisation of the reverse logistics approach in retail business like that of renowned store primark. The investigation consists of field as well as desk study. The field study will be done on evaluating companys annual turnover, sales and collection of relevant data via companys website, conducting interviews with various decision makers of concerned departments. Desk study or research will consider examining literature collected via the website of the retail store, retail industries journals, press, statistics and magazines and other media sources. 5.2The concept of interview An analytical study via interview will be conducted for the collection of primary data. The concept is to evaluate the validity and implementation of current reverse logistical operations in the retail business of primark.   Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participants experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around the topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses (McNamara,1999). The qualitative research interview seeks to describe and the meanings of central themes in the life world of the subjects. The main task in interviewing is to understand the meaning of what the interviewees say(Kvale,1996). 5.3 Interviews The store manager of primark. The manager of marketing department. The manager of finance department. 6. Proposed study timetable Period Aim Task Duration (days) February, 2010 -March, 2010 Collect key principles and research strategic data Finding relevant literatures and evaluating it, online survey methods, interpreting research questions. 15 March, 2010 April, 2010 First meeting with supervisor Finalizing the benchmark of the research area. Discuss the coursework and the research subject of the dissertation. 15 April, 2010 May, 2010 Utilisation of resources Strategic and Statistical analysis of the data and writing the output. 25 May, 2010 July, 2010 Analysing and justifying key findings Interpreting and formulating the relevancy of the collected data for making the supreme structure. 55 July, 2010 Second meeting with supervisor Following the guidelines of the supervisor step by step and implementing the necessary changes to be made. 25 August, 2010 Third meeting with supervisor Fully utilising the resources in-order to follow the concept and application. Completing   the initial draft and heading towards next step. 25 September, 2010 Final meeting with supervisor Finishing the remaining part and Submitting the two copies with a CD of softcopy on 24th September, 2010. 10 7. Resource Implications It would be more helpful to make the use of newsletters, online forum, regular meetings through events, telephonic calls. All this is done to analyze the data and to know how often does primark change its outstanding stocks on the shelves, check the unsold stock to avoid wastage in-order to make improvements in the reverse logistics processes. The presence of application system is important now-a-days in order to maintain and analyze the huge amount of data collected through staff meetings. 8. Evaluation It is quite clear that in the future, more firms will lavish considerable attention on reverse logistics. Many firms have only become aware of the importance of reverse logistics relatively, and have yet to realize the strategic importance of reverse logistics.

Integration of faith no name

The Merriam Webster cautionary defines character as, â€Å"the good qualities of a person that usually include moral or emotional strength, honesty, and fairness†. From the beginning of time, people have had the example of negative and positive character. The lesson comes from the Bible in Hebrews 13:18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. These qualities, as stated in Hebrews make a successful leader. A successful leader has a victorious team which will produce quality products and attract loyal customers.Kettle and Keller state the vital role for any COM is to instill a customer viewpoint and create a loyal clientele (Kettle & Keller 2012). This is done through marketing and includes everyone in the company to reach to consumers. Within the marketing management the holistic marketing approach of 4 elements carries the workload that all employees should know the needs, wants, and interests of their market. This leads to value and satisfaction. If corners are cut to make a cheaper product the customer will not be happy with the quality.Building or providing high quality goods and services are a sign of character, being honest with good conscience. What would the employee or company do when no one is looking? Would they do the right thing and be honest? Or would they lie, cheat, and steal to close a deal with a customer or client? The best companies will be the ones that give back to the community and help those in need that may be down on their luck. A well known restaurant chain of having a good honest character is Chick-fill-a.As of last year 2014, Chick-fill-a has given over $68 million to education and various charities, working closely with the community. They have successfully built a loyal market. They also value family time and allow their employees a day off, Sunday. By being an example of giving to the community and creating a firm foundation in character, people are attracted to the value s and passion of this restaurant. A mission statement, ‘this is where you breathe real life into the lungs of your organization† (Ramsey 201 1).

The Building And Construction Industry - 6387 Words

Industry professionals The building and construction industry is a wide industry that encompasses many professionals. No one person does all the work from start to finish, many people are involved in teams that contribute to each stage of the works until completion. Material taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geotechnical_engineering Geotechnical engineers: Geotechnical engineering uses principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics to investigate subsurface conditions and materials; determine the relevant physical/mechanical and chemical properties of these materials; evaluate stability of natural slopes and man-made soil deposits; assess risks posed by site conditions; design earthworks and structure foundations; and monitor site conditions, earthwork and foundation construction. A geotechnical engineer will determine and suggest designs for the type of footings, earthworks, and/or pavement subgrades required for the intended man-made structures to be built. Eg high-rise buildings, bridges, medium to large commercial buildings, and smaller structures where the soil conditions do not allow code-based design. Material taken from: http://www.cruxsurveying.com.au/ Land Surveyors: Surveying is the science of the accurate determination of the relative positions of points above, on, or below the earth’s surface for the planning and efficient administration of the land, the sea and any structures on the land. Land (or cadastral) surveying, deals with theShow MoreRelatedThe Building And Construction Industry Improvement894 Words   |  4 Pages20 March 2012, the Building and Construction Industry Improvement (BCII) Act of the Australian Government was replaced by the Fair Work Bill (FWBI) 2012 which was implemented on 1 June 2012 (FWBC, 2012a). It was regarded as bill for ‘Transition to Fair Work Australia for the Building and Construction Industry’. The bill is intended towards: †¢ offering education, aid and suggestions to building industry participants; †¢ checking observance towards the Building Code and building regulations; †¢ undertakingRead MoreBuilding Information Modeling And Construction Industry1222 Words   |  5 PagesBuilding Information Modeling in Construction Industry Jyothirmai Chatrathi, chatr1j@cmich.edu BIS 625 Research in Information Systems College of Business Administration, Department of Business Information Systems Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48858 USA Keywords: Information systems, construction industry, Building Information Modeling. Background: The development of technology is very rapid in many industries, but in the field of construction it is very slow andRead MoreEssay on The British Building and Construction Industry2203 Words   |  9 PagesBritish Building and Construction Industry UK construction industry provides tenth of UK gross domestic product and employs 1.4 million people. UK designers, civil engineers, contractors, component and product manufactures. UK construction industry is one of the strongest in the world with output ranked in global top ten, with increase of private finances to public sector projects. British consultants and contractors are well positioned to offer skills and experience in building projectsRead MoreThe Construction Industry Procurement Of Building Materials891 Words   |  4 PagesThe construction industry procurement of building materials is very outdated and basic. Most purchases are executed by an authorized person in the procurement department via telephone or fax order. This simple process is outdated, slow, and prone to error. During the life cycle of a building construction project, the project manager will be subjected to constant building design changes. Some of the obvious causes for late delivery of projects are due to delays in the procurement process, impactedRead MoreThe Competition Of The Construction Building Supply Industry916 Words   |  4 PagesThe competition in the construction building supply industry is very strong on a local and regional level, and moderate on a national level. Sales in 2014 of the top fifty-eight U.S. building material suppliers who are similar to BLDR in product offerings totaled 18.7 billion dollars (Webb, 2015b), and BLDR’s share of this is over thirty percent. BLDR’s closest competitor, BMC STOCK Holdings, Inc. (BMC) is only half its size, however holds vast national presence and is closest in product offeringsRead MoreCompany Analysis: Willmott Dixon Group1568 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Wilmott Dixon Group: Construction Company I. Objective This study will examine Wilmott Dixon Group, a construction company and conduct a case study on how the company began, its growth, market, life cycle and will conduct a SWOT and Pestel Analysis. This work will further state a five-year development plan for the company to move forward in a sustainable and fair trade market. II. Introduction Wilmott Dixon construction company states an ambition to provide sustainable space for people, businessesRead MoreBuilding Information Modeling ( Bim )854 Words   |  4 PagesBuilding Information Modeling (BIM): Uses Future of BIM in construction Industry CON 524 – Building information Modeling Mohammed Murtuza Ali Date: 05-09-2014 ABSTRACT Building information modeling is a coordinated set of processes which is supported by technology for digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of places. It is a process that relies on information rich models to help owners and Architectural/Engineering/Construction (AEC) service providers to more efficientlyRead MoreConstruction Industry Profile1595 Words   |  7 Pages PART- A INDUSTRY PROFILE PART-A INDUSTRIAL PROFILE |Indian Construction Industry is highly fragmented. There are mostly |[pic] | |unorganized players in the industry which work on the subcontracting basis. As| | |the construction activity being labour intensive, construction companies have | | |been mainlyRead MoreEgan Report - Has the Construction Industry Met Its Goals?1721 Words   |  7 PagesEgan Report - Has the construction industry met its goals? This essay is written in particular reference to the emerging use of BIM software solutions. Sir John Egan made several remarks based on the findings of his original report in 1998 and the progress of the construction industry in the 10 years since in his 2008 address. The purpose of this essay is to look at some of the main points raised by Egan in his 2008 address and evaluate their relevance with regard to the structure and practicesRead MoreConstruction Industry : The Most Hazardous Industries1066 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Construction industry is considered as one of the main contributors to the economic development of the US. However, the construction industry is considered to be the most hazardous industries because of its unique nature. The safety uncertainty of construction environments has made the construction industry one of the most dangerous industries. The construction industry is recognized as for having one of the worst safety history records among all industries. Many building construction activities

Evaluate explanation for gender or ethnic differences in crime statistics - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 652 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/10/10 Did you like this example? The relationship between ethnicity, gender difference and crime in the U.K is a subject matter for research, government surveys as well as public concern. Under section 95, of criminal justice Act 1991, the government has collected an annual statistics based on race, gender and crime rate as well. Ethnic difference According to the official statistics there is a very huge striking difference between the ethnic minority groups. For instance, the blacks make up a population of 2.8% while 11% of the remainder population make up the prison population. Asians tend to make up a population of 4.7% however 6% makes up the remainder of the population in prison (Uggen, and Kruttschnitt, 1998, p. 340).   On the contrary, the official statistics show that the white people are under-represented in all the stages of the criminal justice process. Apparently such official statistics don’t state whether the members of a single ethnic community are more likely to committee an offence than any other member of another group. The statistics simply tell us about the involvement of the ethnic groups in criminal justice systems. For instance the difference between the rates of imprisonment maybe as a result of the courts handling down very harsh sentences to the minority group. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Evaluate explanation for gender or ethnic differences in crime statistics" essay for you Create order This paper also calls on other important sources of statistics which will demonstrate a direct sense of light on ethnicity (McNulty, T.L. and Bellair, P.E., 2003, p. 15). These sources include victim surveys and self-report studies. Victim surveys tend to ask different individuals to say what crimes they have been victims of within the past one year. Self-report studies tend to ask individuals to disclose their bad behaviours. Findings from such studies challenge the stereo types of blacks as being more likely to committee crime than white people. Gender difference Reports from the official statistics show that 80% of the crime in U.K as well as the U.S.A is committed by men.   The crimes committed by women are more minor such as shop lifting, men tend to commit more crimes compared to women with an exception of shoplifting. Apparently, in the past decade the rate of female crime in U.K has raised to a very higher level. However, even though women make up only 4% of the population in prison, the government experts in 1970 predicted that there would be no women in prison, something which is evidently not true (Tyler, 2005, p. 340). As study conducted on the causes of crime revealed that men who committed more were likely to have physical flaws which created an ape like appearance. By studying criminals in one Britain prison research reports revealed that more ape like features could be seen among the convicts rather than in the prison officers, this suggested that the convicts were less evolved that normal human creatures. Research studies also show that women are less likely to have physical flaws, this is one of the reasons why there are less female criminal activities that male. Apart from the above theory a further argument on the reasons why there are less female crimes the other reason why females are less likely to commit less crime is because females spend their whole lives under supervision at a very young age they are supervised by their parents while boys go out to play without supervision (LaGrange, T.C. and Silverman, R.A., 1999, p. 50). Conclusion In conclusion this paper gives a brief overview of gender or ethnic differences in the crime statistics in the United Kingdom. Even though they are limited in number, the ethnic minority group has the highest level of crime in the society. I believe, discrimination, stereotyping and labelling play a big role in rise in crime rates among the minority groups. This paper also reveals that males are more likely to commit crime activities compared to females. The study also reveal that the population of males in prison is higher compared to the population of females in prison (Broidy, and Agnew, 1997, p. 279).