I found this book to be a through introduction to closed loop supply chain networks. The concepts are explained clearly and will be accessible to novice readers, while the details included in the models are advanced enough to satisfy experienced supply chain researchers and practitioners. The focus on recycling and refurbishment---which is often overlooked in supply chain network design and analysis-is becoming even more important today as the very serious issue of climate change leads consumers to look for more environmentally friendly practices, such as purchasing slightly used products when possible. The book uses examples to illustrate that recycling and refurbishing can also lead to increased profits for the retailer, which makes this a win-win situation.
- Michelle Opp, SAS Institute
This book has the virtue of exposing the concepts related to CLSC in an affordable and orderly way. Starting from the general, it leads us to understand the importance of analyzing the return flows in the supply chains and going into detail about the importance of commercial returns in particular. From there, it shows us how to mathematically model a CLSC network. Moreover, it introduces two key elements to consider in the modeling of CLSC within the commercial returns, the quality of the returned products and the customer acceptance toward refusrbished product. Finally, to expand the applicability of the proposed models, the author presents a model that allows us to design robust CLSC networks incorporating uncertainty in the parameters of demand and return of products, situation that parallels real life scenarios. In each chapter the author presents an analysis to understand the effects of the variables and the managerial implications they would have in practice. For all this, it seems to me that this book has a very interesting balance for an audience of academics interested in exploring the subject in more detail and practitioners dedicated to the subject in real life and looking for solutions to design profitable and sustainable supply chains.
- Abraham Mendoza, Ph.D., Vice President for Research & Professor, Universidad Panamericana
The author describes beautifully closed-loop supply chain (CLSS) use cases, focusing on realistic scoped problems, while walking the reader through all the relevant pieces of the CLSS network with a clear and intuitive flow. His deep academic research experience shows in the quality of the material coverage and modeling discussion while his experience from working in real-life implementations allows him to add significant benefit with sections focused on managerial implications.
- Natalia Summerville, Ph.D., SAS Institute
