Consider the examples of recycling and refurbishing described in the case. Who are the various stakeholders who benefit from these efforts? How do efforts to build sustainable supply chains differ from simple good business practice?

Green Reverse Logistics in the refurbishing services. Brian Morris, director of engineering for Electronics Industry this Texas-based 3PL, gave a detailed explanation of the process involved in giving a returned product a new life: The path to a greener supply chain is often paved with forward- looking ideas focused on environmentally friendly manufac When we receive returns from customers, we do a test in- turing, transportation, and distribution processes. For some spection to find out how many faults the product has. If there companies, however, the key to jump-starting supply chain is nothing wrong with it, we can repackage it for sale. If it's a sustainability can be found in reverse. By embracing reverse faulty product, we identify the failure and determine what it logistics strategies-including returns management, product takes to repair or refurbish that product. repair and refurbishment, recycling of goods and materials, and The next step is to weigh the economics of the repair: Given proper disposal of materials from unwanted goods-companies the cost of fixing a product, does it make sense to repair it? can move the sustainability while also cutting costs and reaping This goes back to the cost/benefit of conducting the testing products with a longer shelf life. and refurbishment processes. There must be an acceptable One business sector that is championing these activities- ratio to be profitable. The range is typically 70 to 80 percent and seeing the bottom-line benefits-is the electronics indus- of the product's original cost. try, largely because of the skyrocketing growth in high-tech If a product is deemed worth fixing, we put it through our gadgets. Thanks to ever-changing technology, top sellers such repair and refurbishment operation, and it emerges like new. as digital cameras, cell phones, video game systems, computers, f the product cannot be repaired, we look at its individual televisions, and other electronic devices become obsolete in a components. If the plastic housing is still in good shape, for few short years-leaving electronics manufacturers to deal with instance, the plastic can be reclaimed and used to refurbish mountains of unwanted product. another product. Batteries are another key component. Most batteries are not exposed, so if they still hold a charge prop- Recycling erly and are in good shape cosmetically, they are often put For electronics manufacturers, recycling unwanted com- through reconditioning. After reconditioning, we use them as ponents is one key aspect of green reverse logistics. In 2007, replacement batteries or sell them to other refurbishing op- Samsung, a global leader in the electronics industry, began erations. We also find uses for components such as keyboards its Recycling Direct program-partnering with take-back and USB cables. and recycling companies that do not incinerate, send materi- als to solid waste landfills, or export toxic waste to developing Products with components that don't make the grade are countries-and has since recycled 14 million pounds of waste sorted into containers and sent to a recycling house. Recy- from its consumer goods and IT products. The company has clers crush and grind plastic components and send them to established drop-off locations across all 50 states in more than an injection mold facility, where that plastic is put back into 200 fixed locations, where consumers can take unwanted elec- production for new plastics manufacture. Circuit boards can tronics (both Samsung and non-Samsung brands). "Our goal be crushed and smelted, and the precious metals-such as is to make it convenient for Samsung customers to recycle old titanium, copper, and small traces of gold-are removed and TVs, phones, camcorders, printers, notebook computers, and sold to another circuit board manufacturer or even a jewelry other electronics at no charge," explains David Steel, senior vice house. president of marketing for Samsung North America. We are working to help manufacturers utilize refurbished The company has also teamed up with the U.S. Postal and reclaimed parts so they can cut down on purchasing new Service and third-party logistics company Newgistics to op- parts. This helps them reduce costs, and it allows us to keep erate the Samsung Take Back & Recycling program, which waste from piling up in landfills. enables consumers to recycle used printer cartridges. Using a prepaid Smart Label, customers can return old printer car- Questions tridges to Samsung by simply dropping them in any mailbox. 1. Consider the examples of recycling and refurbishing de- Through this program, Samsung ensures that empty cartridges scribed in the case. Who are the various stakeholders who are safely reprocessed into their major usable component mate- benefit from these efforts? How do efforts to build sus- rials (including plastics, metals, and packaging materials), and tainable supply chains differ from simple good business then it makes those reprocessed materials available for reuse in practice? new manufacturing for a range of products. 2. Would Samsung have put in place the Take Back & Re- cycling program in a business environment that did not Refurbishing emphasize sustainability? Why or why not? What about When a consumer returns an electronics product because it is ATCLE's refurbishing services? outdated or not functioning properly, they don't likely give much 3. In your opinion, will sustainability become another core thought to what happens next. But what happens next is at the measure of operations and supply chain performance, in heart of business for companies such as ATC Logistics and Elec- addition to cost, quality, delivery, and quality? Why or tronics (ATCLE), which performs asset recovery, repair, and why not