Analysis of Vital Role of Customer in Green Supply Chain: Bylca Approach

Abstract

Activities at the global level are on continuous growth to meet the increasing demand of materials byincreasing population. Though this trend is desired and welcome from a business point of view, the consequence of ever increasing impact on environment is a matter of serious concern. Organizations across the world are trying to monitor and control the negative impact on the planet through  legislations and programs such as ISO 14000, Restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS), Eco-design of energy- using products (EuP) announced by the European Union (EU) and Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). However the priority in choosing the method or approach to minimize the damage on the environmentdiffers very widely among the nations mainly due to their economic status and thus consensus and adherence to these regulations remain as a major question.

This paper analyses the various research articles and books on green supply chain and examines the different stages of life cycle of a product in retail market, from cradle to grave and again rebirth in a closed-loop supply chain and the extent of impact ofdifferent stages on the greenness of the supply chain. The three stages of product life cycle identified are manufacturing, maintenance and disposal. Further, the role of various processes, stakeholders/players and critical success factors is discussed and the important role of customer in initiating the reverse logistics processes in usage/maintenance and end of life stages is highlighted. Finally, some measures are suggested to get greater involvement of all stake holders and to move towards better and greener supply chains, thus minimizing the negative impact.