The Role of Transportation in Logistics and Supply Chain Management

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Reverse Logistics Management Paper for the 2012 SAM Conference Reverse Logistics Management: Beyond 3.4 defects per million Robert Gordon, DM 2644 SW 120 Terrace Miramar, FL 33025 Phone: (305) 332-1508 Email: timecat13@earthlink.net Affiliation: American Public University 1 Reverse Logistics Management 2 ABSTRACT The objective of the paper is to discuss and apply reverse logistics best practices and double loop learning in order to improve reverse logistics processes. Best practices and double loop learning (which is often already in use in a quality improvement process) offer an effective manner to focus a reverse logistics department in order to achieve a competitive advantage. Furthermore, organizations that are not Six Sigma compliant can still apply this learning in order to become more competitive in order to be more successful long term. The paper will conclude with a practical listing and application of best practices that can be implemented in a four step process for any organization. INTRODUCTION Returns are a fact of any business and even the grail of quality, Six Sigma, will have 3.4 defects per million (Slack, et al, 2010, p.553). Most organizations are under the impression that if they improve product quality to the level of Six Sigma, that returns will always decrease and customer satisfaction will always improve. Many organizations also falsely believe that controlling the quality of the product is the only means to control the amount of returns. The working assumption is that when an organization is operating consistently at Six Sigma, the organization would like to believe that they should expect about 3-4 returns per million units sold. Yet, most organizations accept that a very small portion of distributed goods will be returned for some other reason. In many cases, the reason for the return is unclear and

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