Challenges and Recommendations for Product Reuse : Exploring the Reuse Supply Chain of In-store Hardware: A Case Study

Abstract: The circular economy concept provides a model to minimize waste creation while at the same time maximizing value potential. Much attention has been given by researchers to the circular economy and its potential for society from a holistic perspective. However, there exists a scarce widespread exploration of studies about the practical implementation challenges of circular economy seen from a company perspective. This is especially true when looking at the circular business model of reusing products. This research is a qualitative case study that explores the challenges of product reuse through the lens of the Circular Manufacturing Systems framework (CMS). Unlike what was found in the literature review, the results showed that the challenges for reuse were highly concentrated on packaging and ownership. Furthermore, other found challenges that were more anticipated and agreed with the literature were tracking and transparency of products throughout the supply chain. The study’s most apparent contribution and conclusion is that the ownership of handled products in a product reuse supply chain is important in order to overcome many of the found challenges, for example, process/product improvements and communication effectiveness. However, while ownership of the products is an important factor for improving reuse, this research further highlights the importance of the dynamic relations between the four pillars of the CMS-framework to benefit from a reuse-oriented business model.