In early September, Clemens Löffler from the Competence Center for Business Controlling & Accounting at FHWien der WKW presented the latest research findings on closed-loop supply chains at the International Conference on Operations Research 2026. The discussion centered on the question of whether manufacturers or suppliers should retrieve used products and components.
Clemens Löffler presented the paper “Who should collect? Reverse Channel Design for Remanufacturing under Supplier Competition” at the International Conference on Operations Research 2026. The conference’s overarching theme was “Converging Streams in Decision Making.” The research examines a central question in so-called closed-loop supply chains: Who should collect used products or components — the manufacturer or its suppliers?
Who should retrieve used products or components?
The results show that the choice of an appropriate model depends largely on the intensity of competition among suppliers. If there are only a few suppliers with significant market power, a take-back program organized by the suppliers can be advantageous. In this case, there are strong incentives to invest in take-back and remanufacturing.
When competition among suppliers is intense, these incentives change. In that case, it may be more attractive for the manufacturer to organize the take-back process itself.
In addition to presenting the research conducted as part of the SIBORC project, the conference provided an opportunity for professional exchange and discussions with other participants from science and practice.