An end-to-end Internet of Things solution for Reverse Supply Chain Management in Industry 4.0
Graphical abstract
Introduction
The circular economy (CE) is motivated by an increasing need to minimize the economic and environmental impact of end-of-life (EoL) products [1]. This industrial strategy refers to the long-lasting design, refurbishment, remanufacture, repair, recycling or reuse of products in order to achieve the maximum benefit and avoid negative impacts, with Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) being a growing concern [2]. According to the United Nations University (UNU), 44.7 million metric tonnes of e-waste was generated in 2016, with future estimations being even larger [3]. While posing significant risks for the environmental and human health, it contains recoverable raw materials with an estimated value of 55 billion euros.
Reverse logistics (RL) has become a key competence of both the supply chain (SC) and reverse supply chain (RSC) [4], [5], in which products flow from customers to manufacturers. Reverse Supply Chain Management (R-SCM) emerges as a new challenge, given the necessity of managing every single stage where products should be handled and distributed towards manufacturers, with multiple recovery options increasing the uncertainties faced by companies [6].
The introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in SC and, especially, the Internet of Things (IoT) can significantly improve process-oriented performance, reduce energy consumption and provide SC with a ubiquitous information infrastructure [7]. By enabling the cooperation of wireless technologies, IoT is an accelerator of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Industry 4.0 [8], [9]. This brand-new concept is transforming the industrial paradigm, being Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), cloud and fog computing essential pillars [10], [11]. The impact of IoT on industries is such that the concept of Industrial IoT (IIoT) is becoming increasingly popular and has consequently been adopted in several industrial applications governed by IoT technologies [12].
Despite the large body of literature addressing IoT applications in the supply chain management (SCM) domain, the RSC field specifically needs more integrated approaches based on IoT communication standards to manage the RL of WEEE in real contexts. To fill this gap in the literature, this paper presents a novel Industry 4.0 end-to-end IoT framework as a solution for WEEE management.
The following aspects of this work can be highlighted. First, the proposal of a heterogeneous IoT network enabling low-power and low-cost SCM operations in the context of Industry 4.0. For this, we propose the cooperation of three emerging IoT technologies for R-SCM, presenting a case study based on the recovery of WEEE from computer-based components. Second, the implementation of an end-to-end system, addressing the deployment of sensor-nodes, the network infrastructure, and its integration with a cloud-based inventory-management platform. In order to evaluate end-to-end performance, a set of experimental tests are proposed, carried out and discussed.
The three wireless technologies selected and addressed in this work are RFID [13], Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) [14] and LoRaWAN [15], which are tested under different communication schemes and physical-layer parameters. Our results illustrate the suitability of the proposed IoT standards for R-SCM purposes, underlining communication optimizations for large-scale industrial deployments.
The paper is organized as follows: in Section 2 we review the literature; the IoT framework for R-SCM is presented in Section 3; Section 4 presents a WEEE-focused case study; Section 5 addresses the experiments, results and discussion; and finally, Section 6 provides conclusions and identifies future research lines.
Section snippets
Related works
This section provides a review of the most relevant works and applications of computer-based systems in the industrial sector, highlighting the main contributions and gaps that encourage us to propose and evaluate an end-to-end heterogeneous IoT framework for R-SCM purposes.
IoT framework for R-SCM
This section describes an IoT R-SCM framework proposal to manage WEEE, aimed at providing manufacturers with a novel ubiquitous information infrastructure behind SC for tracking of parts to be recovered. For this, we first select the set of IoT standards for the deployment (based on a communication-range criterion) and, then, the main stages of the framework are described according to their functionality and information flows.
Our proposed IoT-based WEEE management framework is supported by a
Case study
Personal computers have become one of the major concerns regarding waste-streams generation, given a considerable decrease in their average useful life over the years and a high environmental impact associated with their disposal. Nevertheless, most components found in computers are in good condition for reuse or refurbishment and, depending on their added value, these can be brought back to the required degree of quality as presented in [26].
Following this idea, the scenario selected for the
Results and discussion
The experiments were designed to satisfy a set of performance tests to assess the strengths and limitations of the R-SCM proposal under IoT criteria [76]. These tests are described in Table 5 and scaled according to real-world experiments with IoT devices instead of simulations.
The metric quantifies the influence of increasing Smart Containers on latency (BLE standard); TOA the Time-on-Air at LoRaWAN end-devices as a function of payload, complying with ETSI [77] regulations of 1% duty
Conclusions
This work presents an Industry 4.0 solution for R-SCM based on a heterogeneous IoT network following DSC objectives. BLE and RFID technologies are proposed for inventory management using Smart Containers, while a LoRaWAN context network is responsible for environmental monitoring of industrial facilities. The network is governed by a Hybrid Gateway, responsible for receiving BLE information and forwarding it to two back-ends: an inventory-monitoring platform in AWS (via MQTT) and a
Declarations of interest
None.
Acknowledgments
This work was partially supported by the Spanish “Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness” and the European Union (FEDER Funds) under projects ECO2016-75781-P and RTI2018-098156-B-C52, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK, grant no. EP/N018524/1.
References (83)
- et al.
Integration of dismantling operations into a value recovery plan for circular economy
J. Clean. Prod.
(2017) - et al.
Reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chain of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)/E-waste: a comprehensive literature review
Resour. Conserv. Recycl.
(2018) - et al.
Reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chain: a comprehensive review to explore the future
Eur. J. Oper. Res.
(2015) - et al.
A stochastic Closed-Loop Supply Chain network design problem with multiple recovery options
Comput. Ind. Eng.
(2018) - et al.
Internet of Things (IoT): a vision, architectural elements, and future directions
Fut. Gen. Comput. Syst.
(2013) - et al.
Intelligent manufacturing in the context of Industry 4.0: a review
Engineering
(2017) - et al.
Toward a cloud-based manufacturing execution system for distributed manufacturing
Comput. Ind.
(2014) Radio frequency identification (RFID)
Comput. Secur.
(2006)- et al.
Sustainable supply chain management and the transition towards a circular economy: evidence and some applications
Omega
(2017) - et al.
An investigation of used electronics return flows: a data-driven approach to capture and predict consumers storage and utilization behavior
Waste Manage.
(2015)
Environmentally friendly disposition decisions for end-of-life electrical and electronic products: the case of computer remanufacture
J. Clean. Prod.
Intelligent products: from lifecycle data acquisition to enabling product-related services
Comput. Ind.
A practical ICT framework for transition to circular manufacturing systems
Proc. CIRP
Internet of things and Big Data as potential solutions to the problems in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment management: an exploratory study
Waste Manage.
Evolution of sustainability in supply chain management: a literature review
J. Clean. Prod.
Information systems in supply chain integration and management
Eur. J. Oper. Res.
Digital Supply Chain: literature review and a proposed framework for future research
Comput. Ind.
A review of reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chains: a Journal of Cleaner Production focus
J. Clean. Prod.
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT): an analysis framework
Comput. Ind.
Industry 4.0: a survey on technologies, applications and open research issues
J. Ind. Inform. Integr.
The Internet of Things (IoT): applications, investments, and challenges for enterprises
Business Horizons
Industry 4.0 and the current status as well as future prospects on Logistics
Comput. Ind.
Assessing Industry 4.0 readiness in manufacturing: evidence for the European Union
Comput. Ind.
Multi-layer cloud architectural model and ontology-based security service framework for IoT-based smart homes
Fut. Gen. Comput. Syst.
The Global E-waste Monitor 2017 – Quantities, Flows, and Resources
Reverse Logistics: Quantitative Models for Closed-Loop Supply Chains
Design principles for Industrie 4.0 scenarios
Mobility-aware application scheduling in fog computing
IEEE Cloud Comput.
Industrial Internet of Things and Cyber Manufacturing Systems
Bluetooth 4.0, 4.1 and 4.2 Specifications
LoRaWAN v1.1 Specification
Economics and the Environment: A Materials Balance Approach
A Global Redesign? Shaping the Circular Economy
Towards the circular economy
J. Ind. Ecol.
The Circular Economy: An Investment with A Triple Win
Consumers’ legitimate and opportunistic product return behaviors in online shopping
J. Electron. Commerce Res.
Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, WEEE
Off. J. Eur. Union
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a Monitoring Framework for the Circular Economy
Your Key European Statistics: Circular Economy
Remanufacturing Market Study
The paradigms of Industry 4.0 and circular economy as enabling drivers for the competitiveness of businesses and territories: the case of an Italian Ceramic Tiles Manufacturing Company
Soc. Sci.
Cited by (115)
IoT-enabled coordination for recommerce circular supply chain in the industry 4.0 era
2024, Internet of Things (Netherlands)Circular supply chains theoretical gaps and practical barriers: A model to support approaching firms in the era of industry 4.0
2024, Computers and Industrial EngineeringIntelligent decision-making framework for agriculture supply chain in emerging economies: Research opportunities and challenges
2024, Computers and Electronics in AgricultureDigital technologies for resource loop redesign in circular supply chains: A systematic literature review
2023, Resources, Conservation and Recycling AdvancesIoT-based supply chain management: A systematic literature review
2023, Internet of Things (Netherlands)Introducing a framework toward sustainability goals in a supply chain 4.0 ecosystem
2023, Journal of Cleaner Production