| Manufacturing |
Does the production system use any tracking technology such as RFID, barcode or integrated chip? |
| Which products or product lines use this tracking technology for production control? |
| Is any type of recycled material used in manufacturing? If so, in which products? Are these materials from the company's recycled products or from the recycled market? |
| Do the systems allow product tracking to the final customer? |
| What information fed by the factory into the system can be viewed along the chain (distributor, retail, technical assistance, cooperatives, recyclers, etc.)? |
| Are products with malfunctions returned to the factory by the distributor, retailer or technical assistance? |
| Are damaged products recovered or discarded? |
| Are there policies and processes for remanufacturing or refurbishing products? |
| Are the production, and research and development control systems fed back with information on returned products or technical assistance? If so, what kind of information? |
| Is the information useful for product recovery? |
| Is there currently the generation of reports that enable management monitoring, decision making and goal control? |
| Distribution |
Are systems and databases updated with manufacturer's product information? |
| Are products returned from retail, technical assistance or consumers forwarded to the distribution center? |
| Are they integrated with the manufacturer and supplied with distribution information? |
| Is there a policy for returning products returned because of customer dissatisfaction not related to any defect or obsolescence? If that is the case, at which point in the supply chain is the responsibility for collecting these products? Is there access to product information returned by the retailer or resellers in the system? |
| Resellers/Retailers |
Are systems and databases updated with product information from the manufacturer or distributor? |
| Are products returned from customers or technical assistance routed to resellers or retailers? |
| Are they integrated with the manufacturer and supplied with distribution information? |
| Is there a policy for returning products returned because of customer dissatisfaction not related to any defect or obsolescence? If yes, at which point in the supply chain is the responsibility for collecting these products? Is the product information returned by customers fed into the system? |
| Repair Center - Technical assistance |
Is there a process for capturing product information, such as RFID readers, bar codes or integrated chips that support technical assistance? |
| Is there access to systems and databases with information about the manufacturer's products that facilitate the repair process or correct destination? Are the systems integrated with the manufacturer or can they be supplied with information from the repair center? |
| Reverse-Collection Logistics Network - Cooperative |
Are there cooperatives where customers can return obsolete/damaged products? |
| Is there a process for capturing product information, such as RFID readers, bar codes or integrated chips? |
| Is there access to the systems and databases with the manufacturer's product information to facilitate collection, identify product components and disassembly? Are the systems integrated with the manufacturer or can they be fed with information from the cooperative? |
| Can cooperatives identify products with any of the tracking technologies, such as RFID, barcode or integrated chip? |
| Can cooperatives access the systems and obtain information for disassembly and proper disposal of components and materials? |
| Reverse-Collection Logistics Network - Recycler |
Are there recyclers where customers can return obsolete/damaged products? |
| Is there a process for capturing product information, such as RFID readers, bar codes or integrated chips? |
| Is there access to the systems and databases with manufacturer's product information to facilitate collection, identify product components and disassembly? Are the systems integrated with the manufacturer or can they be fed with information from the recycler? |
| Can recyclers identify products with any of the tracking technologies, such as RFID, barcode or integrated chip? |
| Can recyclers access systems and obtain information for disassembly and proper disposal of components and materials? |
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Source: Um et al. (2008, p. 1182).
Note: retailers buy directly from manufacturers and sell to consumers. Resellers buy from distributors and sell in all markets