Integrated logistics network design for remanufacturing systems and a mixed integer programming model

Firms give significant importance to some issues like maximizing the service performance for customers, reducing the manufacturing lead time and minimizing the inventory level in order to be more competitive to others in the market. In order to achieve these goals, companies attempt to apply strategies like production distribution planning, supply chain management, and logistics management. On the other hand, nowadays there has been a growing interest in recoverable manufacturing systems, reverse logistics, recycling, and remanufacturing issues because of the increasing environmental concern and also depletion of natural resources. Firms incorporate reverse flow to their systems for such reasons as economic and ecological reasons, regulations from governments, social responsibilities. In this thesis, a mixed integer programming model is proposed in order to optimize the forward and reverse flows of a multiproduct multi-stage integrated system and illustrated on an example. Proposed model is tested by producing different size test problems. Each problem sizes are also solved for different returning rates to see the behavior of model for low, medium, and high returning rates. Savings from fixed costs are provided by revising the model so that it allows to use comman facility for collection and distribution activities. Key Words : Reverse logistics, remanufacturing, recovery.