Reverse Supply Chain: Literature Review and Models

A supply chain (SC) consists of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in fulfilling a customer request as defined in Chopra & Meindl (2007). This includes supplier, manufacturer, distributors, retailer, and customer. In addition, all the functions and departments within each organization are included in the SC. Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the coordination between all these parties and functions for the advantage of the whole supply chain. This coordination requires flow of products (in the direction of customers), funds (in the direction of suppliers) and information between different parties.