VUCA Environment in Reverse Logistics: Application in the Final Disposal of Products and Waste

Introduction

Currently, the economic and commercial environment is characterized by a high level of uncertainty and constant changes that occur at great speed, largely due to market conditions and changes in customer needs. Because of the above, organizations must have effective strategies to respond to these changes and maintain a competitive advantage within a specific market niche (Caaveiro & Méndez, 2023).

One of the biggest challenges faced by organizations, specifically those companies dedicated to the manufacture of products, is given by the rapid changes in the needs or expectations of a customer regarding the product, this because what the customer wants or expects from a product today, is not the same as what they expect from the same product tomorrow. Consequently, organizations must be at the forefront, having constant design and development processes that adjust to market changes, to provide the customer with what they want. These changes do not only occur in the innovation of new products or improvement of the characteristics of the product that is already owned but also in processes or characteristics such as packaging, packaging, among others.

To meet customer needs, companies have very well defined supply chains, which according to Chopra (2008) are defined as all the actors that intervene directly or indirectly from the procurement of raw materials to the delivery of the product. to the end client, starting from the suppliers and ending with the client or end user. However, although it is not common within organizations, Reverse Logistics (RL) processes are being implemented within the supply chain with the objective of recovering or providing a correct final disposal of products that are out of use or after their useful life or in general. waste generated within the production and distribution process.

According to Giraldo (2008), the history of the RL dates back to the 80’s, the year in which a series of protests carried out by a group of environmentalists began to be evident, manifesting the damage to the environment that the industries of the countries and creating an alarm regarding the processes that these companies are carrying out for the distribution and marketing of their products. Consequently, these companies began to create strategies to improve their distribution processes for environmentally friendly products, improving everything from their design to their packaging.

Then, towards the 90’s, a series of investigations and studies began to be evident, related to the management of out-of-use products, focusing on the scarcity of resources and materials, identifying possible disposal alternatives such as recycling, reuse, safe disposal., among others. One of the first authors who began the study of RL is Stock (1992), who began to carry out research on product management and return processes from the end user to the producer or manufacturer, applying activities such as recycling, reuse of materials and components, waste disposal and restoration operations, re-manufacturing and repair, thus making the concept of RL begin to be visualized and implemented in companies.

Consequently, there is evidence of growth in the importance and attention that companies have given to the recovery of products or materials from customers, either with the objective of recovering value or as after-sales services. This inverse process was called Reverse Logistics years ago (Blewett, 1991). Guide & Van Wassenhove (2002) states that LI is part and becomes a fundamental piece of the reverse supply chain, where the role played by manufacturers or producers is important, designing and implementing processes for recycling and/or reuse of products or materials.

Different authors have carried out studies and research, with the aim of defining the concept of LI, also called reverse distribution, retrologistics or recovery and recycling logistics. Authors such as Rogers & Tibben‐Lembke, (2001), Brito et al., (2005), Dekker et al., (2004) and Stock (1992), agree that LI can be considered as the process of planning, execution and control of the efficiency and effectiveness of the flow of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished products and related information, from the point of consumption to the point of origin, in order to recover value or correct disposal.