Performance of reverse supply chains

Reverse supply chains (RSCs) include any reverse flows of products, either because they were wrongly delivered, faulty, damaged, unwanted, or because they have reached the end of their first use phase. Ideally, returned products will be reused, upgraded, remanufactured / refurbished or at least recycled, following the concept of a circular economy.

For more companies to engage in reverse supply chains, better ways to assess the cost, benefits and performance of an RSC are required. This project will research current best practice in industry and compare it to methods published by academia. The candidate will then suggest new and improved ways to model different RSCs and analyse their efficiency and effectiveness. This will include financial performance as well as environmental and social perspectives. Finally, a set of case studies will be conducted to apply the newly generated knowledge and demonstrate its usefulness.

Ideal candidates will have personal contacts to a company that manufactures high value engineered products (in UK or anywhere in the world), and be able to exploit these contacts for the case study.

The student will engage in an on-going collaboration between the School of Engineering (http://www.port.ac.uk/school-of-engineering) and Portsmouth Business School (http://www.port.ac.uk/portsmouth-business-school).

The candidate will be encouraged to publish their work in leading peer-reviewed journals and present their findings at high-profile UK and international conferences. Furthermore, the student will have the opportunity to develop further research and collaborations with industries as well as academia.

For further information please contact Regina Frei ([Email Address Removed]) or consult the website: http://www.port.ac.uk/school-of-engineering/staff/dr-regina-frei.html