Supply Chain Management: Literature Review

This assignment involves analyzing a set of provided sources related to supply chain management. The sources include academic papers, books, and articles from reputable publications. The student is expected to thoroughly examine these resources, highlighting key concepts, theories, and methodologies discussed within them. This literature review aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the current state of knowledge in supply chain management, including its strategic planning, operations, and sustainability aspects.

Running head: SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Title of the paper:
Designing a closed-loop supply chain for improving sustainability of global business
practices
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Abstract
Supply chain management can be understood to be a business concept which is essentially
engaged in ensuring that the various aspects which are involved from the procedure of product
manufacturing to the product delivery is being carried out effectively. Additionally, it also
involved ensuring that the different costs involved in the business can be adequate in nature.
Therefore, Supply chain is an essential concept of the business. The primary aim of the paper is
to examine the overall aim of the Supply Chain management and understand the various
concepts associated with it. This involves Green supply chain management, Closed Loop Supply
chain management and other related aspects. Hence, the study has followed a systematic format
whereby the first chapter focuses on the overall background of the paper which is then followed
by the Review of Literature which concentrates on each of the concepts with reference to various
theoretical concepts and journals. The third chapter lays down the Research Methodology and
this is followed by the focus on the thematic analysis of the Supply chain management in the
fourth chapter. The fifth and the sixth chapter provide the Conclusions and related
Recommendations to be followed by the business managers.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................5
1.1 Overview................................................................................................................................5
1.2 Background of the Study.......................................................................................................5
1.3 Problem Statement.................................................................................................................7
1.4 Research aim..........................................................................................................................8
1.5 Research Objectives...............................................................................................................9
1.6 Research Questions................................................................................................................9
1.7 Research Rationale..............................................................................................................10
1.8 Structure of the Paper..........................................................................................................10
Chapter 2- Literature Review........................................................................................................12
2.1 Overview..............................................................................................................................12
2.2 Supply chain as a concept and related functions.................................................................13
2.2.1 Example of SCM..............................................................................................................13
2.3 Green Supply Chain Management.......................................................................................14
2.4 Consequence of green supply chain initiatives in terms of economic and environmental
performance of both buyers and suppliers.....................................................................................16
2.5 Closed Loop supply Chain Management.................................................................................20
2.6 Factors influencing the use of Closed Loop Supply Chain Management...........................21
2.7 Manufacturing supply chains...................................................................................................23

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2.8 The Service Supply Chain.......................................................................................................24
2.9 Summary..................................................................................................................................24
Chapter 3: Research Methodology................................................................................................26
3.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................26
3.1 Research Outline..................................................................................................................26
3.2 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................27
3.3 Research approach...............................................................................................................28
3.4 Research design...................................................................................................................28
3.5 Research Strategy................................................................................................................29
3.6 Data Collection....................................................................................................................30
3.7 Data analysis........................................................................................................................31
3.8 Ethical considerations..........................................................................................................32
3.9 Accessibility issues and Foreseen Limitations....................................................................32
3.10 Summary............................................................................................................................33
Chapter 4: Analysis and Discussion..............................................................................................34
4.1 Overview..............................................................................................................................34
4.4 Green Supply chain management........................................................................................38
4.5.1 Using Closed Loop Supply Chain Management for Organization effectiveness.............41
4.6 Changing focus from Manufacturing supply chain management to Service Supply chain
management...............................................................................................................................45

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4.6.1 Supply chain at the Manufacturing Organization.............................................................45
4.6.2 Supply chain in a Service Industry...................................................................................46
4.6.3 Transformation from Manufacturing oriented to Service oriented Supply chain
management...............................................................................................................................47
4.7 Summary..............................................................................................................................49
Chapter 5: Conclusion...................................................................................................................50
5.1 Limitations...........................................................................................................................51
5.2 Future scope.........................................................................................................................51
Chapter 6: Recommendations........................................................................................................52
References......................................................................................................................................55

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Overview
The concept of Supply chain has become considerably very popular and it is with respect to
the overall concept of the Supply chain management that it has become increasingly crucial for
the organization to get involved in the understanding of the same and attain success with respect
to the offerings (Christopher 2016). In the 21st century, there have been various new concepts
which have been introduced in the field of the Supply chain management and one of these can be
understood to be the Closed Loop Supply chain management which tends to function with the
aim of engaging in the reverse logistics. Hence, in relation to this, the paper aims to focus on the
concept of supply chain management as a whole, examine the concept of the Closed Loop
Supply Chain management, focus on how the overall supply chain function can be improved in
an organization and additionally observe the transit from the manufacturing supply chain to the
service supply chain. This chapter on the Introduction will provide a focus on the overall
background of the subject, the research objectives, and the research questions and provide an
overall structure of the paper.
1.2 Background of the Study
In the last few years, the overall concept of sustainability on a whole has become quite
comprehensive in nature and has become inclusive of various fields like supply chain,
management as well as technology. An ideal definition which can be accepted, with respect to
the concept of the Sustainable Supply chain management (SSCM) can be stated to be the one
whereby all the consumer products which are adequately supplied need to be created, recycled,
used as well as disposed of in the Closed loop Method. According to Christopher (2016), the
Closed Loop Supply Chain Management can be defined as and referred to as all the Logistics in

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the supply chain which is inclusive of the production, distribution as well as the procurement of
the materials which can be stated to be forward in nature, as well as the Reverse Logistics which
deals in the collection and process returns as well as the unused items which are present within
the scope of the organization. The concept of Closed Loop Supply Chain (CLSCM) has gained a
considerable attention in the past and has been successfully able to gain attention in academia
and industry (Monczka et al. 2015). However, even though the particular concept has become
considerably crucial and has gained considerate importance in the past few years, not many
research papers and journals have been able to come up with related concepts.
In addition to this, there lies considerable ambiguity with respect to the topic and hence,
it is for this reason the primary focus of the literature will be to briefly review the current
literature based on the concept of Closed Loop Supply chain management based on the study of
the past few years. In addition to this, the related themes which are based on the Green
operations relating to the Reverse Logistics, Green Manufacturing, Green design, management of
the Waste and the Product Life cycle Assessment and related topics shall be discussed relevantly.
An extensive review of the Closed Loop Supply Chain Management shall be provided in the
research paper.
In addition to the above discussion, it can be mentioned that the manufacturing scenario
has changed considerably and that there is a new trend of making environmental friendly
products. In line of this, the business scenario has changed considerably and now it has become
critical for the businesses to take into consideration the social as well as the environmental
issues. The Closed Loop Supply Chain has been essentially identified as an approach which
helps in the overall improvement of the performance of the supply chain procedures as well as
processes which take place in the organization as per the overall environmental policies as well

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as regulations which are in existence. The overall concept of the Closed Loop Supply Chain
Management takes into summary the overall Green Operations which exist, the Green Design,
the Green Manufacturing as well as the overall waste management. The Closed Loop Supply
Chain management undertakes the ecological issues as well as the economic issues as an
objective and conventionally focuses on the multi objective perspective instead of the single
objective perspective as undertaken by the Supply Chain Management (Monczka et al. 2015).
The paper shall also be identifying the overall knowledge of the closed loop Supply Chain
management issues which are bound to affect the firm and thereby discuss the overall advantages
of closing the supply chain. The closing of the supply chain not only provides operational
advantage but also financial advantage for an organization. In line with this, it also works in the
considerable famous of the overall environmental sustainability. Hence, not only does the
concept assist the firm in completing the overall objectives of the business but also ensures that
the business is able to gain a competitive advantage and the economic status of the firm increases
considerably (Hugos 2018).
Once an organization is able to improve the overall Closed Loop Supply Chain
Management effectively, it will be able to reduce the waste, reduce the environmental pollution
and optimize the resource utilization as well. When proper policies will be designed, the firm
will successfully be able to understand the steps which may lead to the overall sustainability.
1.3 Problem Statement
The Closed Loop Supply Chain Management can be understood to be a unique concept
which not only brings about considerable benefits to the business but also ensure that the society
will be able to benefit adequately from the contribution as made by an organization. With respect
to this, it becomes important for any research to throw light on the topic related to the concept of

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Closed Loop Supply Chain Management and in addition to this also be able to make the readers
understand how the concept evolved, what are the related concepts of Supply Chain management
like the Reverse Logistics, Green Manufacturing, Green design, management of the Waste and
the Product Life cycle Assessment relate and the different benefits which the concept tends to
provide to the firm (Hugos 2018). The review of literature will be successfully able to enlighten
the readers as present and will be able to contribute to the field of the Supply Chain management.
Innovation has become a common part of the firm`s activities and any organization which wants
to ensure success in the long run would be required to see to it that they are able to engage in this
innovation with special respect to the service or the product offerings of the firm. Hence, supply
chain management is understood to be an integral concept which is related to the both
manufacturing and service firms and the new concept of the Closed Loop Supply chain
management is crucial and assists in the understanding of the manner in which the reverse
logistics functions. Therefore, the study aims to fulfill the gap which exists with respect to the
study present in the given concept and therefore, the study will focus on Closed Loop Supply
chain and its role in the modern business operations.
1.4 Research aim
Through the research paper, the researcher aims to highlight the overall concept of the
Closed Loop Supply chain management as a whole and in addition to this, it also aims to throw
light on the manner in which the Supply chain management will benefit the overall future of the
organization. The research aims to present an extensive literature on the given topic. In addition
to this, the overall advantages which the concept is able to provide to the organization will also
be discussed. Through the research, the overall operations of the firm will be discussed and the

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manner in which the firm will be able to take advantage of the operations will also be analyzed
accordingly.
1.5 Research Objectives
The overall Research Objectives of the study can be stated to be as follows:
 To understand the overall concept of the Closed Loop Supply Chain Management.
 To analyze the manner in which the overall concept of Closed Loop Supply Chain
management will be suitable for the long run of the firm.
 To find the manner in which the Closed Loop supply chain management will have an
impact on the overall operations of the firm
 To provide recommendations to the firm with respect to how the Supply chain
management operations of a firm can be improved
 To understand how the focus of the firm must be shifted from manufacturing supply
chain management to the Service Supply chain management.
1.6 Research Questions
The research questions which have been designed or the purpose of the analysis can be
understood to be as follows:
 What is the overall concept of the Closed Loop Supply Chain Management?
 What is the manner in which the overall concept of Closed Loop Supply Chain
management will be suitable for the long run of the firm?
 What is the consequence of green supply chain initiatives in terms of economic and
environmental performance of both buyers and suppliers?

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 What recommendations can be provided to the firm with respect to how the Supply chain
management operations of a firm can be improved?
1.7 Research Rationale
The given research has been undertaken in order to overcome the gaps which tend to
exist in the field of the concept of Closed Group Supply Chain Management. Through this, the
study aims to focus on the literature review available in the field of the Closed Group Supply
Chain Management (Meindl 2016). Moreover, the study shall also ensure that the related
concepts of Closed Group Supply Chain management are discussed adequately and in addition to
this, the overall recommendations are provided to the organization which will then assist them in
seeing to it that, they are able to successfully apply the overall concept of the Closed Loop
Supply Chain Management as a whole and in line of this, they are also able to benefit from the
same. In this way, the firm will not only be able to maintain the ecological balance in the society
but in a manner similar to this, the firm will also be able to maintain the overall economic
balance (Brandenburg et al. 2014). In addition to this, the research is being conducted in order to
provide the different authors with a considerably clear view of the manner in which the research
can be conducted with respect to the Supply chain concept using secondary journals and business
reviews. Moreover, the study will also fulfill the gaps which exists in the current literature and
provide a scope for further discussion with respect to the same.
1.8 Structure of the Paper
The research paper will follow a systematized format with respect to which, the paper
will be divided into six chapters and each chapter will comprise of the following:

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Chapter 1- Introduction: The first chapter will focus on Introduction chapter with the help of
which the overall background of the paper will be discussed consistently. In line of this, the
overall research objectives and related research focus shall also be laid down.
Chapter 2- Literature review: The second chapter will present a review of the literature whereby
the related concepts of the Green supply chain management, Closed Loop supply chain
management and other related concepts related to the topic shall be discussed accordingly.
Chapter 3- Research methodology: The third chapter will be the Research Methodology which
will be discussing the overall concept of the research techniques which will be adopted for the
paper.
Chapter 4- Analysis and Findings: The fourth chapter will be presenting a comprehensive
research and analysis presentation which will be discussing the overall concepts as a whole and
in line of this, it will also be discussing the overall concepts and literature related to the Closed
Loop Supply Chain Management.
Chapter 5- Conclusion: The conclusion will provide an overall summary to the research and in
line of this, the link to the overall objectives will also be discussed.
Chapter 6- Recommendations: The last chapter will provide certain recommendations based on
which, the organizations can make better use of the concept.

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Chapter 2- Literature Review
2.1 Overview
The supply chain management can be defined as the overall flow of the services as well
as goods so that the finished goods can be transferred from the source of supply to the source of
the demand. The main aim of the supply chain management lies to ensure that the business`s
supply side activities assist in maximizing the overall customer value and gain a competitive
advantage in the global marketplace (Meindl 2016). The Supply chain management tends to
represent the effort which is generally undertaken by the suppliers in order to develop or
implement a supply chain which is efficient as well as economical in nature. The supply chain
comprises of the product development activity to the information needs system which helps in
undertaking these aspects. According to Brandenburg et al. (2014), the role of the Supply chain
in a business can be understood to be relating to the linking and overall control inventories
present as well. In addition to this, the Supply chain management can be understood to be based
on the idea that each product which is present in the market is a direct result of the efforts which
are undertaken by the vendors in order to cut the excess costs which the business is involved in
and to deliver products to the different consumers in a faster manner. This is usually undertaken
by taking tighter controls of the internal inventories which are existent and ensuring that the
customers get the right product at the right time. Wisner, Tan and Leong (2014) states that
although the different supply chains have been presented for ages but most importantly they have
been present in order to add value to the organizations offering.
The section helps in analyzing and identifying the concept, aspects and implementation
of the Green Supply Chain Management in the ever-changing business-related environment. The
intensified level of competition along with accelerated developments in technology which

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characterizes the globalized world wherein the convention of the green supply chain
management plays a vital role in improving the globalized business environment (Mangan and
Lalwani 2016). The main aim and objective of the respective study is to determine the role and
the barriers of the green supply chain management during the application of the same in the
different activities in the organizations.
2.2 Supply chain as a concept and related functions
The supply chain can be understood to be the chain of connected networks of various
organizations, individuals, resources, activities, technologies and the overall sale of a product or
a service. The supply chain begins with the delivery of the raw materials from the side of the
supplier to the manufacturer and then tends to end with the delivery of the finished goods from
the end of the manufacturer (Wisner, Tan and Leong 2014). In line with this, it can also be
understood that, the Supply chain management tends to oversee the touch point of the product
offerings as made by a company from the initial stage to the final stage. The Supply chain
management can be understood to be a useful function which adds benefit throughout the supply
chain and assists in increasing the revenue, decreasing the costs and impacting the bottom line of
the company.
2.2.1 Example of SCM
An example of how the Supply chain functions can be understood to be with respect to
the overall operations of the Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. The supply chain has placed the
ultimate focus on ensuring that, the company needs to operate as a large pharmacy chain and
needs to remain ahead of the changing trends of the business and hence, aims to add value to the
bottom line of the business (Mangan and Lalwani 2016). In addition to this, the firm has invested
considerably in the technology portion of the supply chain and has thereby implemented a

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forward looking Supply chain management which helps it in using analytics to forecast the
customer purchase behavior and engages to ensure that the forecast of the inventory can be
created and the supply chain can be maintained accordingly with minimum scope of mistake.
The Supply chain manager is the person who is responsible for all the supply chain activities of
the business and in line with this, the primary duty of a supply chain manager can be understood
to comprise of the basic plan or the strategy, the source management, the focus on the efficiency
and the productivity, the delivery of the logistics and the return system which is primarily known
as the reverse logistics (Govindan, Soleimani and Kannan 2015). It is the duty of the supply
chain manager to ensure that the shortages are kept at a minimum and that the costs are kept
down. In addition to the job of supply chain manager being about the purchasing inventory and
the logistics, the job of a supply chain manager is also about the overall recommendations to
improve the productivity of the firm, spending quality and maintaining the overall efficiency of
the operations.
2.3 Green Supply Chain Management
As commented by Chin, Tat and Sulaiman (2015), in the present competitive business
environment, the different companies are aware that the environmental management is one of the
strategic issues with the potential in order to make the permanent impact on the organizational
performance. Moreover, as opined by Vanalle et al. (2017), the proper establishment of the
environment friendly approach in the supply chain is the issue of growing concern and it is the
challenge for the different businesses in the 21st century. In such scenario, the green supply chain
management plays a vital role for the businesses to achieve the environmental goals. The scope
of the Green Supply Chain Management ranges from the implementation as well as monitoring
of the general environment management related programs for creating and controlling different

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kinds of practices which have been implemented through various aspects which includes Reduce,
Re-Use, Rework, Reclaim and Reverse Logistics.
As commented by Teixeira et al. (2016), due to the impact of the different environmental
issues, the different consumers will be approaching the different companies how the green is
manufacturing as well as supply chain of the different products. Proper lowering of the cost for
the different waste disposals occur during the process of supply chain management and it will be
cutting the entire process. As opined by Laari et al. (2016), the different advantages of the green
supply chain include the fact that businesses implementing GSCM can comply with the different
environment related laws along with minimizing potential compliance related risks as well.
Jabbour and de Sousa Jabbour (2016), have commented that on the social side, the
decreased consumption of the energy, production of waste as well as emissions can be helpful in
contributing towards improving the community as well as health of the employees working in the
organizations. In addition to the respective aspects, the different commercial benefits of the
GSCM includes increased proper access to the market along with improved environmental
related performance which will be leading to the high satisfaction among the different customers
in the market as well. As opined by Fahimnia, Sarkis and Davarzani (2015), the different kinds
of commercial benefits of the GSCM includes the fact that it will be increasing the competitive
advantage of the company along with the market share which will be increasing the overall
performance of the company in a proper and effective manner.
Lastly, as commented by Jabbour and de Sousa Jabbour (2016), there can be different
disadvantages of the green supply chain management includes the fact that there are significant
capital expenditures to be highly undertaken which incurs the different high costs and it affected
the overall effectiveness of the activities of the company in a negative manner as well. The major

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drawback of the Green Supply Chain Management is the hike in the cost of the raw materials,
costs related to testing along with the expenditures related to investment and it affects the overall
efficiency of the time spent in the research and development regarding the different activities
appropriately.
2.4 Consequence of green supply chain initiatives in terms of economic and environmental
performance of both buyers and suppliers
The green supply chain initiatives and procedures can be understood to be highly
comprehensive in nature and in relation to this, it can be rightfully understood that, in order to
ensure the success of the organization in the long run, the different green supply initiatives need
to be adopted thoroughly by the organization which would then help the firm to engage in long
term success (Govindan, Soleimani and Kannan 2015). The various economic as well as
environmental benefits of the green supply chain initiatives for the buyers and sellers alike can
be understood to be as follows:
1. It has a Positive impact on financial performance
Although various studies tend to reflect that the green supply chain management brings
about negative impacts on the overall financial performance of the firm, it is a myth and in
reality, the fundamental benefit of the Green Supply Chains can be understood to have a positive
long term impact on the financial standing and related positioning of the organization. The
empirical evidence and the analysis tend to prove this fact.
2. Sustainability of Resources
By using the Green supply chain, the firm will also be able to engage in effective
utilization of the different productive resources which are present in the organization. According

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to Baldwin and Lopez‐Gonzalez (2015) when the Green supply chain management is usually
inculcated within the realm of the firm, then in regard to this, it can be largely understood that by
incorporating the Green Supply Chain management, that firm will be able to make their decision
procedure in the right manner and they can also engage in environmental friendly production
procedures which shall help them in producing the green outputs.
3. Lowered Costs/Increased Efficiency
Another core benefit of the Green Supply Chain management can be understood to be the
fact that it reduces the waste by promoting or increasing the overall efficiencies of the business.
In line of this, when the firm is essentially able to promote and maintain the resources as well as
the suppliers in the right manner, then in such a case, the raw materials can be reused, the
production costs are reduced and in addition to this, recycling as an activity is promoted.
Moreover, the production of the hazardous substances is also reduces and hence, when the firm
is questioned for violating the environmental regulations, it saves on the fines which it would
have been required to pay (Baldwin and Lopez‐Gonzalez 2015). As a result of this, the relevant
operational costs are reduced considerably while the efficiency of using these resources for the
overall utilization of the firm is improved.
4. Product Differentiation and Competitive Advantage
According to Teixeira et al. (2016), the Green supply chain also assists in positioning
itself in the eyes of the customers. In this manner, any firm will aim to position its operations as
well as the products which it generally tends to sell in an environmental friendly method and in
line of this, it attracts the new profitable customers who are present. Additionally, this activity
tends to provide the firm with a competitive edge in the long run and strengthen the overall brand

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image of the firm in the market. Moreover, it helps the firms to improve its reputation in the
market and ensure larger customer sales
5. Adapting to Regulation and Reducing Risk
The organizations who tend to apply the Green supply chain practices can essentially
reduce the overall risk of being held up for the anti-environmental as well as the unethical
practices (Khajavi, Partanen and Holmström 2014). A demonstrated effort towards the concept
when shown by the firm towards creating an effective supply chain helps to incur a sustained
dedication of the resources, the activities as present and the management protocol is also
reflected adequately.
6. Improved quality and products
In addition to the above benefits as provided in the domain of the firm, it can be
understood that the Green Supply Chain management also helps a firm to improve the overall
quality as well as the products as present and allows the firm to produce goods and come
up with services which essentially belong to the right category. Moreover, according to De
Giovanni and Zaccour (2014), this helps in the dual effect of enhancing the brand image as well
as the reputation of products in the customer mind.
7. Effective management of Suppliers
The Green supply chain management can be understood to be a systematized procedure
which shall assist any firm in ensuring that they are not only able to improve the overall quality
of the products and the services which they tend to provide to the different customers as present
but in addition to this, the green supply chain also tends to assist in the effective management of

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the different suppliers as present (Stadtler 2015). Their details as well as explicit information
about the items which they are supplying to the company can be maintained adequately which
shall then go a long way in seeing to it that, the overall operations become very efficient in
nature.
8. Dissemination of technology, advanced techniques, capital and knowledge among the
chain partners
It can be understood to be the long term role and duty of the firm to ensure that, they are
successfully being able to manage the different suppliers as present in the firm and they are able
to grow along with the different supply chain partners as present. In line with this, it lies the
overall duty of the primary firm to disseminate information, technology and advanced techniques
among the change partners (Khajavi, Partanen and Holmström 2014). Although dissemination of
this information cannot be considered to be an easy affair, with the help of the green supply
chain, it becomes considerably easier for the firm to ensure that, they are able to make all their
supply chain partners considerably aware of the techniques which they are required to use and
what may enable them to perform well in the long run. Hence, in this way, the supply chain
management helps the supply partners to perform considerably well and be able to ensure long
term success.
9. Transparency of the supply chain
Another long term benefit of the supply chain can be understood to be the transparency in
the supply chain. In the green supply chain management, the process of supplying can be
understood to be a systematic and simple procedure and with respect to this, it needs to be made

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critically relevant for the firm to ensure that, they are being able to maintain the transparency in
the entire system. In relation to this and in accordance with Stadtler (2015), it also becomes
critically important, for the firm to ensure that in case the entire supply chain system is very
transparent, then the firm will be able to attain long term success and will be able to ensure that,
all the participants as present in the Supply chain system are being able to interact with one
another in the right manner.
2.5 Closed Loop supply Chain Management
The Supply chain is understood to be a set of activities which comprises of the purchases,
manufacturing, logistics, marketing, distribution as well as the performance of delivering the
valued offerings to the end customers (Fahimnia, Sarkis and Davarzani 2015). The green
economics and sustainable development have become considerably popular as a concept and has
been growing considerably in the myriad fields. In line of this, the focus entirely lies on these
two concepts and there have been various researches as present in the field with respect to which
the supply chains as well as the logistics can be managed successfully. Various concepts in the
particular domain have become considerably popular like the Green Supply Chain management,
the Closed Loop supply chain management, the Reverse supply chain management, Reverse
Logistics, the Sustainable Supply Chains, Transports and others (Schaltegger et al. 2014).
According to Vanalle et al. (2017), the different firms which are largely involved in the
Closed Loop Supply Chain Management systems generally tend to develop an economically as
well as environmentally sustainable industrial systems and helps in maintaining the overall
transparency in the firm. According to Teixeira et al. (2016), the closed loop supply chain
management can be described as the design, control and the operation of a system so as to ensure
that the overall value creation of the firm can be managed well and the entire life cycle of a

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product can be made with the help of a dynamic recovery of the value from different types and
related volumes of the return over a considerable time frame. The Closed Loop Supply Chain
management tends to involve the collection, inspection / separation as well as the re-processing,
disposal as well as the re-distribution of the products (Schaltegger et al. 2015).
The main areas where the Closed Loop Supply chain management can be understood to
be considerably different from the traditional supply chain management is by the goals they tend
to achieve which in case of the closed loop is to gain maximized benefits. In addition to this, the
management structure for the Closed Loop Supply Chain Management system essentially
focuses on the environmental effects, however, the traditional closed loop supply chain
management system simply focuses on the profits and incentive systems (Pagell and Shevchenko
2014). In line with this, the Closed Loop Supply Chain Management can be understood to be a
complete business model and comprises of the reduction of the carbon and the environmental
protection in a critical manner.
2.6 Factors influencing the use of Closed Loop Supply Chain Management
According to Pagell and Shevchenko (2014), the Sustainability can be understood to be a
priority for the different supply chain managers and hence, this has become a growing concern
for the depletion of the resources which are generally made use of by a business. Recently, the
legislations lying around the environmental concerns has been increasing considerably and has
thereby driven more governmental regulations which are primarily centered around the
emissions as well as the field of ethical sourcing. Fahimnia, Sarkis and Davarzani (2015) states
that the different Organizations operating in various automotive industries have introduced the
zero waste goals and these firms comprise of the giants such as the Unilever, the Subaru, Toyota

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and other sustainable initiatives. Hence, the sustainable initiatives which the different firms are
required to adopt right now have become considerably very popular.
In the United States, the rule lies to drive at least 90% of the wastage away from the
environment, the incinerators, the landfills and other aspects before a company can be called a
zero waste company. However, very few firms are being able to manage this aspect and ensure
that they become a zero waste firm (Cooper 2017). Although reaching these goals is very
difficult, however, it is due to the closed loop supply chain that, no wastage has become a
phenomenon which is possible to be inculcated by the business (Brindley 2017). A closed loop
supply chain can be understood to be a supply chain management system which is designed and
managed in a way such that, it has the overall capability to combine as well as manage the
forward and the reverse supply chain management systems.
In this case, as mentioned by Brindley (2017), the forward supply chain can be
understood to be a process whereby the firm is involved in the creation of new products from the
existing raw materials as involved in the business and on the other hand, in the reverse supply
chain management, comprises of the collection, testing as well as the retrieval of the returned
products, parts as well as the related materials with their reintroduction in the overall supply
chain through the procedure of recycling. Hence, as agreed by Ho et al. (2015), once an item has
been manufactured and distributed, in such a case, the closed loop manufacturer will be required
to attempt in order to encourage the return of item when it is no longer required by the firm or
not being made use of in the take back programs and related incentive program as well. These
products then return to the previous condition for resale or are used for future products in the
long run.

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According to Heckmann, Comes and Nickel (2015), the closed loop supply chain
management has a large number of benefits which are thereby associated with it and help in
ensuring that, the firm is able to engage in greater profits by resourcing the goods but not paying
for the raw materials and additionally, allowing the different firms to cut their pricing and
thereby receive considerably high margins. In addition to this, the consumption of the raw
materials increases considerably and the firm is then able to ensure that it puts up a better public
image in the eyes of the different customers. According to Ho et al. (2015), a large number of
firms are involved in the procedure of implementing the closed loop supply chain management
procedures and the P and G can be understood to be the firm which aims to build upon the zero
waste to landfill status at 65% of the sites of the production and hence, this facilitates in making
the entire procedure closed loop. Through this procedure, the firm will be able to save on
650,000 metric tons of waste which would have instead got into the different landfills.
Additionally, the Fetzer Vineyards which is one of the largest wineries of the state has been
successful in introducing a closed loop supply chain. According to Heckmann, Comes and
Nickel (2015), the Dell can be understood to be another firm which is greatly involved in the
introduction procedure and has been successful in leading its supply chain management in a
sound manner. This has enabled the firm to engage in less output of the harmful chemicals and
hence, it is through this procedure that the firm will be able to recycle the different offerings
made by it and attain a UL environmental certification for manufacturing with the plastics of the
closed loop recycled plastics.
Although, it can be mentioned that there exists various challenges to implementing the
closed loop supply chain management, however, it helps in long term sustainable advantage.

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According to Snyder et al. (2016), the costs involved in the business can also considered to be
high but the opportunity for the firm’s success in the long run cannot be overlooked.
2.7 Manufacturing supply chains
The manufacturing can be understood to be defined as an activity which utilizes various
capabilities and is largely understood to be a value addition to the material. It makes it possible
for the different users to use the product efficiently and with respect to this, they can also be
understood to be a procedure with the help of which the manufacturers general produce and add
value to the different offerings which are present (Snyder et al. 2016). As the manufacturing
industries have developed considerably, more resources have been added to the domain of the
business and the specialization generally tends to reduce the costs and improve the overall
efficiency of the operations and to reduce the costs and improve the consistency and quality of
the different operations which exist. Hence, the manufacturing supply chain can be largely
understood to be a technique, making the use of which the different business owners tend to
engage in the improvement of the different operations which exist and in line of this, it aims to
ensure that the efficiency of operations can be made adequately. This not only assists the firm in
seeing to it that, the firm will be able to earn considerable profits in the long run, but also assists
in ensuring that the organization prospers.
2.8 The Service Supply Chain
The service supply chain can be understood to be the supply chain which essentially
involves and focuses on the services instead of the products which are present within the realm
of the firm. The service supply chain tends to focus on the supply of the parts, materials as well
as the personnel as well services which need to be provided in a timely manner (Cooper 2017).
Moreover, it also assists in effectively repairing as well as the maintenance of the systems. The

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supply chain involved in the service tends to also involve the logistics which is required to be
processed for the purpose of the servicing, replacement and the repairs as present. Very often the
different companies as present in the workplace tend to manage this with the help of a third party
logistics provider as it helps them to improve the efficiency of the operations (Coyle et al. 2016).
Very often the service supply chain also denotes the supply chain for the activities of the service
industries, like the finance and health care and also means to support the activities of the network
of service providers and the supporting elements.
2.9 Summary
Hence, in the given analysis the concepts of the Green Supply Chain Management can be
understood to have been discussed. In addition to this, the concepts of the Closed Supply Chain
Management, the consequences of the same and the concepts of the Manufacturing supply chain
and the service supply chain were discussed.

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Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.0 Overview
The Research Methodology can be understood to be a critical chapter in the domain of
the overall study of any crucial research topic and helps in outlining the different research
techniques which would assist in ensuring that the research objective can be attained and the
different research questions can be answered with sufficient justification (Kumar 2019). It is the
chapter on the Research Methodology which helps in learning the manner in which the overall
study will be able to engage in long term success by deploying the various research techniques
which will assist a paper in carrying out the different research objectives. In line of this, it can
also be understood that, the chapter on Research Methodology goes a long way in determining
the overall theoretical framework present behind the use of a particular kind of theory or what
justification can be provided for the research technique so as to see to it that, its use can be
justified. Therefore, it is with respect to this that, the given chapter will outline the overall
research techniques which the paper has followed in order to find the overall concept of Green
supply chain management and the Closed loop supply chain management (Taylor, Bogdan and
DeVault 2015).
3.1 Research Outline
The research methodology chapter has been outlined in a comprehensive manner with
respect to which the research philosophy method to be adopted has been provided which has then
been followed by the research approach. The research strategy and the research design sections
will primarily focus on the overall layout of the paper and the data collection and analysis part.
As the study is mainly theoretical in nature, the Data collection will be mostly secondary and
will also comprise of certain themes which will help in understanding the overall domain of

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closed loop supply chain management and the concept of the Green supply chain management
with accurate perspectives.
3.2 Research Philosophy
The research philosophy can be understood to be defined as the primary reason with
respect to which the research procedure is conducted and comprises of various beliefs as well as
the assumptions which are generally taken prior to conducting the overall procedure of the
research. The three most popular type of research philosophies can be understood to be the
Pragmatism philosophy, Realism and the Positivism Philosophy(Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault
2015). For the purpose of the study, in order to dwell deep into the domain of the Green supply
chain management and the Closed Loop supply chain management, the research philosophy
which will be followed can be understood to be the Interpretivist Research philosophy which
involves the researcher to interpret the overall elements of the study and additionally also
integrates human interest to the study. This philosophy focus on qualitative approach over the
quantitative approach and hence, will be more suited with respect to the study.
Justification for the use of the Research Philosophy
The reason why the Interpretivist Research Philosophy has been adopted is to ensure that
as the study is based on the various theories and concept discussed in the field of a closed supply
chain management, using this philosophy the researcher will be successful in seeing to it that,
overall concepts can be examined adequately and that the study can be perceived from a human
perspective as well (Kumar 2019).

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3.3 Research approach
The research approach can be understood to be a well-defined plan and approach which
can be made use of by the researcher thereby assuming a set of beliefs and additionally laying
down the manner in which the data collection as well as the data analysis shall be proceeded
with. The deductive research approach can be understood to be based on the aims as well as the
testing theory which tends to determine the overall hypothesis and the different trends as present
in the given domain (Flick 2015). For the purpose of this study, the research approach which can
be adopted can be understood to be the deductive research approach. This means that, the
researcher will be interpreting all the relevant data available on the given domain and will be
deducing or extracting crucial information out of it. In the deductive research approach, various
models as well as frameworks are made use of which makes the study considerably theoretical in
nature (Flick 2015). The study shall determine the patterns as well as regularities in the field of
the supply chain management and highlight the overall concept of Green Supply chain
management and the Closed Loop supply chain management.
Justification for the use of Research Approach
The deductive research approach can be understood to be a fundamental research
approach which is generally adopted by the various researchers when they want to deduce
information from a study (Alvesson and Sköldberg 2017). The reason why the Deductive
Approach has been adopted for the study can be contributed to the fact that, crucial information
could be deduced out of the data which has been selected to include in the paper.
3.4 Research design
A research design can be essentially described as an arrangement of the conditions or the
collection of data. These conditions and collections are generally made use of while collecting

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and analyzing the measures of data collection as well as the data analysis. In regard to this, for
the purpose of the research, the research design which has been adopted for the purpose of the
study can be understood to be the descriptive research design (Kumar 2019). In this kind of a
research design, the overall concepts relating to the supply chain management can be discussed
and in line of this, the overall concept of the closed loop supply chain management can also be
analyzed accordingly.
Justification for the use of Research Design
The research design which has been adopted for the purpose of the study can be
understood to be Descriptive research design. The reason why the Descriptive research design
has been adopted is because, it will help in elaborating over the different concepts of the study in
a justified manner (Bresler and Stake 2017). The Supply chain management as a concept can be
understood to be a crucial concept and if the researcher wants to ensure success with the study
then in such a case, the researcher would be required to proceed with this research design.
3.5 Research Strategy
The research strategy can be understood to be the overall strategy which is generally
adopted with respect to the study which is undertaken and determines the overall manner in
which the data will be collected for the study and analyzed accordingly (Bresler and Stake 2017).
For this research based on the Supply Chain management, the Secondary and Qualitative
research strategy has been adopted. In this scenario, the research will be focusing on the
theoretical perspectives and the models related to the field of supply chain management and the
closed loop supply chain management (Mackey and Gass 2015). This will then be followed by
the analysis of the information which has been collected with the help of a secondary approach

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as well. For the purpose of the study the thematic approach will be essentially followed for the
purpose of the study.
Justification for the use of Research strategy
The reason why the Secondary Qualitative research strategy has been adopted for the
paper can be contributed to the fact that, the study on the overall concept of the Supply chain
management can be understood to be a complicated one and in relation to this, the researcher
would be required to ensure that in case, if the researcher is required to provide critical analysis
of the entire topic then in this scenario, he would be required to deploy sufficient methods to do
so (Ledford and Gast 2018).
3.6 Data Collection
The Data collection can be largely understood to be the process which is generally
followed by the researcher in order to carry out the research and in addition to this, can be
understood to be the way in which the study is actually begun with. For the process of this
dissertation, the data collection procedure which has been followed can be understood to be the
Secondary qualitative technique (Bresler and Stake 2017). Various journals and business reviews
will be assessed critically and information on the latest field of development relating to the
Supply chain management and the related domains of the Closed supply chain loop as well. The
particular method of the data collection has been adopted because of the descriptive nature of the
study and the overall research objective to dwell deep into the topic (Taylor, Bogdan and
DeVault 2015). Once the data through various sources will be collected, they shall be analyzed
and sorted so as to ensure that the research portrays the latest developments in the field of the
study and is able to fulfill the overall objectives which have been outlined for the purpose of the
research.

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Justification for the use of the Data collection method
As the study can be understood to be based on a secondary approach, in such a scenario,
it becomes critical for the business to use the different authorized websites, business reviews and
journal articles in order to ensure that the researcher will be able to achieve the overall outcomes
(Bresler and Stake 2017). Moreover, as the study is a descriptive study, the use of journal
articles, business reviews and related secondary sources to ensure that the research objectives can
be attained successfully.
3.7 Data analysis
The Data analysis can be understood to be a procedure with respect to which the data
which has been collected in the previous section can be analyzed critically in order to present the
results of the study and also keep forward a set of findings which will go a long way in assisting
the study to achieve the overall objectives as well (Mackey and Gass 2015). As the particular
research will be following the qualitative research data collection procedure and at the same way
the overall research is planned in a manner such that, detailed theoretical information can be
derived out of the study, the data analysis method can also be described to be as qualitative in
nature and in relation to this, the thematic approach of data analysis has been followed (Alvesson
and Sköldberg 2017). The thematic analysis can be understood to be one of the most common
ways analysis which can be carried out in the domain of the research and related study. The
thematic analysis primarily tends to focus on the pinpointing, examining and recording the
patterns which are present in the data. The study will be divided into various themes whereby
each theme shall be critically analyzed and the trends in the field of the Supply chain
management has been analyzed in accordance to it (Silverman 2016).
Justification for the use of the Data analysis Method

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The primary reason why the thematic analysis has been adopted as the method of data
analysis, can be contributed to the fact that as the study requires to make the use of various
theories and concepts and hence, the use of the thematic analysis will be successful in dividing
the theoretical knowledge into various themes which will ensure that the overall concept of the
Supply chain management can be carried out and implemented easily (Taylor, Bogdan and
DeVault 2015).
3.8 Ethical considerations
The research has aimed to follow the different guidelines and code of the overall ethical
requirements which are required to be present in the field of study. Moreover, although no
participants are essentially involved in the study, the study will be making use of the ethical
considerations which shall help in ensuring that no rights are violated with respect to the
assessment and related analysis (Silverman 2016). Moreover, all the data which will be presented
in the paper is authentic in nature and in regard to this, it needs to be understood that, the paper
will be following all the ethical guidelines and requirements.
3.9 Accessibility issues and Foreseen Limitations
The accessibility issues which have been faced while analyzing the information or by
processing the information can be understood to be related to the accessibility of the latest
journal which can be collected by the researcher in order to plan the dissertation or it can also be
understood to be the fact that some of the journals and related articles can be understood to be
biased in nature. A limitation which can be understood to be present in the particular field of
research can be understood to be related to the limitation with regard to the data collection
method. In this research, only qualitative data collection ad data analysis method shall be made
use of which makes the overall research quite limited in nature. Moreover, if the survey had not

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been used as the purpose of the research, in such a case, the opinion of the general audience and
the different experts has not been adopted.
3.10 Summary
Therefore, the given chapter outlined the overall procedures which have been adopted for
the purpose of the study and described the related suitability for the particular topic. In addition
to this, the particular section also focused on the justifications which were provided for the use of
research techniques.

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Chapter 4: Analysis and Discussion
4.1 Overview
Having understood the overall research methodology which has been adopted for the
purpose of the paper, it becomes essential to outline that this chapter will be based on the overall
concept of the thematic analysis (Gao et al. 2016). The thematic analysis will assist in
understanding the theory based on which the research has been carried out effectively. The
thematic analysis is one of the most commonly used form of analysis involved in the qualitative
research which assists in pinpointing, examining and recording the patterns within the data.
There does not exist a single definition of a theme. The following section has been divided into
various themes which are named as follows:
 Supply chain management concepts
 Trends in Supply chain management
 Green Supply chain management
 Concept of Closed Loop Supply chain management
 Changing focus from Manufacturing supply chain management to Service Supply chain
management
4.2 Supply Chain Management
The supply chain management can be understood to be the manner in which the entire
production or the flow of production is handled well in a refined manner. This procedure tends to
begin from the raw components of the business and ends at delivering the final product to the
different customers and consumers as present. In order to accomplish this task, the aim lies to a
create a well based network of the different suppliers so as to see to it that, the products are able

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to move along the organizations who are dealing directly with the different customers (Gao et al.
2016). The supply chain as a concept comprises of the following six components:
 Planning: The planning forms the primary purpose of a Supply chain management. In the
procedure of planning, the organization is essentially required all the different resources
which lie in the domain of the workplace. When a supply chain is established for the
overall purpose of an organization, then in such a case, the different metrics needs to be
determined successfully so as to see to it that it delivers value to the different existing
customers.
 Sourcing: The sourcing is another function which the supply chain management
department is required to carry out effectively (Gao et al. 2016). The establishment aims
to process as well as to monitor and manage the overall supplier relationships which lie
within the scope of the firm and look after the overall management of inventory, ordering
as well as receiving the payments as present.
 Making: The function of making involves seeing to it that the different raw materials as
involved in a firm are accepted, tested for the quality, packaging as well as defining a
relevant schedule for the delivery of the items.
 Delivering the Logistics: The delivery of the logistics also comes under the umbrella of
the supply chain management and the different organizations involved in the same will be
required to ensure that they are able to dispatch the loads, invoice the customers and
receive the payments in a timely manner.
 Returning- The returning of a network or the process means taking back of the defective,
unwanted products or the excess products which are present.

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 Enabling- The enabling also forms a crucial part of the organization and any firm which
aims to ensure long term success would require to ensure that, they are able to monitor
the different services as well as procedures in a profound and timely manner so as to see
to it that, the enabling of processes comprises of the human resources, finance, IT,
portfolio management, the management of the facilities and the management of the
product design.
4.3 Trends in Supply Chain Management
2019 has brought about various trends in the field of the Supply chain management. The
year 2019, has been successful in bringing about a diverse supply chain and with respect to this,
the technical innovations can be understood to be reducing the complexity of the supply chain as
involved (De Giovanni 2014). The various advancements are enabling the evolvement of the
supply chain from a technology enabled procedure which is generally carried out by the different
organization to a technology centric one. The complexity in the markets has been increasing
considerably and in relation to this, the needs of the consumers have also been increasing and it
is with respect to this, that the different companies will be required to call themselves for a trend
setting action from the various industries so as to ensure that, they are able to perform well in the
long run. The areas of the Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and the Block chain have
become considerably relevant.
Artificial Intelligence
The Artificial Intelligence can be understood to be a body which embarks on the
technology of tomorrow. In regard to this, it can be rightfully understood that there are a large
number of self-learning algorithms which are found in the markets and these add value to the

37SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
overall customer approach which tends to exist. In relation to the associated machine learning,
the amount of data can be understood to be decisive in nature but the knowledge about all of this,
can be drawn from the future (De Giovanni 2014). The intelligent and the autonomous
technologies relating to the robots and drones as well as related supported vehicles are enabling
logistical coordination in the warehouses. In the domain of the service, this can be stated to be in
the form of Chabot’s which tend to offer a direct point of contact for the different questions as
well as the comments which are in the domain of the potential customers (Soleimani and Kannan
2015). According to Zion Market Research, the Artificial Intelligence market in the field of
supply chain has crossed the market and will become a market of USD 6,548 million by 2024.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The internet of things has become a common aspect and a large variety of things like the
wearables, the different appliances are becoming aligned with the different internet aspects and
in relation to this, the number of networked devices will increase considerably and thereby boost
the overall efficiency and productivity related to the field of supply chain. It is estimated that the
number of networked devices will increase at a considerable speed in the long run and with
respect to this, the manpower will be saved and in relation to this, there will not exist any risks
related to the future production.
Immersive technologies
The augmented, virtual as well as the mixed realties are not new anymore and in relation
to this, in the field of the supply chain and related logistics, the manufacturing as the well as the
warehousing of the goods and resources can be understood to be offering considerable numerous
and assistive technologies so as to ensure that, they are successfully able to improve the overall

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operations and in relation to this, they are also being able to modify the different operations
relating to the purchase of the services and produces, the technology used to enable them or to
see to it that a virtual store can be well managed. However, in the future, it has been predicted by
Gartner that 70% of the enterprises will be experimenting with the immersive technologies and
hence, this will lead to faster production and faster warehousing procedure. Supply chain
management and goes a long way in assisting a firm to engage in the potential cost reduction. It
leads to an improved cash flow, shortened transaction processing times and allows the companies
to deal directly with one another. This can be understood to be an advantage with respect to the
service supply chain management as it gives scope for the counterfeiting, traceability as well as
the efficiency.
Therefore, in relation to this and as per Soleimani and Kannan (2015), it has to be
understood that, the dynamics of the future supply chain and related aspects need to be shaped
adequately and in this way the firm will be required to undergo the ongoing changes which will
then enable it to perform well and help the firm to integrate the Artificial Intelligence and related
tools relating to the internet which will then assist in ensuring that the firms will be able to gain a
long term sustainable as well as the competitive advantage in the long run.
4.4 Green Supply chain management
The different consumers are coming increasingly aware of the overall environmental
concerns and becoming aware about pollution global warming and the impact of firms on the
overall society. Hence the green supply chain management can be understood to be an
environmental friendly logic into the supply chain management (Chopra and Sodhi 2014).
Although it includes all the stages of the production process which range from the design of the

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product, raw material purchasing, the delivery and then the end life of the product, it is indeed
better.
Some of the companies have found this concept very interesting and want to engage in
ensuring that the company will earn money and take care of the planet at the same time. Biggest
companies like Toyota, Maersk and others have adopted systems to use the green supply chain
management system in order to ensure that they are able to look after the environment and
complete their overall business operations as well. However it is not easy to ensure that the green
supply chain management can be carried out successfully (Chopra and Sodhi 2014). There exists
various challenges in implementation of the green supply chain management systems and the
first refers to the high level of uncertainty about the market position. In addition to this, the
concept going green is always not good for the organization and the suppliers would always be
concerned with the fact that they are very expensive in nature and hence will not improve the
course of the firm. However the government around the world has been supporting this activity
and giving tax exemptions to the firms and a good incentive who are supporting the green supply
chain management. In order to optimize the supply chain of any organization it is important that
the customer demands are met with the least price possible. In the industries worldwide, the
green supply chain business is adopted in the business organizations and they often consider this
as an initiative which helps in the implementation of the green supply chain practices. According
to Fredendall and Hill (2016), the major truth about the green supply chain management can be
considered to be the fact that it is environmental friendly and it is much better than the traditional
supply chain management which is present, however it needs to be exposed to better marketing
activities.

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In addition to this the green supply chain management can also be offered as the way in
which the firm can communicate with the different investors who are placing an increase
pressure on the sustainable and transparent governance. The transition will bring about more
benefits for the sustainable future of the firm and various organizations from service to
manufacturing have a key role to play in this.
4.5 Concept of Closed Loop Supply Chain Management
The closed loop supply chains have the capability to forward as well as the reverse
operations which tend to lead to the maximum economic as well as the ecological value. The
process of the materials which tend to flow from the suppliers to the manufacturers can be
understood to be the first part of the supply chain and then this is generally followed by the
purchase of the customers from the different suppliers which is then taken to be the forward
supply chain (Saenz et al. 2015). When any one of the participants as involved in the chain tends
to return the goods back into the chain, the procedure is known as the reverse supply chain. The
forward supply chain can be understood to be the procedure where the goods are taken to the
downstream customers. There exists various supply chains which concentrate on the different
aspects of the business relating to the forward movement as well as the transformation of the
materials which exist from the suppliers to the end customers (De Giovanni and Zaccour 2014).
A considerable set of service providers tend to offer the reverse logistics as a core competencies
and in line with this, the entire functions relating to the collection, inspection, disassembly,
sorting and the disposal of the used products can be understood to have become considerably
popular. The closed loop supply chain has been provided in the following section:

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Figure 1: Closed Loop Supply Chain Model
(Source: Saenz et al. 2015)
4.5.1 Using Closed Loop Supply Chain Management for Organization effectiveness
Closed loop Supply chain reducing recycling packaging
The Reverse logistics is popularly known as the main aspect of the closed loop supply
chain theory and in relation to this, the particular term can often be considered to be in the first
stage of the return procedure and the closed loop has to be involved in the product all the way
from its creation to the demolition (Saenz et al. 2015). In line with this, it has to be understood
that when a particular item is resold then in such a scenario, the loop shall remain open and the

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new buyers will be required to become another source from which the data is collected until the
usefulness of it is diminished.
Moreover, the closed loop supply chain is not required to start with the end life of the
product but from the reverse. This is because, the procurement practices can be understood to
have a large role in ensuring that a product can be recycled when it will reach the end of the
current cycle. The companies may be willing to reach out for a reusable packaging for the
purpose of the transport and in line with this, in place of the cardboard shipping, the buyers are
essentially encouraged to use or send back the material as present and the subtle signs hinted in
the labelling depict that the consumer can identify the end-of-life process at the selling procedure
(Martínez-Jurado and Moyano-Fuentes 2014). However, in relation to this, it needs to be
understood that finding value in a dying object is not a new concept but the recent trends predict
that the prioritizing product availability makes it relatively easier to ignore the overall
sustainability considerations for the purpose of the economy.
However, recent trends have observed that there has been a shift in the logistics process
and the manner in which the firm handles its supply chain management and thereby creates a
closed loop or a full lifecycle supply chain which would assist in improving the overall supplies
and leading to a greater collaboration.
Shifting focus to Closed Loop Supply Chain
All around the globe the different firms can be understood to have a changed view
towards the procedure of recycling and there is an increased urgent need with respect to
innovation as well as the collaboration in the field of the supply chain. As the global recycling
industry can be understood to be responding to the financial, political as well as environmental

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factors, the different consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the various sustainability
issues which lie in the society. All the businesses can be therefore understood to come up with a
viable solution for the domain of the closed loop supply chain.
In the year 2018, the decision which was made by China to restrict the types of recyclable
purchases was understood to be a starting step and the manner in which a tariff was charged on
the American cardboard and related fiber packaging can be taken to be a good move to improve
its own economy in the long run. According to Martínez-Jurado and Moyano-Fuentes (2014). the
different reports on the same have reflected that, the plastic as well as the different papers which
are usually taken from the United States are being dumped in landfills instead of being recycled
and turned into new materials. Hence, it can be considered with respect to this that, they drive a
push for the different efficient programs which exist. It has lead the overall development of the
concept of the circular economy model and it aims to provide a long term and regenerative
solution which not only provides the product end of life but also focuses on the recyclable aspect
of the overall waste generated in relation to the supply chain management.
This particular approach will help in recovering the different products which have served
the overall purpose for the different end users as present and aims to turn them into new products
which can be resold in the market. By focusing on the concept of product end of life, the move is
toward sustainability and maximizing the overall value chain as present (Yue, You and Snyder
2014). The particular aspect can be sourced from newspapers, the promotional materials, the
packaging, office documents and other related aspects which have been tossed in the recycling
bin. Hence, in line to this, a true transformation can be to acquire a considerable level of
attention which will lead to the detail and bring about a commitment to the constant
improvement. Hence, in order to build a supply chain which is sustainable, the organization

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would be require to engage in sustainable manufacturing. Therefore, the shift in the focus which
relates to the fact of understanding the impact on the government but also the impact on the
environment has been increasing considerably.
The impact of SCM on business performance
According to Yue, You and Snyder (2014), the success of any business can be understood
to be linked to the success of the supply chain and hence, it needs to be important that the firm is
able to improve on its supply chain which will ensure that the overall supply chain will be able to
improve in a considerable manner. According to a survey was conducted by Deloitte in 2014,
79% of the companies who have good supply chains have brought about an increase in their
overall earnings of the firm. Additionally, it can also be stated that a below average performing
supply chain will bring about a loss to the business and lead to a business failure. In addition to
this, the reason why the business performance can be understood to be related to the Supply
chain management can be understood to be because, it brings about an overall efficiency in the
organization and those firms which aim to ensure success in the long run, would now be required
to see to it that, they are being able to maintain a transparent supply chain management which
would then assist in bringing about better operations for the firm (Eskandarpour et al. 2015).
Lastly, as the overall focus which is now present in the field of the closed supply chain
management, the field of recycling has adopted considerably and hence, the different companies
these days are looking forward to improve their overall performance in the terms of sustainability
as well.

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4.6 Changing focus from Manufacturing supply chain management to Service Supply chain
management
4.6.1 Supply chain at the Manufacturing Organization
According to Eskandarpour et al. (2015), the primary motive of the Supply chain can be
understood to be revolving around the tracking of the movement of the physical goods over the
time period and related location to linking those physical dimensions to broader business data
structures. The concept of Supply chain has existed since the industrial revolution and since then
various initiatives have been adopted throughout to see to it that the overall Supply chain in a
firm can be made better and rather data driven which makes this whole procedure rather efficient
in nature.
The reason why there has been a considerable surge in the Supply chain market can be
contributed to the fact that the products tend to become more complex than earlier and it is in
relation to this that the outsourcing of the supply chain function in an organization has become
more effective as well as efficient as it is not feasible for a company to manage and create the
infrastructure to maintain the supply chain today. Hence, with respect to the globalization, the
specialization has also become crucial (Waters and Rinsler 2014). Moreover, these days, 70% of
the consumer of industrial products are now made from procured in content. This means that, the
business operations have become rather complex in nature and it is in relation to this that, the
combined collaboration with the suppliers is essential so as to be able to deliver the appropriate
products to the market. More so because the suppliers are now vulnerable to the design changes
and hence, it is integral to involve them in the engineering or design stage. The Supply chain
management as an overall concept has assisted in ensuring that the gap which tends to exist
between the different suppliers as well as the design can be fulfilled. The concept of the Software

46SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
making use of the Supply chain management has become considerably important and in
manufacturing the Supply chain management involves working closely with the designers of the
product so that the availability of the parts and the assemblies can be determined, the
communication becomes relevant and in addition to this the engineering changes need to be
made in a joint association with these suppliers who have been affected by this phenomenon
(Waters and Rinsler 2014).
4.6.2 Supply chain in a Service Industry
The primary difference which exists with respect to the supply chain of a manufacturing
industry and the service industry can be understood to be in the fact that, the input in case of a
service industry involves the use of physical labor in case of the input instead of the raw
materials. The physical labor is essentially required because, it will assist in the management of
the packaging, shipping and related procedures. The people act as the input for the Service
Industry because people help in driving relationships as well as manipulating the information.
According to Qrunfleh and Tarafdar (2014), for the service industry, the new software’s and
tools can speed the flow of communication and the service industry takes a finished good in the
form of a closed file. This means that once the service has been provided, the case is considered
to be closed.
According to Qrunfleh and Tarafdar (2014), the service firms generally have a different
set of operations as compared to the manufacturers present in the field and the companies that
maintain goods, sell consulting or provide healthcare need a high labor content but low
investments in the equipment as well as the plant. Hence, it is with respect to this is that the
different firms would be required to ensure that the asset is the most integral part of a service and
therefore, it is the primary duty of the service company to keep the different employees content

47SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
with the overall offering and see to it that, the employees, business partners, and other related
individuals are satisfied. In order to understand the procedure better, the example of a supply
chain in a service based company can be made use of (Qrunfleh and Tarafdar 2014). The case of
a marketing organization which specializes in logo design will be undertaken to express the
manner in which the supplies and raw materials used in the company are online and software
tools.
The marketing firm, the example of which has been adopted can be understood to be a
service company and the primary focus of the supply chain is on the human interaction. The firm
does not make use of large physical products and hence, the production system is primarily based
on the pull strategy where the customers generally tend to initiate the demand. In addition to this,
logistically the services which are provided by the firm depends on the needs of the different
clients and in line with this, the customer relations are critical to the overall success of the firm
and should form the criteria for overall priorities which a firm is required to fulfill (De Giovanni
and Zaccour 2014). The supplies of the firm are gathered from a combination of the software,
hardware as well as the meaning of the overall inventory. The finished good in such a scenario
can be understood to be the marketing report which is delivered to the client and thus the case is
considered to be closed. Additionally there does not exist any specific time slots for the purpose
of the service because, each client will have separate needs for the marketing from the firm and
hence, the timelines tend to differ accordingly.
4.6.3 Transformation from Manufacturing oriented to Service oriented Supply chain
management
According to Govindan, Soleimani and Kannan (2015), the supply chain management
can be understood to be the manner in which the firm tends to handle the flow of procedures as it

48SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
assists in ensuring that the products and the services can essentially go from the point of raw
materials, stored goods, shipped and then with the final customers. In line of this, the supply
chain management receives success and completion with respect to the designing, planning and
the execution of the process and tends to end with the procedure of creating and maintaining the
flow which is involved. The supply chain implements the same strategy which is applied in the
manufacturing field to see to it that, the quality of service is improved along with the end result,
profitability, timely delivery and other related aspects. In case the quality of the input is
increased, then in such a case, the service will also increase which would make the firm
increasingly popular and would make the firm`s revenue soar up. The Internet of things has
become very relevant to the overall upgrades in marketing along the years which thereby makes
the whole procedure increasingly popular (Devika, Jafarian and Nourbakhsh 2014).
Although in the initial phase of the organization, the supply chain was considered to be
relevant only for the manufacturing companies but with time, it has been adopted soundly in the
service industries as well. This change which is bound to take place, will have a considerable
impact on the capital investments present in the physical equipment and the machine involved
and a change in the hardware and software infrastructure as well. The logistics which is involved
in the manufacturing industry usually involves the moving of the goods from one place to
another and the consideration is based on the size as well as weight whereas, in the service
industry this is concerned with the moving around of related information. Although it does not
require the same means of moving around the products, but will instead involve the moving
around of information, in the fastest way possible (Govindan, Soleimani and Kannan 2015).
Hence, on the side of the manufacturing, the firms find it essential to find the best rates for the
shipping and warehouses which is essentially involved in the reduction of the costs, whereas, in

49SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
the case of the service industry, the firms generally find ways to upgrade the servers and
maximize the invested labor and reduce costs.
Therefore, in relation to this, it can be rightfully mentioned that the optimization process
involved in the manufacturing industry and the service industry tends to vary as in the
manufacturing industry this involves increasing the speed of delivery but with the services it
involves complete focus on the network capabilities and related information flow. In such a case,
it needs to be considered that, the focus is on information transformation instead of reducing the
related costs involved. Additionally, the partnerships which are generally developed by a service
company tends to determine how a firm can become more effective in nature, imbibe efficiency
and reduce the costs (Devika, Jafarian and Nourbakhsh 2014). The Bottlenecks can occur in this
industry as well but these information bottlenecks will be caused by approvals and unnecessary
procedures. However, different the two industries may be, it is integral to ensure that, the end
result is achieved at a lower cost and faster delivery time.
4.7 Summary
Therefore, in this chapter, the concept of thematic analysis was made use of in order to
determine the manner in which the overall concept of the Supply chain management can be
understood. In addition to this, the chapter also focused on the manner in which the concept of
the Closed Loop Supply Chain can be maintained and how it provides overall efficiency to the
different organizational members. Moreover, the manner in which the Closed Loop supply chain
has changed the dynamics of the industry and how the overall concept of the Supply chain
management has evolved has also been discussed. Lastly, the different themes like the transition
of the manufacturing supply chain management to the service supply chain management has

50SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
been discussed and the ways to optimize the supply chain management in both the industries has
been optimized accordingly.

51SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Chapter 5: Conclusion
Therefore from the given study it can be concluded that the supply chain operations form
integral part of any organization. Any firm which wants to ensure success in the long run would
be required to integrate the supply chain management in a way such that it meets the demands of
the different consumers as well as does not prove to be very expensive on the side of the firm.
This can be ensured by seeing to it that the managers able to adopt effective strategies, and they
are updated with the latest technology as president. This research paper concentrated on the
concept of the closed loop supply chain management and the green supply chain management
and focused on explaining the various concepts entrance associated with it. The paper follows a
systematic format whereby the first chapter lays the background of the paper and the research
questions which the paper had into answer. This was followed by a brief outline of the structure
of the paper. This was followed by the second chapter on the review of literature on various
aspects such as the green supply chain management, close loop supply chain management,
benefits of supply chain management and the transition from the manufacturing to the service
supply chain management. All data was adapted from that business journals and business
reviews which are available on various database platforms. The next chapter provided a research
methodology laying down the different research techniques which have been used for the
purpose of the paper. Each research technique was backed by justification of the same and the
reason for its implementation has also been stated down. The fourth chapter was based on a
thematic analysis on this concept of the supply chain management whereby the latest trends, the
basic concept behind it, the closed and green supply chain management were discussed. Hence
the paper provides a comprehensive outline of the he overall aspect of supply chain management
and increasing importance in the business. The impact of technology on the supply chain

52SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
management was also discussed to understand how technology has been implemented and how
these function for the business managers. In the next section certain recommendations be
provided which will assist the reader in understanding how the business managers will be able to
improve the supply chain management in an organization.
5.1 Limitations
This study had certain limitations which can be understood to be as follows:
 First of all it was entirely based on qualitative analysis and no quantitative data was
analyzed
 Secondly, the research was undertaken based on secondary data only and no primary data
has been collected by the researcher
5.2 Future scope
Hence in the future the different researchers may undertake to evaluate this topic and
seek to examine the impact of technology on the supply chain management and the latest trends
which underlie the business environment. As the technology has advanced considerably and the
cloud technology has been implemented by various business organizations in the field of supply
chain management it may become important to understand how this technology affects the
business and the benefits that it carries along with it.

53SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Chapter 6: Recommendations
Therefore from the previous sections it can be understood that the supply chain
executives are under the pressure to develop a more customer centric, efficient and reliable
supply chain whereby innovative ways can be used reduce the cost and enable the growth of the
firm. Moreover they have also been asked to inculcate transparency into the system and take
advantages of the business opportunities that lie in the external environment. It is not easy to
carry out the supply chain which is a present in all spheres and it is best in relation to this that the
managers often find it difficult to adapt to the scenario hence it is important for them to adopt
different strategies which will not only help them to come up with well-defined plan for the
supply chain management but will also help them to fulfil all the pressures which day they
receive. Hence this section that provide certain recommendations which could be followed by
business managers in the manufacturing organizations and service firm in order to improve their
overall supply chain management system.
a. The first key to success in the dynamic business environment can be understood to be
to adopt a demand revision planning and business model on the real-time demand. It
can be understood that the demand of the consumers are changing and that the revenue
would be affected at every point of time and as it is not easy for the organization to
meet these demands. However the key is to have a foresight which will help in
leveraging the right kind of opportunities and mitigating the different challenges which
are mostly faced by the business organization. A demand driven supply chain will
ensure that the firm is able to meet with the needs of the customers at the same time it
will not waste resources behind it.

54SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
b. The next strategies can be stated to be the way of adaptive and agile supply chain with
integrated execution. Once the managers are being able to grasp a better idea of the
environment it is important that the supply chain is adaptive and agile so that it can be
changed easily. Just-in-time inventory can be understood to be one of the most crucial
examples of the agile-ness of the supply chain and it sufficient to meet the current
demand and can be changed according to the future demand of the different customers.
The market activity has never been easier than this due to the advancement of the
technology and hence the managers would be required to take advantage of this.
c. The third strategy which can be followed by the ways organizations can be understood
to be the optimization of the product designs and the management of the product.
Innovation can be understood to be a crucial aspect which can be used to combat the
different competitors in the market but however it does not exist in a vacuum. In order
to be successful the product to be manufactured at the right place right time at the right
course and the decisions have to made be meet at the early cycles of the development of
the product so that they able to break the market. Hence product in a vision can be
understood to be an increase in part of the firm strategy and if a company can manage
the people, processes decisions and the information in the right manner then it will
accurately be able to capture and maintain a balance across into and business and will
be able to achieve strong results with respect to the market leadership
d. Another recommendation which can be followed by the different managers can be
stated to be to align the supply chain with the business activities by intimating the
different functions of finance, sales, operations and marketing along with business
planning. All the various processes of an organization need to be integrated as it is

55SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
important to bridge the gap between them so that the forecasting and budgeting can be
done in a manner which will suit the needs of the business and result in better results.
When the cloud technology will be adopted with this business planning it will ensure
that the real-time visibility can be taken advantage of and all dimensions like demand,
supply, and recent performance can be managed successfully.
e. The last strategy which the managers and leaders in the firm can adopt is the embedded
sustainability into the supply chain operations. As mentioned before the triple bottom
line of people, proper and planning has to be inculcated in the firm but the managers in
the operations need to be an important part of this. Therefore the company leaders will
be required to embed sustainability as component ensure that they are able to reduce the
carbon in efficiencies, minimize and energy consumption and minimize the cost
associated with it as well. The different ways to do this is compliance audits, best
practices and a suitable framework to ensure that all this can be carried out
successfully.
Hence from this it could be understood that the demand and supply chain managers to
respond to the change in the business environment has been increasing and the good news is that
effective strategies in the cloud technology can assist them in ensuring that they are able to carry
out these expectations of the different investors.

56SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
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