The circular economy of LCD panel shipping in a packaging logistics system

Abstract In a circular economy, an enterprise should pursue long-term business and economic opportunities for environmental and societal benefits. One of the critical issues in industries with a circular economy is the development of the reverse logistics system for semi-finished product packaging and shipping. There are several challenges while designing this system; for example, the use of reusable semi-finished product shipping boxes and a logistics system for shipping the products and returning these boxes. In this research, under the context of global manufacturing, a logistics system for reusable semi-finished product packaging in LCD panel industry is studied. The cost models of semi-finished product packaging in a traditional logistics mode and a green logistics mode are introduced. In the green logistics mode, the shipping boxes are redesigned to be reusable and capable of accommodating multiple various-sized panels simultaneously. The cost models involve material cost, shipping, and recycling cost. The economic performances of the traditional and green logistics modes at different package recycling levels are analyzed. The results show that the total cost of the green logistics mode is beneficial, always lower than that of the traditional logistics mode, even at a low recycling rate (30%). In addition, in the green mode, the material cost of shipping boxes is the most influential sector of the total cost.