To facilitate an efficient implementation of remanufacturing in a closed-loop supply chain, three areas of improvement have been identified: network management, business process management and information management. Against this background a research project entitled “Business Processes and Network Management in Closed Loop Supply Chains to close product cycles” has been set up with the goal to develop improvement potentials in these three areas:
• Network Management: Methods for the design and coordination of dynamic network structures for an actively conducted, brand-specific product take-back will be developed. Thereby, different methods for networks management are developed depending on the scale (regional, national, global), the initiator (manufacturer, 4PL), and the aims (reactive take-back, active acquisition) of the network.
• Business Process Management: Different product recycling applications require similar business processes within the closed-loop supply chain. A system of configurable, scalable reference business processes is developed to be adapted and implemented by different industry sectors. Additionally, implementation strategies for the reference processes and guidelines and methods for a product specific evaluation of and adaptation of the reference processes are developed.
• Information Management: A holistic concept of a comprehensive IT support throughout the closed-loop supply chain is developed to enable an efficient implementation of all activities in a closed-loop supply chain. On the one hand, product data management between the actors is required to provide all needed product information throughout the closed-loop supply chain. On the other hand, process oriented software tools are required to support the implementation of processes.

The project is carried out by the Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology (IWF) and the Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Department of Production and Logistics Management (PL) at the Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany, together with a group of six companies representing each step in an closed-loop supply chain: manufacturers of investment as well as consumer goods, a product take-back facility, a reverse logistics service provider, a recycling company and a provider of life-cycle oriented software solutions. The theoretical work within the three identified improvement areas is accompanied by three case studies. The case studies are carried out within the group of companies to analyze the practical implementation of the scientific research results against three different backgrounds:
• Regional network: For a mostly regional active manufacturer of IT equipment, the implementation of remanufacturing with local partners offers the opportunity to generate remanufactured parts for service activities and to differentiate their offer from competitors.
• International network: A manufacturer of complex electronic devices, whose products usually run through multiple use cycles, plans to initiate an international, systematically planned product take-back offer. By carrying out these operations in a closed loop supply chain, the full potentials of different applications of remanufactured products and parts shall be explored.
• Service provider: A provider of logistics services and disposal and recycling services, respectively, plans to extend his offer by manufacturer specific take-back services that facilitate a remanufacturing. Therefore, business processes as well as the applied software tools have to be extended and adapted.
The overall goal of the project is to enable the closing of product cycles and to facilitate economic efficient product remanufacturing and reuse. The project GeProNet is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the reference 01RI0623.