IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transe/v205y2026ics1366554525004806.html

Benefits of vendor-managed inventory for the reverse logistics operations of returnable transport items

Author

Listed:
  • Schoepf, Vivien
  • Strauss, Arne K.
  • Fleischmann, Moritz

Abstract

As closed-loop supply chains are gaining importance in many industries as key enablers of reduced waste and ecological footprint, new challenges arise in integrating forward and reverse logistic flows. We focus on a variant of the production routing problem and explore the benefits of vendor-managed inventory (VMI) policies for the reverse logistics operations of returnable transport items. A stochastic two-stage program accounting for the considerable uncertainty of return flows is developed and solved using sample average approximation and relaxation-based bounds. We find that the benefits of VMI are not only linked to lower operational costs but also higher performance stability. Further, in hybrid networks of partially VMI and non-VMI nodes, the strategic selection of nodes for VMI implementation can positively impact network performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Schoepf, Vivien & Strauss, Arne K. & Fleischmann, Moritz, 2026. "Benefits of vendor-managed inventory for the reverse logistics operations of returnable transport items," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transe:v:205:y:2026:i:c:s1366554525004806
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tre.2025.104439
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1366554525004806
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tre.2025.104439?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transe:v:205:y:2026:i:c:s1366554525004806. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600244/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.