Environment and economic analysis of reverse supply chain scenarios for remanufacturing using discrete-event simulation approach

The study covers the concepts involved in reverse supply chain modeling using the case of a manufacturing company. The purpose of this study is to build a sustainable reverse supply chain model for resource conservation through remanufacturing of stator shafts by using a discrete-event simulation approach. The simulation studies in the reverse supply chain have taken up cases of either plastic or electronic waste remanufacturing, while very limited studies deal with simulation of sustainable reverse supply chains using a manufacturing industry case study from international customers. In this study, reverse supply chain using simulation study in manufacturing sector is carried out using Arena Rockwell simulation software. The simulation model is built using discrete-event simulation for returns from customers of two developed countries, i.e., Germany and the USA to Chennai, India. The study emphasizes full container load and less than container load modes of shipment scenarios and multiple return cases. The comparative analysis suggests that the value-added and non-value-added time of the reverse supply chain is slightly greater in the less container load scenario. The wait time per entity in remanufacturing processes similar for both shipment scenarios varies significantly based on return cases. The cost and carbon emission associated with transportation, in the reverse supply chain inclusive of social carbon cost, have also been estimated. Therefore, the study proposes a possible sustainable reverse supply chain framework that could be adopted by different manufacturing industries and yield opportunities for performance improvement.