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Companies’ Approach to Reverse Flows Management: The Case of the Czech Republic

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Supply Chain Design and Management for Emerging Markets

Abstract

Over the last two decades reverse flows have become a recognized part of supply chain management. It is primarily the material flow that moves in the supply chain in the opposite direction from the material processed into the form of the final product from suppliers to customers into their processes of consumption. In this chapter the answers to the fundamental questions of the management of reverse flows using the example of the Czech Republic are presented, namely on the basis of collected data and information from the long-term empirical research carried out between managers of 150 Czech companies. The first question is why reverse flows are generated, and why do companies pay or not pay attention to them. Furthermore, who carries out the processes associated with these flows and how they are realized, whereas part of this question is, how the performance of these processes and their economic consequences for businesses are monitored. Three accompanying mini-case studies contribute to a better understanding of the present knowledge targeted at reverse logistics management practices.

The basic finding is that the view of the Czech enterprises is somewhat polarized; reverse flows represent “a necessity that must be addressed” for 61 % of enterprises. The remaining 39 % of companies see reverse flows as a source of value, but not an essential one.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    By the level of management the authors understand the level of knowledge, quality and competence of management.

  2. 2.

    Although it can be deduced that the authors have in mind activities presenting the content of management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

    Alena Klapalová & Radoslav Škapa

Authors
  1. Alena Klapalová
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  2. Radoslav Škapa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alena Klapalová .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Said Business School, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

    Wojciech Piotrowicz

  2. Said Business School, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

    Richard Cuthbertson

Questions for Review and Discussion

Questions for Review and Discussion

  1. 1.

    What could be the reasons for the gap between the level of the real-life management of supply chains and reverse logistics (in practice) and the level of theoretical knowledge gained under formal education in schools?

  2. 2.

    Why is performance measurement of reverse logistics considered difficult?

  3. 3.

    Which issues of reverse logistics should be planned at the corporate level and function at the strategic, tactical and operational level?

  4. 4.

    Why do managers often not perceive reverse flows as an important consideration for management?

  5. 5.

    Reverse flows can serve as one source for information acquisition for the management (planning, strategy making, improvement, experience) of forward flows, specifically for strategy making, planning, and improvement of various processes etc. But in reality this opportunity is not used to such extent as it could be. What are the barriers with this issue?

  6. 6.

    Why do defective products represent the majority of reverse flows despite the fact that companies are usually intensively involved in quality management?

  7. 7.

    What can the lack of systematic management of reverse flows mean in practice? What makes management systematic and is there some specificity of reverse flows that leads to problems with systematic management?

  8. 8.

    The most frequently mentioned drivers for the management of reverse flows are related to customers (customers’ satisfaction, service for customers, customers’ demand). Nevertheless, measures of performance more often concern financial indicators like, for instance, cost. Why do companies not measure soft performance criteria as well?

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Klapalová, A., Škapa, R. (2015). Companies’ Approach to Reverse Flows Management: The Case of the Czech Republic. In: Piotrowicz, W., Cuthbertson, R. (eds) Supply Chain Design and Management for Emerging Markets. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05765-1_12

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