AN OPTIMIZATION MODEL OF CLOSED-LOOP SUPPLY CHAIN NETWORK: A CASE STUDY OF PRINTERS CARTRIDGES IN CAN THO CITY AND NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS

Abstract

Today, the environmental requirements enforce the businesses to be more responsible for products that include returned products as well as less useful products. The efficient handling of this product's group helps save a large amount of cash as many documents can be extracted, reused and redistributed. Reverse Logistics and Closed-loop supply chain has attracted more attention as a way to manage this product's group in a cost-effective manner. In this paper, we study the mathematical model of optimizing the closed-loop supply chain configuration. The model objective is to minimize the supply chain waste and reduce supply chain costs. To solve the posed problem, A mixed integer linear programming (MILP) models were proposed. A case study of the cartridge products used in the printers or the photocopiers for Can Tho city agencies and schools was conducted to verify and examine effectiveness of this model into real situation. The results show a supply chain configuration that includes the suppliers, the outsourcers, the factories and the centers such as distribution, recycling, and collection centers. From these results, a basic configuration will be formed for the closed-loop supply chain. This configuration can easily be scaled to fit different types of products.