Integrating product design and supply chain management for a circular economy

Burke, H., Zhang, A. and Wang, J. X. (2023) Integrating product design and supply chain management for a circular economy. Production Planning and Control, 34(11), pp. 1097-1113. (doi: 10.1080/09537287.2021.1983063)

Abstract

Circular economy (CE) provides an alternative development model to the dominant take-make-dispose linear approach, and thus a new vision for solving sustainability challenges. Firms need to operationalise CE in their supply chain operations, starting from circular product design as the foundational step. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how to integrate product design and supply chain management (SCM) decisions for a CE transition. A thematic analysis was conducted on data collected from 15 semi-structured interviews in New Zealand. Four propositions were established based on the identified themes, namely, end-of-life thinking in product design, circular SCM, business model innovation, and sustainable organisational values. The study results provide a novel insight into the integration of product design and SCM for a CE transition. The operational framework developed provides guidance to product designers, managers, and researchers to advance the CE cause at the supply chain level.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Zhang, Dr Abraham
• Authors: Burke, H., Zhang, A., and Wang, J. X.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
• Journal Name: Production Planning and Control
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 0953-7287
• ISSN (Online): 1366-5871
• Published Online: 05 October 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Author(s)
• First Published: First published in Production Planning and Control 34(11):1097-1113
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license