This document discusses challenges and opportunities for organizing circular supply chains. It notes that reverse logistics is important for circular economies but can be complex due to varied product flows and quality. It also mentions issues like opportunistic behavior, changing regulations, and the need for long-term investments. The document outlines several strategies for future reverse logistics, including customer intimacy, on-demand pull systems, clean operations, and local focus. Finally, it emphasizes that collaboration between organizations is key and requires strategic alignment, an open culture of trust, and shared processes and metrics.

1. WALTHER PLOOS VAN AMSTEL
AUAS – OCTOBER 2021
Logistics eats circular supply
chains for breakfast
How to organize for collaboration?

2. Circular challenges:
Stuff and fluff
 Volumes: steady and predicable flow
 Organising reverse logistics for different
segments: end-to-end
 Quality of product flows
 Fluff: managing with data
 Opportunistic behaviour
 Long term investments
 Changing regulations

3. Future reverse logistics
Customer intimacy
On demand: pull
‘Address intelligence’
Clean, safe, and light
ITS
Local focus
‘Slow mobility’
Predictable: push
Large volumes
Synchromodal
ITS
Large scale

4. Future physical internet
 Urban reverse logistics
 Coordination and
collaboration
 Corridors, hubs and
synchromodality
 Sustainable, safe and
secure
 Interconnected
information systems

5. Organizing for collaboration
Strategic
elements
Collaboration
Cultural
elements
Technology
Business
case
Intra org
support
Corporate
focus
Resouces and
commitment
Collaborative
culture
Cross
functional
activities
Process
alignment
Joint
decision
making
Metrics
Trust Mutuality
Information
exchange
Openness
Communica
tion
Source: M. Barratt – understanding the meaning of collaboration in the supply chain