Information System Construction and Function Module Design Based on Reverse Logistics

ZHAO Jia-ni(趙佳妮)，SHILi-na(石麗娜)

Air Transport Institute，Shanghai University of Engineering Science，Shanghai201620，China

Information System Construction and Function Module Design Based on Reverse Logistics

ZHAO Jia-ni(趙佳妮)*，SHILi-na(石麗娜)

Air Transport Institute，Shanghai University of Engineering Science，Shanghai201620，China

Reverse logistics are p laying more and more im portant role with the development of competition and the social responsibility of enterprises.It could be divided into comm ission acceptance，recycling and returned goods hand ling.Reverse logistics information system consists of the database establishment，network structure and logic structure design.The collection， storage， processing，transm ission and output functions of the reverse logistics information system were discussed in the thesis.Eventually，it established seven modules for the reverse logistics information system including the system management module，oriented module，returning goods processing module，reverse transportation management module，information sharing module，statistical analysis module and cost controlmodule.

reverse logistics;information systems;system construction; function modules

Introduction

In recent years，with the improvement of living standards and the development of social responsibility of corporate and citizens， life quality， service levels and environmental protection have been emphasized.However，in the daily life，there w ill be a lot of returned and waste materials generated.Unless they are recycled and treated reasonably，the satisfaction of the customer w ill obviously fall，which would then have impacts upon the commenm ts of service level and cause deterioration of the environment.In this case，many companies began to pay attention to reverse logistics management，and incorporate it into their development strategy.

1 Summary of Reverse Logistics Study

1.1 Concept and scope of reverse logistics

At present，there aremany expressions for reverse logistics concept.For example， for value recovery or disposal reasonable，reverse logistics is an effectively management and control process for raw materials，intermediate inventory，final products and related information flow ing from the consumption to starting points，which is different from the traditional supply chain.Reverse Logistics Executive Committee of the United States defined it as:planning，implementation and controlling of raw materials，semi-finished goods and related information to make them flow back efficiently and low-costly from the point of consumption to its initial point of the process，whose aim is to re-acquire the appropriate value or treatment.Whatever the definition is，reverse logistics is to regain value and reasonable disposition，and its direction is from the destination or intermediate to the initial ground.

From the range point of view，reverse logistics includes three categories:firstly，returned logistics;secondly，recalled and repaired logistics;thirdly，wasted and recycled logistics.Current research scholars of reverse logistics mainly focus on meaning，values，causes and business processes，but the information technology of reverse logistics have not yet been given sufficient attention，and the recycling logistics have been ignored seriously compared w ith the return logistics.

1.2 Handling of reverse logistics

To construct reverse logistics information system，wemust understand the whereabouts and treatments of reverse logistics first.Currently，there are four types of treatments for reverse logistics as follows.

(1)Direct reuse

Thismainly refers to those who return items due to the w rong shipment，or the customers＇dislike，etc.Such products can be used or secondary sales directly，w ithout any treatment.

(2)Repair and reuse

Thismainly refers to such circumstances as some defected products，like automotive and household appliances，could reinstate through either repairing or parts replacement if they are recalled by manufacturer or claimed for exchanges by customers.

(3)Materials recycling

Thismainly deals w ith material recycling w ithout keeping any structure of objects any more，mostly including the recycling of wastematerial and packages such as the recoveries ofmental scraps and paper retreatment.

(4)Parts remanufacturing

Thismainly relates to the recycling of reusable parts of productswhich already have lost their original functions and are notworth ofmaintenance or are discarded as useless.And thus those parts can be reutilized in other products.

1.3 Features of reverse logistics

The implementations of reverse logistics have great differences w ith traditional forward logistics.Generally speaking，the reverse logistics are not as predictable as forward logistics，w ith performance in the follow ing areas:dispersion，complex，uncertainty，information dependence and so on.

2 Reverse Logistics Process Analysis Based on Information System

Generally speaking，reverse logistics operational processes based on IT are shown in Fig.1.

2.1 Accept comm ission

This stage is to accept customers＇acquisition or issue a request to enable the process of recyclables reversely diverted from the hands of consumers through the internet，telephone and fax.

2.2 Recycle and recall

The reverse logistics enterprisemay issue instructions to the nearest department to recycle by information systems，and may require and arrange vehicles and persons to complete the actual transfer as soon as possible［1］.

2.3 Returned goods handle

On one hand，products repair and replacement issues could resolve online;on the other hand，you may use a variety of equipments to carry out themonitoring，repair，replacement or discard offline.And then，the information may feedback to the manufacturing sector in time in order to adjust the production plan.

3 Reverse Logistics Information System Research Content

Through the description above，we can find that it is difficult to develop an information system suitable for reverse logistics enterprise.So it is recommended that companieswould better develop information systems w ith the third-party developers，and combine itw ith the company＇s ERP，MRP and supply chain information systems.Reverse logistics information system includes three elements，establishment of database，network structure design，and logical structure design，which are shown in Fig.2.

3.1 Establish of database

Database，which can be regarded as the mainstay of information systems，is the basis of all functions.An effective real-time database should be established，which may share w ith the database of manufacturers，suppliers，retailers，recycling centers，maintenance centers［2］.The different nodes on the supply chain and the various departments w ithin one enterprise may share information of reverse logistics.The database may also track reverse logistics operation process and the cost produced，which could provide a w ide range of marketing information such as quality assessment，customer satisfaction，and product life cycle to suppliers and retailers.All of these could make reverse logistics flow breakdown inmostshort time，and save a lotof inventory and transportation costs for each node of supply chain，and improve economic efficiency at last.

3.2 Network structure design

After the establishment of reverse logistics information system，it has not only achieved data sharing internal the enterprises and between business and customers，but also achieved real-time tracking of the return logistics by which various corporate clients on the supply chain could keep abreast of the reverse logistics process.Thus it could help producers adjust production plans to reduce return rates by means of analyzing the quantities，types and causes of reverse logistics system.All of these can be achieved by Intranet/Extranet/ Internet［3］.As shown in Fig.2，intranetwould help companies achieve supply chain management and internal communication，extranetwould help companies achieve supply chain transfer and sharing of information between enterprises，and internet would help companies achieve communication with customers and other users.By integrating these different types of networks，it may ensure the well operation of reverse logistics systems and supply chain.

3.3 Logical structure design

As a whole，the three-tier structure ismore reasonable for the reverse logistics information system.Thinking of safety and information processing，Browser/Server(B/S) mode is required，which is mainly used in front desk management.Meanwhile，Client/Server(C/S)mode is required，which is used w ith B/S together and work together.Consumers or recycling centers in different regionsmay simply log corporate website and fill out return or repair orders tables.The tables could be sent to the information processing system and be summarized.Then it starts the return goods processingmodule.At this time，the products get into the reverse logistics system，in which the activities and states of the whole process w ill be tracked.

4 Analyses on Basic Functions of Reverse Logistics Information System

Reverse logistics information system should help the users to grasp various information of return logistics，and then make timely and effective treatment decisions to achieve full and effective use of resources.Therefore，the system should have the follow ing features.

4.1 Information collection

Information collection is the primary function of the reverse logistics information system，by which the needs of the customers to return commodities could be responded in time［4］.Furthermore，the system should actually record the varieties and valuable information for later use that has generated in the reverse logistics operation process.

4.2 Information storage

The information that gets into the reverse logistics information system w ill be stored in the system，while the valuable information may be stored permanently and the information of little value may be stored temporarily［5］.Therefore，there must be a powerful database that could inquiry，retrieve，share and deliver data fast，timely and effectively.

4.3 Information processing

Information processing is one of the core functions of the information system［6］.The system should be able to process the varieties of information that has entered the system，such as thespecific sorting，classification，statistics，and analysis.The purpose is to convert it into valuable reference information that is available to reverse logisticsmanagers and implementers.

4.4 Information transm ission

Reverse logistics information system aims to achieve the valuable information delivering and sharing among the various functionalmodules，such as thematerial categories，nature，and status the value，which is one of the main intentions for the establishment of reverse logistics information system.

4.5 Information output

After processing the information，it could be output in forms of text，graphics and reports，because themain purpose is to be readable or used friendly，for the ease of the user＇s search and query.The way of outputw ill influence the user＇s sensory impressions directly，and thereby affect customers＇satisfaction.

5 Function Module Design of Reverse Logistics Information System

According to the analysis above，the function modules of reverse logistics information system should include the aspects that shown in Fig.3.

5.1 System managementmodule

The system should facilitate users＇access，setusers＇rights，and encrypt the information that is confidential.In addition，the inquiry function should also be included for online product information，including productmanufacturing dates，lifecycle，serial numbers，instructions and so on，which is facilitated to returnmanagement for the recycling center.

5.2 Oriented modules of reverse logistics

Generally，reverse logistics is just the beginning of service，and for most long life cycle commodities，customers are highly sensitive to service.So as soon as the customers have the demand of reverse logistics，the information systems should provide a variety of methods， approaches and considerations for products returning［7］，and guide customers to help them complete return applications efficiently and happily，by which the customers＇experience satisfaction would be improvement.

5.3 Processing modules for returning goods

Thismodule is to recycle，classify，preserve and count the reversematerials，and update the information of reverse logistics dynamically［8］.For those could be re-used directly，it is important to contact relevant business and arrange sales timely; for those which need repairs，it is important to bewell prepared for repairing or re-processing and arrange reasonable programs for recycling;for those need be remanufactured and recycled，it is important to formulate transportation and warehousing plans or communicate w ith the dismantling center timely in order to arrange the follow-ups.

5.4 Reverse transportation managementmodule

Transportation is themost importantpartof reverse logistics throughout the entire activities of reverse logistics.For reverse logistics is characterized by lower quantity，disconcertration and not fixed in time，whether the transport arrangements are reasonable w ill directly affect the efficiency of reverse logistics.For transportation management of reverse logistics，we should treat it scientifically and reasonably according to the characteristics of returning goods.Thismodule should include optimizing vehicle scheduling and route selection.

5.5 Information sharing modules

Information systems should be able to share information among node enterprises on supply chain，recycling centers，repair centers，as well as dismantling centers.B/S or C/S structure of the database system could be used.By the way，as far as the access to database is concerned，we may well set access rights for every department in order to share andmaintain system safety at the same time.

5.6 Statistical analysismodules

Thismodule is to do statistical analysis about the causes of the reverse logistics，sum up the law，and take timely and effective measures to control the generation of the reverse logistics，reduce costs，and achieve efficient use of resources.

5.7 Cost controlmodules

In thismodel，it provides statistics and makes analysis of accounting costs in reverse logistics，upon which，it is able to judge whether the treatment of reverse logistics meets the benefits and needs of the enterprises，and thereby they can control costs and promote economic achievements.

6 Conclusions

Due to the dispersion and uncertainty of reverse logistics，the accuracy and the sharing of the information become extremely important.The construction of reverse logistics information system may contributes a lot:it not only helps to improve the response speed of product returning and recycling and consequentlymeet the need of customer，butgreatly reduces the costof business and thus improve economic effects.Lastly it considerably benefits environmental protection.

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F724 Document code:A

1672-5220(2015)02-0328-04

date:2014-10-10

Course Construction of Customs Practice，China(No.z201308003)

* Correspondence should be addressed to ZHAO Jia-ni，E-mail:13764582402@163.com

book=331,ebook=160