Question

explain reverse logistics in your own words and provide an example of how you have been a part of a reverse logistics process, either as an employee or as a customer returning a product. How does this experience compare with the explanations of reverse logistics .Then search for resources found online investigate reverse logistics in both military and commercial settings. Describe similarities and differences between the military and commercial sectors in terms of reverse logistics.

Answer 1

In simple language, reverse logistics is the reverse process that takes place in logistics. Logistics is the process of transferring a product from a manufacturer to a customer with the involvement of different channels in between like the distributor or retailer. A reverse logistics takes the product from a customer to the retailer, distributor or manufacturer. This process might happen due to many reasons and for further processing the product by remanufacturing or refurbishing it. The process is usually taken place from a customer for being defective. In this case, the reverse logistics process will involve the shipping of the product, testing the defect, repairing, dismantling, recycling or disposing of the product as per the requirement and defect identified. This travel in reverse through the supply chain network to recapture the value of the product is called reverse logistics.

An example of the same that I can recall is when as a customer I had purchased a wall clock through an online site and the clock reached me in a defective condition. The glass of the clock was cracked which made it a defective product. As I had purchased the clocked online from an e-commerce vendor and he had a return policy, I had the chance to immediately inform them about the defect and get the product exchanged. This defect could have happened due to the inappropriate packaging in the process of supply chain network. The vendor arranged to get the clock back the next day itself and within 4 working days, I got a new clock in good condition delivered to me. The process of me returning the clock to the vendor is reverse logistics which would have further being sent from the vendor to the distributor and to the manufacturer for repairing it or recycling it.

Reverse logistics can be seen in the military and commercial application. The similarity between the two is that both involve a backward supply chain of items from the end user to the initial manufacturer or supplier. Both has the same process just differentiating in the nature of products and the transport process involved in the logistics. While commercial reverse logistics is about the return of products from customers to manufacturers, the military reverse logistics is about the return of trucks, tanks or other military equipment from being defective or excessive and not in use. As this returning is done on large scale it requires a long process with many ships and containers involved.