Reverse Logistics for Material Management in Australian Construction

This report investigates the application of reverse logistics within the Australian construction industry as a strategy to enhance material management. It begins by introducing the concept of reverse logistics and its potential benefits for sustainable development in construction, highlighting the current gap in its adoption compared to the manufacturing sector. The research aims to integrate knowledge on reverse logistics to address material management challenges, focusing on identifying issues, evaluating the role of reverse logistics, and recommending solutions. Through a qualitative study, the report explores issues such as material shortages, productivity decline, capital supply constraints, and safety concerns. It assesses the potential of reverse logistics to mitigate these problems by promoting material reuse and waste reduction, contributing to a more sustainable and efficient construction industry. The study concludes with recommendations for industry stakeholders to effectively implement reverse logistics practices. Desklib provides access to this report along with other solved assignments for students.

Use of reverse logistics in Australian
construction industry: An attempt to
overcome material management
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Abstract- Reverse logistics in the field of
construction industry is referred as
movement of products as well as
materials from the retrieved building to a
specific new construction site. Hence, the
purpose of the research is integrating
fragmented knowledge on reverse
logistics in the field of construction
industry to be used properly in material
management. It aims to promoting the
idea among industry stakeholder as well
as wide construction community. In the
present study, the overview of reverse
logistics and its impact of material
management has been discussed.
Discussion of research methodology
chapter helps to conduct the research in
right way. On the other hand, qualitative
study has been prepared that helps to
understand the issues and challenges and
recommend suggestions to overcome
those.
Keywords: Reverse logistics, material
management, stakeholder management,
closed loop supply chain, construction
industry
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Background of the study
Reverse logistics in the construction
industry is referred to the process of
movement of materials as well as products
from salvaged constructed buildings to new
building in construction site [6]. Hence, the
aim of promoting the particular concept
among the industry stakeholders as well as
wider community of construction is
important in this aspect. The qualitative
meta-analysis is helpful to synthesis the
outcomes of the previous researches as well
as presents the actions required with the help
of key stakeholders in order to promote the
concept within real-life context.
The earliest references to specific
case study are considered as reverse logistics
that is described as wrong method. The
processes of movement about the products
from customers are back to the specific
suppliers or producers within the channel of
distribution. The council of logistics
management has conceptualized reverse
logistics as the role of logistics in returning
the products as well as reusing the materials
[11]. In addition, it is important to manage
the process that can be helpful to manage the

process that can be effective for integrating
the process. It is important to improve
supply chain, where reverse logistics is
important for effective usage of the
resources that are not considered and used
previously.
1.2 Research Aims and Objectives
1.2.1 Aims of the study
The objective of the research is
making am integration of the framed body of
knowledge on the reverse logistics in
construction industry that can be helpful to
overcome material management process.
1.2.2 Objectives of the study
The objectives of the study are as
followed.
 To identify the issues
involved with material
management in construction
industry of Australia
 To critically evaluate the role
of reverse logistics in
overcoming the issues
involved with material
management in construction
industry of Australia
 To find out the issues
involved with the use of
reverse logistics in material
management in construction
industry of Australia
 To recommended solutions
for overcoming the issues
1.3 Research Questions ‘
The research questions are as
followed.
 What are the issues involved
with material management in
construction industry of
Australia?
 What is the role of reverse
logistics in overcoming the
issues involved with material
management in construction
industry of Australia?
 What are the issues involved
with the use of reverse
logistics in material
management in construction
industry of Australia?
 How the issues involved with
the use of reverse logistics in
material management in
construction industry of
Australia can be overcome?
1.4 Rationale of the research
Reversed logistics has emerged with
the process of manufacturing organization
considered as an effective measure in order
to achieve sustainable development along
with improving. However, the construction
industry has not kept pace in the procedure
of reaping the advantages of reverse
logistics compared to manufacturing
industry [5]. On the other hand, it might be
caused for industrial reverse logistics in the
field of construction as opposed to the
context of manufacturing. On the other
hand, reverse logistics as well as its
applications in the field of construction
regarding the addressed central aspects of
reverse logistics.
In the manufacturing industry,
reverse logistics is deemed as the process of
an integrated law logistics chain to the
particular structure that can be redesigned
process of improving performance. In
addition, reverse logistics facilitates
fulfilment of the objectives of conventional
procedure through complementing forward
as well as reverse logistics that becomes
important for the organization [6]. In
addition, it is important to focus on the point
of origin of the products in order to explain
several activities along with analogues
phenomena like waste management or
forwarding the logistics. In order to identify

the sections, it is required to focus on
reverse logistics process. Hence, it is
important to research on the use of reverse
logistics in the Australian construction
industry where it is attempted overcoming
material management.
1.5 Research Hypothesis
H0: There is an important role on the
use of reverse logistics to overcome material
management issues in Australian
construction industry
H1: Reverse logistics has no role in
overcoming the material management issues
in Australian construction industry
1.6 Structure of the study
The trend of study as well as
terminology is associated with the reverse
logistics has been introduced. On the other
hand, it unearths the major benefits as well
as barriers of reverse logistics in the
construction industry while providing a few
effective suggestions fort harnessing the
benefits as well as mitigates the barriers.
Finally, the research provides a future
research direction based on the review. The
research has five chapters such as
introduction, literature review, research
methodology, findings and analysis as well
as conclusion and recommendations.
Chapter 2: Literature review
2.1 Introduction
The rapid and unprecedented rise in
the construction sector in Australia has
already lead to a boom of this sector
economy. The rise in construction business
has also led to certain issues that have to be
solved. Most of the issues surround the
unavailability of materials in the
construction site and the environmental
damages it is causing. It can be said that the
issue of material management in the
construction industry has plagued this
business in the last two decades or so in
Australia.
2.2 Overview of Material Management:
The construction industry is a very
big sector and to increase the productivity of
the sector, it has been bifurcated into many
small areas such as, highways, rails,
building, dams and tunnel. Therefore, it can
be said that every project in a construction
business is unique and with that their cost as
well as equipment also changes. It is a
proven fact that the cost of material of any
project is more than 50% of the total
expense [1]. This is the main reason why so
much stress as been laid in the material
management of the construction business.
The main important concern of any
construction business is its improper
handling of the material during the working
hour. The main area of the material
management that is there in any construction
company is the material shortage, lack of a
proper storage facilities, wastage and
damage and price fluctuation of the material
[10]. The usage of paper based system that is
still mostly use in Australia recording as
well as exchanging information associated
with material management within a
particular supply chain in problematic
situation in itself. These ways of handling
essential data and figures are prone to errors
and overestimation or underestimation
issues.
Productivity:
The decrease in the productivity in
the construction business is also an
important concern that needs to be discussed
here. Around the year in Australia, many
project gets a short as well as a long
extension from its original due date of
completion. Sometime it is related to the

demand and supply issue of the material that
are to be used in the site, but most of the
time the reason for such extension is the
decrease in overall productivity of the
project that leads to delay in daily target that
needs to be completed [3]. This can be a
result of many factors such as motivational
factor of the staff member and the
employees, a constraint in the regular
demand and supply in the site, non-
availability of the resources that is to be use
at a particular time, along with many other
reason.
The effect of low productivity also
has serious implication for any given project
as has been seen in many project in
Australia. The cancellation of such project is
also one such issue that have bankrupted few
construction companies in Australia. But the
most serious implication of the low
productivity is that due to this many project
just gets stuck and is not able to move
further which will not only is seen to have
make the management suffer but the
labourers along with the staff also suffers
from this [5]. This has serious implication in
the finances of any industry and can also
damage the company beyond the point of
recovery. The main reason of this stalling of
project is due to the effect of insufficient
supply of material or due to the storage
facility not being equipped to handle the
whole logistics of a project at one.
Capital Supply
One of the very concerning aspect of
this construction industry is the supply of
capital that is caused by the action of the
management official of the company. There
could be numerous reason as to why the
supply of capital is being hindered by the
investors of the project. The management or
the investor may feel along the building of
the project that the project might not be that
much beneficial and could bear a loss. Such
kind of theory has an implication on the
capital supply of the project which is already
estimated to be around 50% of the total
budget of the project. The constraint in
capital supply can lead to the insufficient
allocation of fund in sector of the
construction company which will lead to
improper utilisation of the resources and will
eventually lead to decrease in overall
productivity [6]. The capital supply of any
construction is the core of the business and it
would be impossible for any construction
company to work with a sufficient amount
of capital. It's also a known fact that the
more capital is there in a construction
company the more prospect it is for that
company to excel in the market through the
different projects.
Safety:
The safety of the staff and the
engineer on any site is also an important
concern for any construction company in
Australia. There has been numerous
reporting of some minor as well as some
major accident in a construction site s in
Australia. Sometime these are due to
negligence of the staff as well as the other
employees and many time it is because of
some machine failure that is installed in the
site. This can be avoided by following a very
basis security protocol whenever a new site
in being selected for running the operation
[2]. There should be proper safety gears that
should be provided to the labourers and
construction workers on site. The labour
force should be made aware of all the
dangers that they could be facing, because
most of the times as it is seen, the ordinary
labour does not have any clue of the safety
concern of a site as they are not that much
taught in that subject [7]. Proper mask
should be given while handling of concrete
and cement, protective gears should be given
to the labourers that are working in the
heavy machinery department. Proper

training could be given to the trainee
manager so that he/she can impart those skill
to the general recruit and they can used
those skill in matters of life and death.
Generally, if there is a proper mechanism in
a construction company about the safety
concern of the people then the chances of
any such accident is very low and it also
motivates the worker of that respective
company to work hard.
Quality Control
The quality control of the material
use in the construction company is also is
very vital in the growth prospect of that
company in Australia. There are many
construction company in Australia and their
numbers are growing every single year, but ,
then took the majority of the project that is
being executed at any given times goes to
the company that have established
themselves by not compromising on the
quality front of their business [4]. The
quality is the most important criteria every
customer looks while they are selecting or
approaching any construction company not
just in Australia but throughout the world.
It is because of this reason it is very
important for every construction company to
not compromise on the quality of the
material. However, the fact that there is a lot
going on with respect to t the rapid
globalisation, it has become increasingly
difficult to find the best quality without
paying a hefty amount of capital to the
supplier. The rapid expansion has made the
business to be dependent upon not so great
quality product as with time it has become
more and more difficult for the supplier to
bring the best quality in the market [17].
This issue has to be dealt with because, if
the quality of the material is not what the
buyer is expecting, there could be an issue
with the demand and supply mechanism.
Also, the quality of the material is the one
that is responsible for the long life and
success in any project of the construction
business.
In order to take all the above
problem of material management in the
construction industry in Australia, Reverse
Logistics mechanism can be effectively
applied in the area of the construction
department to effectively solve the issues of
the material management that is primarily
the main concern of the industry. The main
idea behind the reverse logistics is that it can
be use to cut the cost of the refurbishing and
reusing of any damaged product that is being
made in the construction business [19]. Our
report on the successful implementation of
the reverse logistics will be covering all the
aspects of the methodology and what are the
reasons as to why the reverse logistics is
applied in the construction area. It is also to
be noted that in Australia, the concept of
reverse logistics have not being properly
applied in the construction business because
they are not promoted very enthusiastically
by the big construction companies in
Australia. This report can also be applied for
dealing with the promotion of the reverse
logistics in small construction as well as
mega construction companies that are active
in Australia. This sort of technology must be
appreciated and not neglected by the
construction Industry.
2.3 Overview of Reverse Logistics
Reverse logistics is the procedure
through which the products are generally
moved from a specific point of consumption
to original starting point, the objective is to
reduce and reuse materials as well as reduce
environmental impact to a minimum [16]. It
is one of the most recent advancement in the
field of business management that very
effectively increase the efficiency along with
proper utilisation of the material
management of the company which will

definitely improve the finances of the
construction company.
The construction industry is
considered as the largest contributor of
waste to the landfills. Hence, it has the
maximum scope to employ reverse logistics.
The implementation of Reverse Logistics is
an efficient technique to increase the
competitive nature of the manufacturing
industry. When organizations implement
reverse logistics it gives their environmental
image boost.
Figure 1: Reverse Logistics Diagram
(Source: [5])
2.4 Terminologies with RL in
construction Industry
● Traditional Logistics: It the
proper organisation, management as well as
controlling flow of material from raw site to
construction up to the construction site.
There are various processes, which are done
in between the traditional logistics [15]. This
include from careful selection of the raw
material so that quality cannot be
compromised and from it is taken to the
factory where it is make and from the
factory it is taken to the distributer where it
could be kept in a warehouse or it could
taken directly to the construction company’s
warehouse. This is then taken to the
construction site or to the inventory of the
construction company depending upon the
order and nature of the operation on site.
● Supply Chain Management:
It is considered as the core of new
construction company that is in the business.
It can be defined as a broad network of
activities and facilities that is required to
provide customer as well as economic value
to the design of functions and contract
management. Hence, in order to provide
customer as well as economic value to
specific design development. On the other
hand, material as well as service
infrastructure is important for delivering the
process [14]. The supply chain management
includes all the processes in a project from
its initial demand to its final demolition. The
importance of supply chain management can
be understood from the fact that the
commercial exchange of products as well as
services in the construction industry has the
amount of nearly 75-90% of total cost of the
project.
● Forward Logistics: The
forward logistics in a construction industry
is the movement of the material from the
point of its origin to the point of its
consumption, which means the construction
site. This is where there is a difference
between the Reverse logistics that can be
stated as the process of movement of
materials from the consumption point that is
back to the specific market.
The traditional concept of any
logistics construction practitioners are
considered as providing the direction of flow
from a point to the extraction up to the
process of consumption. The researchers
have the idea of construction industry where
SCM need to attempt resembling natural
procedures attempting to resemble the
process where natural procedures that are
consumed properly with any residual waste.
2.5 Applications of reverse logistics
In this section, it will try to see the
application aspect of the RL in the

construction business and the process that
can be utilised for effective waste
management as well as for implementation
of better human resources in the business
[13]. It will help in the overall productivity
of the sector. There are various stage of the
RL in construction business in Australia.
They are:
1. Collecting: This process as the
name suggest will collect the material that
has to be taken back to the inventory or to
another construction site from the given
project.
2. Sorting: It is done to minimise any
later complications in the selection of a
desired material for the other construction
site. Also, sorting helps in maintaining a
proper order of the material of the
construction site.
3. Refurbishing or reprocessing: This
is done to maintain a minimum amount of
quality to the construction material so that it
can be used for other construction site or
project. This might include overall changing
of the product or it might happen that half of
the material is to replaced with a new one, it
all depends upon the condition of the
material that could either be bought from a
demolition site or a construction site.
4. Redistribution: This is the last
process in the reverse logistics process that
is deployed once after all the stated process
has been done [12]. This is the last stage of
the above steps in which the material is sent
to the construction site.
The activities are important and need
a specific amount of operational logistics
activities like transport of goods or waste.
Hence, recovery of product reverse stream
of the product with specific consequences,
which are the consequences of several
sources of supply like collection points as
well as few deemed for demand points for
an example of disposal sites as well as
recovery facilities. However, the design
needs to be complicated through uncertain
factors.
Discussing reverse logistics, the
following aspects need to be taken into
consideration.
1. Motivation of enterprises to take
action in reverse logistics as well as reasons
for product return,
2. Processes carried out in logistics
with the aim of recovering value,
3. Characterisation of returned
products, and
4. Actors executing the reverse
logistics activities
These stated processes that are to be
use does poses certain specific challenges
when it comes to its proper implementation
on the construction business. Many of the
challenge that is faced by the sector is due to
the complexities in handling the size of the
material that is very different from other
sectors.
Whenever a construction material is
classified, it is done through properly
differentiation of the constituent part and
different component of the building that is to
be use [10]. According to Kibert, five
general categories of the houses that can be
differentiated.
1. Manufactured and site-installed
commodity products, systems, as well as
elements with any site processing, for
example; boilers, doors, lighting, bricks,
valves, windows and electrical transformers.
2. engineered and off-site fabricated,
as well as the site-assembled elements. For
example, structural steel, glulam beams,

engineered wood products, precast concrete
elements wood/ metal trusses),
3. Manufactured and site-processed
products, for example: dimensional lumber,
electrical, drywall, plywood, metal, plastic
piping, ductwork, wiring and insulation
4. Off-site processed as well as site-
finished product, for instance: cast-in-place
concrete, , soil, asphalt, aggregates.
5. manufactured that are site-
installed with the low mass products. It has
the paints, glues, mastics, sealers and
varnishes.
Depending on specific actors
engaged in the process of reverse logistics in
construction industry has several networks
on the points of collection. Whether operator
of construction is responsible for transport
as well as waste to the facility of recovery, it
is important to make disposal of waste
properly with the help of proper network
structure [2]. In addition, it is important to
analyze the situation so that it can be
processed in regional business as well as
contracts with private persons.
Figure 2: Information flow in
Reverse Logistics system
(Source: [10])
These materials represent a probable
recoverable material and their parts that are
transformed into waste. Deconstruction of
the waste arises at the time of erection of the
buildings. The materials are classified as per
the European Waste Catalogue. It include
different explanation of waste like waste
from inorganic chemical procedure as well
as waste from the construction industry and
demolition waste that includes excavated
soil from the contaminated sites.
The above stated process has to be
followed separately for any demolition site
and then it has to be analysed that there is
proper implementation of all the resources
that are present in the material. Here, it must
be stated that the benefits of these are
extreme and long term and RL does have a
direct impact on the environment of our
surrounding. It solves the problem of
material availability and it is sustainable in
the end [6]. The technology is also not that
costly and can be afforded by small to big
construction company in Australia. In the
next section, it will see the numerous
benefits of the used of RL in construction
industry in Australia and it can solve the
problem of material management.
2.6 Impact of RL in Material
Management
It is very essential for the reverse
logistics mechanism to be implemented in
material management of the construction
Industry .Material management is one of the
complex management issues that surrounds
any business, but with the size and budget of
the construction industry, it takes a new
height. The allocation of the resources have
to be done very effectively in the
construction sector [7]. Proper training is to
be given to the staff of the industry to handle
the effective utilisation of material
management through RL. The supply and
demand is also an area of material

management that is also been handled
through reverse logistics.
There are various direct impact that
is seen because of the proper
implementation of reverse logistics in
material management. The different section
of its impact on different department of the
construction industry in Australia. Proper
analysis of the impact on these department
has been made in relation to the material
management. These impacts are:
Financial Impact: There is a
positive impact on the financial of the
construction Industry by the successful
implementation of the reverse logistics. A
lot of capital is being save by utilising the
use material and it is well known the
business sector that a capital saved is a
capital earned. Also, there is a huge amount
of capital need for the transportation of the
raw material to the construction site as well
as to the inventory of the company [8].
Through RL, these capital can also be saved
up to a huge amount, which can be invested
in the growth of the company. Along with
that, the cost of refurbishing a damaged item
can also enhance the sales of the
construction company.
Environmental Impact: As have
already been stated, the most impactful
among all the department is the effect it has
on the environment front. Reverse logistics
(green logistics) has impact on environment
[12]. The reverse flow of material in order to
recover appropriate disposal can contribute
to the green environment as waste as well as
pollution that can be reduced at low cost,
which can be helpful to enhance
profitability.
It is for this reason the RL has to be
encouraged for the environment front. The
need of RL in Australia has raised also due
to the growing Environment concerns for the
people. RL has effect on material
management [14]. The RL systems is
dynamic, difficult to forecast and
uncertainty, the impact on the process of
inventory need to be managed properly. The
systems, production and inventory systems,
and bullwhip effect. Below is a discussion
on how RL systems impacts on
procurement, production and bullwhip
effect.
A good Reverse management does
utilises a lot of data and its analysis is done
through which the firm is advised on many
aspect of the business. It can then be use to
deal with the supply chain mechanism of the
company. RL does help the construction
companies by improving its supply chain
[17]. This is done because if a construction
company does utilises RL in its material
management, there would not be much
shortage of the material and so there would
be no hindrance in the supply of material
even in times of emergency for the company
or the market. The reusable material that
might be collected from a demolition site
can also be stored in an inventory and can be
used for selling or using in another project.
It has also been seen that due to the
due to the positive feedback mechanism that
is involved in the Rl, the customer feedback
are very positive as is the case with
customers of different sectors. The customer
also appreciates the used of innovative
technology of reusing and utilising any
material that can be used for other
construction, these are some of the positive
implication of the RL execution in the
construction industry [18]. The cost of
devising a sound reverse mechanism is also
not that high as compared to other
technology that is very costly to be
deployed. The RL can be use by medium to
small construction business owners too. This
is a huge advantage and probably a very
good reason for the proper usage of RL in
Australia to overcome all issues of the

material management. There is also an
added advantage of the brand image that it
gets if its business is implementing reverse
logistics as seen by a study done by Nawari
(2006) titled: “The Effect of Reverse
Logistics of an Organisation. Competition,
Cost and the Environment”. There is a
perception of the media and the customer's
as well that RL can provide a green
reputation to the company and can increase
its brand value which is also true in context
of Australia. The construction industry can
revamp their brand image if they are
implementing the reverse logistics in the
eyes of the public. Among the various direct
impact, the velocity at which the work flows
in a construction industry also has an impact
when RL is implemented in this sector [19].
The velocity of the workforce and various
other function is bound to be increased
because of Reverse logistics mechanism.
There will be an increase in service market
share because of effective implementation of
reverse logistics. The goals that could be
sustainable in the long run can be achieved
with a higher success rate. Transparency in
the whole system can be seen in the
construction business if RL is successfully
deployed.
The management of products beyond
the process of manufacturing as well as final
sale can bring cost as well as efficiency
advantages of reverse logistics to supply
chain. Reverse logistics refers to the
procedures related to management of the
products beyond manufacturing as well as
sale. It consists of repair, warranty,
redistribution as well as value recovery. On
the other hand, there are several
organizations included in the electronics
industry, the reverse logistics becomes an
important factor [11]. However, the change
as the organizations realise that proper and
effective management of reverse logistics
supply chain offers several scopes in order
to minimize costs as well as create untapped
revenue streams through enhancing
efficiency and reducing waste and
recovering the process of underlying value
of the returned products as well as materials.
On the contrary, forwarding supply
chain is considered as the first step in
optimization of reverse supply chain as well
as minimizing the cost of reverse logistics is
addressing the procedure inefficiencies. The
issue of scrapping the reusable parts may be
exacerbated in the organizations that have a
department handling returning of the
products as well as handling spare parts for
repair. However, there are any formal
communication between the departments.
The process of handling the warranty claims
with the process of inherent efficient [15].
The element is under the warranty that does
not mean RMA as the most efficient method
for handling the process. Furthermore, the
major scopes within any type of reverse
logistics operation come under the
production areas as well as return
management with service parts management.
On the contrary, the reverse logistics
is considered as the integral part of logistics
operations for several organizations. The
industry of an organization has an impact to
which that can deploy a formal returns
management procedure. Reverse logistics is
considered as the key functions of supply
chain. It is considered as a complicated as
well as difficult for navigating the
procedure. It is happened as the supply chain
evolves as well as increases in complicated
process. The procedure also includes a
subset of distinctive service that is offered in
supply chain management system [4]. The
operators of supply chain are emphasizing
on gaining efficiency of reverse logistics
that is more than the process of return
volumes. The important financial impact has
driven nearly 3PLS, distribution centres as
well as warehouses are required to add as
core competency compared to the

specialized service. An effective program
offers several scopes for recovering the
value as well as cost minimization. [6]. The
use of the methods like lean planning as well
as inventory optimization and vendor
management process can optimize the trade-
off as well as ensure appropriate part in right
place and right time.
2.7 Summary
The impact on the environment can
also be minimised by reusing materials that
has been discarded as it will take off huge
burden from the environment, which is
struggling doe to ever growing demands of
the population in the construction sector. It
should also be stated that not much research
has been for the proper implementation of
RL in Australia that would more and more
construction companies to use this
management technology. There should be
steps taken by the government as well as the
voluntary sector, to properly promote the
idea of reverse logistics in relation to the
construction sector.
Chapter 3: Research methodology
3.1 Introduction
Comprehension of proper
methodological tools for the research is
helpful to develop the research in proper
way. Research methodology assists in
understanding the method to conduct the
research in right way. Research
methodology is a systematic process where
various types of associated concepts are
related to proper research study. Present
section includes research philosophy,
research approach and research design. In
addition, data collection and analysis
process are explained in the research. On the
other hand, ethical consideration for the
research during conduction of the research is
discussed in this section of the research. It is
important to define the research issue.
3.2 Method overview
Methodological tools Selected
methodology
Research philosophy Positivism
philosophy
Research approach Deductive Approach
Research design Descriptive research
design
Data collection process Secondary data
collection
Data analysis process Qualitative Data
analysis method
Table 1: method outline
(Source: created by author)
3.3 Research philosophy
Realism, post-positivism and
positivism philosophies are the types of
research methodology [24]. Positivism
philosophy makes sure correctness and
legitimacy of data. It is taken about the
methods where data are related to the
process and phenomenon needs to be
collected and analyzed. On the contrary, the
concept of knowledge may appear as
profound because of involving in the part of
creating knowledge and able to cover the
research questions as well as answers.
Positivism philosophy has been
chosen in the research for analyzing the
importance of reverse logistics in material
management. Selecting the research
philosophy influences practical associations.
In addition, there are important
philosophical differences existing in the
research that focuses on the facts as well as
analysing the importance of reverse
logistics. On the other hand, developments
in practicing the research have been
presented in conventional way. The
research does not follow humanistic
qualitative method, where interpretivism
philosophy has been rejected in the research.
The research is based on quantifiable
observations and ensures statistical analysis
that is obtained in the research.

3.4 Research approach
Research approach is important for
conducting a research as it ensures proper
format of the research that is important for
the research [25]. A right research topic is
chosen as it is significant as well as
formation and conduction of the research.
Deductive approach and deductive approach
are the types of research approaches used,
whereas inductive approach covers the
development of theories and models through
analyzing the existing data on the particular
topic. However, deductive approach
discusses as well as analyzes the existing
theories and models related to the topic.
In the research, deductive approach
is selected. As the approach follows the
existing theory and concepts of reverse
logistics in material management, selection
of deductive approach is justified in the
research. On the other side, inductive
approach has been discarded as the research
does not aim to develop theory and model
about the research topic.
3.5 Research design
The research design has an important
role in the research as it follows detection of
the issues consisted in the importance of
reverse logistics in material management.
However, correlation design related to the
research has been discarded [23]. On the
contrary, the research does not follow case
control study and semi-experimental
research design that are rejected in the
research as it does not engage field
experiment. On the other hand, the strategy
has permitted the researcher explaining
various factors regarding the research topic.
3.6 Data collection process
The data collection method assists
the researcher in collecting data for the
research [22]. Secondary data are collected
in the research regarding the importance of
reverse logistics in the research. Data can be
helpful in making perception of the research
topic during helping in extracting the
materials that are helpful for collecting raw
data and directly catered based on the
demands. Secondary data has been collected
from various reliable sources like peer-
reviewed journals.
3.7 Data analysis process
Qualitative data analysis technique is
used in research as it assists in recording the
narrative form of data. On the other hand,
qualitative data assists in providing
theoretical aspect, which can lead in better
comprehension of the topic.
3.8 Sample and sampling
There are different types of sampling
method used in research such as simple
random probability technique and non-
probability sampling technique. Deploying
random probability sampling technique is
important is justified in research. The
method helps in selecting the secondary
source of the research.
3.9 Ethical consideration
While collecting the data for the
research, it is important to ensure that the
procedure of data collection is complied
with ethical practice for the particular
research. After completion of the data
collection procedure, it becomes important
to ensure proper ethical practice. The data
collected for the research requires to be
properly extracted from authentic sources.
3.10 Timeline
(Refer to Appendix)
3.11 Summary
The section of research includes
several tools for the research as the process
has been justified. Selection of the
methodology will be helpful to conduct the
research in proper way. However, it is
important justify the scientific approach that