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Interest in reverse logistics (RL) as a critical component of supply chain management (SCM) is gaining more traction with both practitioners and academics. Because of RL’s growing strategic importance, it is imperative to conduct a timely and comprehensive literature review and to identify associated opportunities for future research. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this paper, the researchers conduct an extensive bibliometric analysis of published academic articles on RL for the period of 1992-2015. Specifically, the CiteSpace software is utilized to conduct document co-citation analysis and burst detection analysis on 912 selected RL articles and their 22,642 references.

This research identifies the most influential RL research publications/citations in each of the five periods and their research contribution. Using co-citation analysis, the authors are able to identify and illustrate major research themes, knowledge groups, and future research opportunities in the RL field.

In contrast to existing literature review studies in the logistics field, the study uses impact factor as a key article selection criterion. The influential articles identified in this process well represent the core literature and RL body of knowledge and have important implications for future research.

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/09600039210022574. When citing the article, please cite: Dale S. Rogers, Patricia J. Daugherty, Theodore P. Stank, (1992), “Enhancing Service Responsiveness: The Strategic Potential of EDI”, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 22 Iss: 8, pp. 15 - 20.

The circular economy is a system that aims to conserve resources at every level for as long as possible with a minimization of waste. The core concept of the circular economy is to improve resource efficiency and prevent valuable materials from leaking out of the system. Better use of increasingly scarce resources can provide both economic and environmental benefits. When excess inventory, returned products, and end-of-life products are disposed of improperly, unnecessary waste is created, often with a detrimental impact to the environment. An effective system must exist to facilitate the proper handling of these products, and secondary markets are a crucial component in this system. In this chapter, we discuss the secondary markets’ role as an important mechanism for achieving a circular economy.

Secondary markets provide a place for unwanted items to be bought and sold, which diverts them from landfills, reducing the products' ecological impact and creating economic value. The purpose of this paper is study the secondary markets to understand the size of this important portion of the US economy.

The data were collected from financial reports, news articles, and interviews with subject experts. From all of these sources, the scope and size of secondary markets can be estimated.

Secondary markets are effective in diverting a large number of products from landfills, creating numerous jobs, resulting in substantial economic value in the process. Although not reflected in current government metrics, a conservative estimate is that the secondary market represents 2.28 percent of the 2008 US gross domestic product.

Several of the secondary markets have many small players, with no strong trade associations or other authorities to estimate their size. The paper's estimates based on known sources are very conservative, perhaps underestimating the size of these sectors.

As society increasingly pays attention to the ecological impact of its products, secondary markets will play an important role in supply chains. Understanding the magnitude, structure and reach of these markets can help firms develop better product stewardship and lifecycle management.

Individuals will not directly change their behavior from this research, but the findings should help companies behave differently, which in the end will offer products with lower ecological impact.

Secondary markets are an integral part of the US economy, and have not been adequately studied.

Reports a recent survey of warehousing firms which examined the extent of involvement in electronic data interchange (EDI) and the impact which EDI has had on the firms′ operations and service capabilities. Warehousing firms providing EDI services to their customers were found to be better able to accommodate selected customers′ requests than firms not providing EDI services. Additionally, the firms providing EDI service were offering more services to their customers than firms not providing EDI service. Based on the research results, EDI firms appear to be more flexible and more responsive to customer requests. EDI offers significant potential for helping firms to gain competitive advantage and enhance customer responsiveness.

This paper sets out to examine the factors influencing internet‐based e‐commerce in the electronic manufacturing companies in Malaysia.

The sample data are derived from a questionnaire survey of 194 companies selected from the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturer lists to investigate the study hypotheses. Roger's five innovation diffusion characteristics were considered as factors that affect EC adoption and security/confidentiality was taken as an additional factor for this study.

The multiple regression analysis results indicate that relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability and security appear significant. Relative advantage and compatibility have positive and significant influence on EC adoption whereas complexity and security have negative effects. This study also revealed a non‐significant relationship between trialability and e‐commerce adoption.

The results are limited within the sample of electronic manufacturing companies in Malaysia, so the results cannot be generalized.

This study provides a greater understanding of managers' perception of e‐commerce adoption in their manufacturing companies. Those interested in promoting their business online may find these results helpful in guiding their efforts.

Returns management is the supply chain management process by which activities associated with returns, reverse logistics, gatekeeping, and avoidance are managed within the firm and across key members of the supply chain. The correct implementation of this process enables management not only to manage the reverse product flow efficiently, but to identify opportunities to reduce unwanted returns and to control reusable assets such as containers. In this paper, we describe how the returns management process can be implemented within a firm and across the supply chain. The process is described in terms of its sub‐processes and associated activities, and the interfaces with corporate functions, other supply chain management processes and other firms. Examples of successful implementation are provided.

Product development and commercialization is the supply chain management process that provides structure for developing and bringing to market new products jointly with customers and suppliers. Effective implementation of the process not only enables management to coordinate the efficient flow of new products across the supply chain, but also assists supply chain members with the ramp‐up of manufacturing, logistics, marketing and other related activities to support the commercialization of the product In this paper, the product development and commercialization process is described in detail to show how it can be implemented. To do this, the process is described in terms of its sub‐processes and associated activities, and the interfaces with business functions, other supply chain processes and other firms. Examples of successful implementation are provided.

Many of today's most successful companies have decided to focus on their core business and purchase other functional needs from outside vendors. Time and resource constraints make utilization of public or contract warehousing providers an attractive option. Because of their specialized expertise, external warehousing firms are often able to deliver services in a more cost‐effective and efficient manner. The researchers examined differential capabilities among warehousing service providers based upon the degree of formalized internal processes developed. Formalization was shown to impact: 1) the average number of services provided; 2) the average number of computer applications used in providing services to customers; and 3) the average number of installed technologies within the respondent firms. More highly formalized firms are positioned to be able to “offer more”.

Demand management is the supply chain management process that balances the customers' requirements with the capabilities of the supply chain. With the right process in place, management can match supply with demand proactively and execute the plan with minimal disruptions. The process is not limited to forecasting. It includes synchronizing supply and demand, increasing flexibility, and reducing variability. In this paper, we describe the demand management process in detail to show how it can be implemented within a company and managed across firms in the supply chain. We examine the activities of each sub‐process; evaluate the interfaces with corporate functions, processes and firms; and provide examples of successful implementation.