| Reverse logistics, induced by various forms of return, has received growing attention throughout this decade. Reverse logistics network design is a major strategic issue. Increasing numbers of manufacturers are outsourcing to third party logistics providers (3PLs) for variety value-added services related to reverse logistics, as well as for more traditional activities like transportation or warehousing.; The proposed research addresses the analysis of reverse network design that deal with the returns that require post-sale service. First, a reverse logistics problem is proposed. Two objectives, minimization of the overall costs and minimization of the total tardiness of cycle time, are addressed. The facility capacity option at each potential location is treated as a discrete parameter. A bi-objective optimization model is developed. The purpose is to find a set of non-dominated solutions to the facility capacity arrangement among the potential facility locations, as well as the associated transportation flows between customer areas and service facilities. Then, a solution approach is designed for solving this bi-objective optimization model. The solution approach consists of a combination of three algorithms: scatter search, the constraint method and the dual simplex method. Computational analyses performed on trial examples. Finally, the research studies the impacts of some cost-related and time-related factors on the non-dominated solution set. |
