Designing a Closed-Loop Supply Chain for Global Business Practices

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of supply chain management, with a specific focus on closed-loop supply chain design to improve sustainability in global business practices. The paper begins with an introduction to the concept of supply chain management, including its evolution and importance in the 21st century, with a focus on closed-loop supply chain management. It then delves into the background of the study, highlighting the increasing significance of sustainability and the role of closed-loop systems in achieving it, along with a detailed literature review which covers supply chain functions, green supply chain management, closed-loop supply chain management, manufacturing and service supply chains. The research methodology section outlines the research approach, design, strategy, data collection, and analysis techniques. The analysis and discussion chapter explores the application of closed-loop supply chain management for organizational effectiveness and the shift from manufacturing to service supply chain management. The report concludes with recommendations for businesses to enhance their supply chain operations and embrace sustainable practices. The report discusses the concepts of green supply chain management, reverse logistics, green manufacturing, and waste management, emphasizing the benefits of closed-loop systems for reducing waste, minimizing pollution, and optimizing resource utilization, leading to improved financial performance and competitive advantages. The study also provides insight into the transition from manufacturing-oriented to service-oriented supply chain management, highlighting the evolving landscape of supply chain practices.

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.