Abstract
Purpose - Although the importance of establishing sound metrics is often noted in the logistics literature, few research efforts have examined appropriate metrics for reverse logistics processes. Through the lens of goal-setting theory, we identify and align salient reverse logistics goals and metrics, and uncover some of the most common challenges to reverse logistics professionals.Design/methodology/approach - We used open-ended questions to gather qualitative data from 84 reverse logistics professionals from the defense industry. A content analysis method was employed to extract and categorize the goals, challenges, and metrics for reverse logistics processes.Findings - We identify specific categories of goals, challenges and metrics. Several themes emerged from our study, to include customer service, disposition, costs, and process efficiencies. Using these themes, we matched goals to metrics and found a lack of uniformity and noted that metrics and goals often were not matched or were misaligned.Research limitations/implications - This research is limited by our defense industry sample and our research method. Caution should be used when generalizing our results, and further research is required to empirically test the validity of our findings. Nonetheless, in the context of goal-setting theory, our study contributes to the performance metrics literature by aligning reverse logistics metrics with goals and addressing challenges faced by reverse logistics practitioners. By investigating the topic from multiple perspectives, our study provides more detailed findings and demonstrates the differences between the inbound and outbound reverse logistics processes.Practical implications - This study provides insight into the metrics used to monitor and control reverse logistics processes. Our findings may help firms to identify shortcomings and choose metrics that they can employ to align reverse logistics processes with firm goals.Originality/value - Our study contributes to the performance metrics literature by aligning reverse logistics metrics with goals and addressing challenges faced by reverse logistics practitioners. By investigating the topic from both an inbound and outbound perspective, our study provides more detailed findings and demonstrates the differences between the inbound and outbound reverse logistics processes.
Purpose - Although the importance of establishing sound metrics is often noted in the logistics literature, few research efforts have examined appropriate metrics for reverse logistics processes. Through the lens of goal-setting theory, we identify and align salient reverse logistics goals and metrics, and uncover some of the most common challenges to reverse logistics professionals.Design/methodology/approach - We used open-ended questions to gather qualitative data from 84 reverse logistics professionals from the defense industry. A content analysis method was employed to extract and categorize the goals, challenges, and metrics for reverse logistics processes.Findings - We identify specific categories of goals, challenges and metrics. Several themes emerged from our study, to include customer service, disposition, costs, and process efficiencies. Using these themes, we matched goals to metrics and found a lack of uniformity and noted that metrics and goals often were not matched or were misaligned.Research limitations/implications - This research is limited by our defense industry sample and our research method. Caution should be used when generalizing our results, and further research is required to empirically test the validity of our findings. Nonetheless, in the context of goal-setting theory, our study contributes to the performance metrics literature by aligning reverse logistics metrics with goals and addressing challenges faced by reverse logistics practitioners. By investigating the topic from multiple perspectives, our study provides more detailed findings and demonstrates the differences between the inbound and outbound reverse logistics processes.Practical implications - This study provides insight into the metrics used to monitor and control reverse logistics processes. Our findings may help firms to identify shortcomings and choose metrics that they can employ to align reverse logistics processes with firm goals.Originality/value - Our study contributes to the performance metrics literature by aligning reverse logistics metrics with goals and addressing challenges faced by reverse logistics practitioners. By investigating the topic from both an inbound and outbound perspective, our study provides more detailed findings and demonstrates the differences between the inbound and outbound reverse logistics processes.