لجستیک معکوس برون سپاری شرکت های تولیدی با تکنولوژی بالا، با استفاده از رویکرد تصمیم گیری سیستماتیک: بخش TFT-LCD در تایوان

Reverse logistics are increasingly crucial for the supply chain strategy of global high-tech manufacturing firms. As reverse logistics operations are significantly more complex than traditional manufacturing supply chains, many high-tech manufacturers are examining the feasibility of outsourcing reverse logistics activities to third party logistics providers (3PLs) from a strategic planning perspective. Internal resources and capabilities are thus examined from a resource-based perspective to identify which reverse logistics service requirements could be fulfilled in-house or outsourced. Therefore, this work presents a systematic approach using the analytical network process (ANP) not only to investigate the relative importance of reverse logistics service requirements, but also to select an appropriate 3PL. Empirical results based on the case of the TFT-LCD sector in Taiwan indicate that information technology management is of priority concern in reverse logistics services. In addition to providing a valuable reference for manufacturers concerned with service requirements for outsourcing, results of this study significantly contribute to the efforts of 3PLs in evaluating whether they comply with potential customer requirements based on their service capabilities.

Firms are increasingly interested in recovering used products, especially given a growing environmental awareness and increasing customer expectations of enterprises to dispose of manufactured products safely (Fleischmann, Krikke, Dekker, & Flapper, 2000). Reverse logistics services include product returns, source reduction, recycling, materials substitution, reuse of materials, waste disposal, refurbishing, repair, and remanufacturing (Stock, 1998). Firms can implement effective reverse logistics in daily operations to foster a sustainable competitive advantage and increase revenues in a highly competitive market (Amini, Retzlaff-Roberts, & Bienstock, 2005). Effective reverse logistics focuses on the backward flow of materials from customers to suppliers with the intention of maximizing value from returned items and guaranteeing their proper disposal (Rogers and Tibben-Lembke, 1998 and Stock, 1998). Reverse logistics operations are considered significantly more complex than a traditional manufacturing supply chain (Meyer, 1999 and Tibben-Lembke and Rogers, 2002). Such complexity could be owing to the uncertainty of return timing, quantities of return, and the quality of used products returned by customers (Fleischmann et al., 1997). Each return may require various treatments depending on the defective, damaged, and recyclable or repackagable nature of a product (Meyer, 1999). Additionally, forward and reverse logistics differ in the number of origin and destination points. Whereas forward logistics generally refers to the movement of products from one origin to many destinations, the reverse movement of products is the opposite: from many uncertain origins to a specific destination (Fleishchmann et al., 1997). Therefore, manufacturing firms require flexible capacity to undertake transportation and warehousing activities in reverse logistics operations. Reverse logistics concerns itself with how to effectively manage the flow of return products and its associated information flow (Ferguson & Browne, 2001). An efficient information and technology system is essential for facilitating reverse logistics during various product life cycles (Daugherty et al., 2002 and Ravi and Shanker, 2005). An information technology (IT) system can facilitate the collection of customer information and track the status of returned items (Krumwiede & Sheu, 2002). In particular, globalization enables many high-tech manufacturing firms to have more reverse logistics demand; reverse logistics is further complicated when operating in a multinational setting (Richey, Chen, Genchev, & Daugherty, 2005).High-tech manufacturing firms must thus have an adequately large in-house fleet size as well as warehousing and advanced IT management systems to accommodate this unpredictable and large demand in reverse logistics. High-tech manufacturing firms also require value-added services to implement recycle, repair, and remanufacture activities. Therefore, the reverse logistics service requirements of high-tech manufacturing firms require transportation, warehousing management capabilities, advanced IT management, and value-added services to implement complex reverse logistics. Many manufacturing firms that lack either the resources or capabilities to manage complex networks effectively outsource all or a portion of their reverse logistics to third party logistics providers (3PLs) to ensure an efficient reverse logistics process (Krumwiede & Sheu, 2002). Companies that purchase reverse logistics services from 3PLs can reduce up to 10% of annual logistics costs. High-tech companies have reduced inventories and increased field engineering productivity by as much as 40% through appropriate handling of reverse logistics (Minahan, 1998). 3PLs have thus become indispensable in reverse logistics, as return operations require a specialized infrastructure, including tasks such as supporting customized information systems to monitoring shipments and retrieving data (Ko & Evans, 2007). Outsourcing represents a strategic decision for manufacturing firms to achieve a competitive advantage (Espino-Rodriguez & Padron-Robaina, 2006). Therefore, this work addresses the outsourcing of reverse logistics service activities for high-tech manufacturing firms from a strategy planning perspective. Thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) technology is adopted in a diverse array of electronic products owing to their increasing popularity (Lin, Chen, & Huang, 2004). First invented in the early 1960s, the TFT-LCD sector has expanded rapidly in recent years, providing indispensable devices in the commercial production of notebooks, computers, and televisions (Katayama, 1999). As is widely anticipated, TFT-LCD reverse logistics requirements will increase even further. Taiwan manufactures more than 40% of the global supply of TFT-LCDs, becoming the largest supplier worldwide in 2004 (Hung, 2006 and Su et al., 2006). Therefore, the TFT-LCD sector is adopted as a case study in this work to investigate its reverse logistics service requirements. Reverse logistics can be used as a strategic tool in industry (Rogers & Tibben-Lembke, 1998). Strategic planning involves identifying reverse logistics goals and specifying long-term plans to achieve them. A more strategic approach is needed to reverse logistics management (Daugherty et al., 2005). Therefore, this work develops a systematic decision-making approach for practitioners of reverse logistics in industrial marketing. Reverse logistics service requirements are then analyzed using this approach, in which the resource-based view (RBV) provides the theoretical foundation for determining which reverse logistics service requirements should be fulfilled in-house or outsourced after examining internal resources and capabilities. This work is thus exploratory in nature. The outsourcing evaluation framework based on RBV adopts the analytical network process (ANP) not only to investigate the relative importance of service requirements, but also to select an appropriate 3PL.

This study develops a systematic decision-making approach for the practitioners of reverse logistics in industrial marketing. The RBV approach is adopted to establish the analytical framework in order to determine which internal resources and capabilities can be implemented in-house and by outside partners when undertaking reverse logistics activities. This approach adopts an ANP method to investigate the operational functions that are crucial to decision makers of TFT-LCD manufacturers in Taiwan and, then, to decide which is an appropriate 3PL when outsourcing reverse logistics activities. Empirical results in this study indicate that IT management is an activity deemed necessary to outsourcing and can be enhanced by external suppliers whose capabilities are superior to those of the TFT-LCD manufacturers. This finding correlates with the finding of Daugherty et al. (2002), indicating that information support is essential to achieving efficient reverse logistics operations, because reverse logistics is frequently characterized by uncertainty and the requirement for efficiency and processing. Richey et al. (2005) also highlighted that the complexity of reverse logistics programs implies the necessity of information support. Moreover, for optimal reverse logistics efficiency and effectiveness, information systems and data management must be redesigned or expanded to accommodate returns. Furthermore, traditional logistics operational functions, including transportation management and warehouse management, are also considered as vital activities for reverse logistics service outsourcing in TFT-LCD manufacturers. This finding closely corresponds to the findings of Ko and Evans (2007), that demonstrated that manufacturers expect 3PLs to improve their operational functions in traditional reverse logistics, ultimately reducing logistics costs in the global market. This empirical study demonstrates that value-added services (VAS) have minimal importance in reverse logistics management with respect to outsourcing, implying that assembly, repacking, remanufacturing, refurbishment, disposal activities should be performed in-house by TFT-LCD manufacturers. This could be owing to that their products consist mainly of raw materials and parts in glasses, which can be remanufactured or re-assembled by 3PLs with great difficulty. With respect to the selection of 3PL for outsourcing, this study demonstrates that a non-asset-based 3PL may have a business network to coordinate and manage an appropriate facility for various demands, despite the lack of specific infrastructures.