SUSTAINABLE DESIGN OF MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT: A WIN-WIN APPROACH FOR MANUFACTURERS AND CUSTOMERS

Abstract

Manufacturing of material handling equipment companies become more interested in the sustainability of their products. One possible approach to make material handling equipment more sustainable is to make it reconfigurable, reusable and reliable. Those products are likely to be reused when customers’ requirements change. More sustainable material handling equipment can be much easier куsold in the future, due to the possibility to be reconfigured in accordance to the new customer requirements is high.

This paper is focused on the development of a reverse logistics framework for more sustainable material handling equipment design. The novelty of the proposed reverse logistics framework is that it can reduce the backward flow of products to the manufacturer by enabling distributors to reconfigure products according to the renewed customer requirements. In the presented case study the benefits of employing sustainable reach truck were investigated. As a result, using sustainable product provides cost and flexibility advantages for both manufacturer and customer.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.mech.18.5.2703