Towards a Sustainable Reverse Logistics Framework/Typologies Based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

In the past, closed loop supply chains (CLSCs) were not considered as value creating chains due to complexities and uncertainties in the product returns until the introduction of radio frequency identification (RFID) in the domain of supply chain (SC), which has made the product visibility possible in the CLSCs and has overcome the issues of uncertainties in product returns. There is a lack of research to configure RFID in closed loop supply chains or reverse logistics (CLSCs/RL). The objective of this paper is to develop the typology and propose the framework for configuring RFID in the CLSC/RL by categorizing the products based on RFID tagging and correspondingly finding the place of tagging RFID to the products in the CLSC/RL on the basis of product category in order to attain sustainability in an efficient and effective manner. Two typologies (pre-tagging and post-tagging) regarding deployment of RFID in sustainable and CLSC/RL are developed along with categorization of products as single-piece and multi-piece products followed by a proposed conceptual framework for RFID configuration in Reverse Logistics domain. Empirical study is required to validate the proposed conceptual framework. The outcomes include: improvement in product visibility, forecasting accuracy, customer satisfaction, profit and market share and reduction in inventory cost and pollution.