The rapid technological development of new products, coupled with the growing consumer desire for the latest technology, has led to a new environmental problem: products that are discarded prematurely. But behind every problem lies an opportunity. Many of these products can be reprocessed, leading to savings in natural resources, energy, landfill space, and ultimately, time and money. Strategic Planning Models for Reverse and Closed-Loop Supply Chains addresses complex issues caused by the inherent uncertainty involved in every stage of a closed-loop supply chain.

New, Now, Next. Consumers ever growing appetite to acquire new products and their short courtship with them has kept manufacturers busy not only expending resources at an alarming rate, but also depleting these resources and giving rise to waste and pollution at a correspondingly increasing and disturbing rate. Traditional manufacturing methods that use mainly virgin materials to produce new products and dispose of the used products at the end of their lives are quickly becoming unsustainable. In addition, regulations that require manufacturers to take back products and dispose of them...

The introduction of reverse supply chains has created many challenges in network design, transportation, selection of used products, selection and evaluation of suppliers, performance measurement, marketing-related issues, end-of-life (EOL) alternative selection, remanufacturing, disassembly, and product acquisition management, to name a few. Under the guidance of an expert editor and with contributions from pioneers in the field, Reverse Supply Chains: Issues and Analysis addresses several important issues faced by strategic, tactical, and operation planners of reverse supply...

Statistical Analysis for the Reliability Engineering Professional

Effectively conduct reliability analysis using the world s leading statistical software. Reliability Analysis with Minitab^(r) outlines statistical concepts and applications, explains the theory of probability, reliability analysis, and quality improvement, and provides step-by-step instruction on the use of Minitab. Minitab introduces reliability analysis tools that can be used to perform tasks that range from checking the distribution fit of lifetime data to...

What happens when one of the most widely used quality improvement methodologies meets the world s leading statistical software for quality improvement? Packed with case studies in a variety of sectors, including health care, manufacturing, airlines, and fast food restaurants, Six Sigma Case Studies with Minitab(r) shows you how to maximize the quality analysis and improvement tools available in Minitab(r) for your Six Sigma projects.
Highly illustrated, the book includes detailed steps and more than 380 screenshots that explain how to use:

• Confidence Interval Estimation
...

In order to ensure environmentally responsible production and disposal of products, local governments are imposing stricter environmental regulations, some of which even require manufacturers to take back their products at the end of the product's useful life. These government regulations, together with increasing environmental awareness, have forced manufacturers to invest in environment-conscious manufacturing. The multiple Criteria Decision Making Techniques presented in this book can be employed to solve the problems of environment-conscious manufacturers in product design, logistics,...