Evaluation of barriers to reverse logistics in the cargo sector

The issue of sustainability is becoming increasingly important worldwide, and sectors that have an impact on sustainability are gaining attention in this context. One of these sectors is the logistics sector, which holds a critical position due to its significant impact on global warming. Approximately one-fourth of the world's energy consumption and more than half of the petroleum consumption are used within the logistics sector, particularly in transportation activities (Rodrigue et al., 2006: 2-2). The cargo sector, where transportation activities are intensively conducted within the logistics sector, plays an important role in this regard. One of the important topics in sustainable logistics is reverse logistics. Reverse logistics represents the reverse flow of raw materials, semi-finished goods, final products, and related information from the point of consumption back to the point of origin, and it can also be referred to as reverse logistics (Fettahlıoğlu & Birin, 2016). However, a review of the literature shows that studies on reverse logistics in the cargo sector are limited. The main research question of this study is, "What are the barriers and challenges faced in the implementation of reverse logistics in the cargo sector?" In this study, the DEMATEL and ANP methods, multi-criteria decision-making techniques, were used to determine the significance of the criteria referred to as barriers to reverse logistics. While DEMATEL was employed to identify causal relationships among barriers, ANP was used to calculate the weights of the criteria. The research is based on a survey conducted specifically in the context of return shipments within the cargo sector. Through these methods, the relationships and weights of the challenges encountered in the reverse logistics process were identified, and solutions were proposed for these challenges. The aim of this study is to examine the current issues related to the implementation of reverse logistics in the cargo sector. It is expected that this research will contribute to the limited national literature on this topic and raise significant awareness regarding the development of reverse logistics activities in the cargo sector, thus contributing to sustainability.