A Decision-Making Model for Remanufacturing Facility Location in Underdeveloped Countries: A Capacitated Facility Location Problem Approach

Abstract

Underdeveloped countries are gradually opening remanufacturing facilities to recover end-of-life products (EOL). Locating these facilities in underdeveloped countries is quite challenging because many factors related to the environment, economics, and ethics have to be considered. This paper proposes a decision-making model for locating remanufacturing facilities, a critical factor in implementing remanufacturing in underdeveloped countries. Our principal objective is to obtain the capacity, number, and geographical locations for newly established remanufacturing facilities using a Capacitated Facility Location Problem (CFLP) approach. The mathematical model helps us find the number of facilities that will need to be opened to fully recover the EOL products and the total cost during the entire process. A case study on the establishment of SEVALO Remanufacturing Machinery Co., Ltd. in Cameroon is used to demonstrate the CFLP approach. The results and analyses show that the successful establishment of SEVALO in Cameroon will significantly help to reduce the quantity of construction machinery parts dumped into the environment.