Introduction Closing supply chains refers to taking care of items once they are no longer desired or can no longer be used by their user. Smart management of closed-loop supply chains means profitable recovery of value from these items (products, functional components, materials or packaging). The company closing the supply chain may be the original equipment manuf- turer (OEM), a distribution partner or a third party not involved in the f- ward distribution. In recent years, the management of closed-loop supply chains has gained importance because of increased legislation on producer respon- bility, requiring companies to take back products from customers and to organize for proper recovery and disposal. This legislation is partially due to increased awareness of environmental issues. However, smart com- nies have also understood that returned products often contain lots of value to be recovered. They manage closed-loop supply chains simply because it is a profitable business proposition.

to closed-loop supply chains

Production closed-loop supply chains
Reverse logistics in a pharmaceutical company: the Schering case
Reverse logistics in an electronics company: the NEC-Cl case
Distribution closed-loop supply chains
The chip in crate: the Heineken case
Recovery and reuse of maritime containers: the Blue Container Line case
Empty container reposition: the port of Rotterdam case
Commercial returns closed-loop supply chains
Commercial returns of sun-protection products: the L'Oréal France case
Commercial returns of printers: the HP case
Commercial returns in a mail order company: the Wehkamp case
Repair and replacement closed-loop supply chains
The repair of electronic equipment: the OMRON case
Tire recovery: the RetreadCo case
The closed-loop supply chain of service parts: the Whirlpool case
End-of-use closed-loop supply chains
End-of-lease asset recovery: the Océ case
Cellular telephone reuse: the ReCellular Inc. case
Recovery of car engines: the Mercedes-Benz case
End-of-life closed-loop supply chains
Recovering end-of-life large white goods: the Dutch initiative
End-of-life tire recovery: the Thessaloniki initiative
Conclusions on closed-loop supply chains
Future developments in managing closed-loop supply chains.