Managing end of life products: a review of the literature on reverse logistics in Brazil

Abstract

Purpose – The environmental consciousness of customers and the emergence of stricter environmental regulations has pushed industries to think about environmental management by means of reverse logistics (RL) implementation. The purpose of this paper is to provide a current panorama of RL in Brazil and a comparison to international RL body of literature as well. It also seeks to provide a systematic literature review procedure and a conceptual framework for RL literature categorization. Design/methodology/approach – A descriptive and content analysis approach was adopted. First, a topic delimitation phase was aimed at defining the main research areas and related keywords. Second, a material collection phase focussed on a selection of peer-reviewed Brazilian and international journals. Third, a total of 34 papers were assessed by quantitative indicators, and a conceptual RL framework was employed to classify them. Finally, papers were evaluated using content analysis. Findings – The RL research gaps in Brazil are in information technology, facility location, inventory control, outsourcing, and performance measurement. It is also reported that, In Brazil, RL is predominantly linked to recycling activities, and the practice of RL is driven by social conditions and economics in some specific industrial sectors. Research limitations/implications – The focus is restricted to RL applications in Brazil and the corresponding articles published by Brazilian researchers. Originality/value – Practitioners and academics might find this review useful, as it outlines gaps and limitations of existing research in the largest Latin America economy. This work is built on the recent research in RL. No systematic literature review of this kind has previously been undertaken.