The literature reviews
2.1 The definitions and the functions of the reverse logistics
The reverse logistic refers to make good use of the resources from the customers. It includes the products, packages and some related materials which are obtained from the clients (De Brito & Dekker, 2004). To make it simple, the reverse logistics mean to collect the used, out-date and the damaged products. And then people can do the package again to make them meet the customers' different kinds of demands. In another word, it helps to prolong the life circle of the products and increase their functions, which is good for both the environment and the human beings. Besides, the reverse logistic plays a very vital role in the logistic systems, which mainly include the collections, inspections, decisions and some of the other processes of the products. The corporations should collect the products or the packages from the suppliers or the dealers and then transfer them to a certain place. And then they should make some tests to check whether the products can be used again. After the inspections, the corporations may do something to those products, such as the repairing, reproducing and so on. According to their various functions, the corporations should send these products to the potential markets again (Dekker & Fleischmann, 2004). If the products are never used, it is better to create the new packages for them again, which can be sold as new products. For those products which cannot be used anymore due to the tests reports, the corporations should do another arrangement for them.
Promoting the reverse logistic can benefit a lot to the corporations and the society (Fleischmann, Bloemhof-Ruwaard, Beullens & Dekker, 2004). First of all, it can be good for the sustainable development, which can reduce the costs and improve the environment. For the forward logistics, unlike the reverse logistics, they belong to the open ring process. All of the economy activities begin from getting the natural resources from the ecosystem. And then they will sell the goods after production, which may create a lot of waste and bad to the environment. However, the reverse logistic does a great help to change such phenomena, as it aims to promote the recycle of the products and maximize their use. On the one hand, it can save a lot of resources and on the other hand, it can protect the environment and take some measures to deal with the pollution. Secondly, it can promote the development of the business and enhance their core competitive powers. The corporations are the main economical parts for the society, which should be paid more attentions to. And the reverse logistic can do a great help in improving the quality management systems of the corporations..When there are some quality issues about the products, the reverse logistic systems can help to deliver certain information to the managers and the directors, which can help them to create some better ideas on how to improve the quality of the products and satisfy the customers. Thirdly, it can help to lower down the price and save the resources. Increasing the utilization rate is the most important part for the corporation cost management. For the traditional resources management systems, they may not focus much on the utilization of the wasteful resources, which is not good for the sustainable development (Min, Jeung Ko & Seong Ko, 2006). Since the wasteful products are low price and have a lot of stocks, it can help the corporations to reduce their production costs. Fourthly, it can improve the customers' value and enhance their competitive powers. Under the driven factors of the economy, the feelings of the customers are the critical factors to the survival of the corporations. For the final customers, the reverse logistics can make sure that if the customers receive some bad products, they can send them back and get back their money immediately, which enhance their confidence in the corporations. Besides, for the corporation customers of the supply and demand chain, it can enhance their cooperation and enhance their competitive powers as suppliers.
Lots of scientists have done many surveys about the importance of the reverse logistics, especially for the recycling of the products. In 1981, Lamber and Stock described the reverse logistic as the opposition of the road (Srivastava, 2008). And later, some professors say that the reverse logistic includes the recall of the products, the substitution of the materials, the reuse of the resources, the abandoned processing and so on. And more and more people pay their attention to the recycle, as it can help the human beings a lot. Moreover, some people propose that for every corporation, they should try their best to deal with the contradictions between the environment and the production lines. For the products, they should be environmental friendly, which is good for the sustainable development. What is more, the reverse logistic is aiming to make some suitable plans to control the production lines, which can maximize the utilization of the products and it can help to maximize the benefits to the corporations and the society. For the Chinese auto manufacturer industry, as the car parts are very complicated, each of which can play a very important part for the cars, thus, if people can know the exact information about the components of the cars, they can be able to know how to design the car well. Furthermore, the car industries may make good use of the recycle components to maximize their utilization.
However, in China, people may not pay too much attention to the reverse logistic in the real situations and even do not make a clear description about the reverse logistic. To make it simple, most of the Chinese think that the reverse logistic is the recalling of the failed products. It may be not so clear, but it does really catch people's attention. For many corporations, they may not have enough funds to support their recycling behaviors, thus, the government and the big corporations should give more supports to the reverse logistic.
2.2 The characters of the reverse logistics in the Chinese auto manufacturer
The reverse logistic is the opposition to the forward logistic. The forward logistic includes the entity transportation, the storage, the package and so on. By exploring the characters of the auto manufacturers, people can know the importance of the reverse logistic in the car industry.
2.21 The high requirements of the flexibility
Since the cars are made of thousands of components, during the production process, all of the components should reach certain standards. And there are many different kinds of production lines in making a car, which determine the necessity of the high flexibility for the logistics of the car industry.
2.22 The high reliability of the technology
On the basic of many studies, every process of making a car is very complicated. When people design a car, they should draw a lot of pictures which are associated with the accessories. What is more, the scientists should be very careful about the designs, as they may affect the safety of the cars. In another word, the technology plays a very vital role in the auto manufactures industry.
2.23 The demands of the professional skills
No matter the forward logistic or the reverse logistic, especially for the recycling industry, people should use a lot of professional skills to handle the car accessories. For those waste or the out date products, people should use the advanced technologies to reuse them again, which can help the corporations to save costs and it is good for the environment. With the further demands of the technology and the professional skills, people will surely have more demands in the future.
The reverse logistic includes the returned logistics and the waste materials logistics. For the returned logistic, it means to get back the accessories which are not pass. If the consignees think the products are not good, they can send the products back to the factory and then the manufactures can repair them and then sell them again. Besides, they can also take the accessories out of the car and then sell them again. For the not passed cars, it does not mean all of the accessories are not good. Sometimes it may due to the technology of some of the other things; the car is not made perfect. But if people can separate the accessories from the cars, they may be able to get the profits again. And for the waste materials logistic, it says that people can reuse the wasteful products again. For example, if the car has been used many years or even over their life circles, they may end of their life circles and cannot be used any more. However, on the basic of some studies, the life circle of the car accessory may be longer than the car themselves. In the past, especially in the developing countries, people may not pay much attention to the recycling of the products, which give rise to a lot of waste and do some harm to the environment.
What is more, there are many reasons for the reverse logistic in the auto manufacture industry. Firstly, the bad quality of the accessories may be the key factor in creating the reverse logistic. As the car is made by thousands of accessories, if people do not have better controls of their quality, they may bring a lot of disasters to the products. Even a small accessory can play a big impact on the whole car. Therefore, nowadays, more and more car producers focus more on the selection of the car accessory. If the car factory finds that the certain accessory is not good quality, they can return them back to the auto manufacture, which can help people a lot in ensuring the quality of the products. Secondly, the government also makes some rules and regulations about the auto manufacture industry. Since the safety of the cars does really play a very important role in the society, the government should make some controls about it. By the reverse logistic, people can know the sources of the products, which can be tracked if there are any problems. Thirdly, the demands of the recycling systems create the reverse logistic. The main body of the cars is made by the Fe and Aluminum, which can be reused again. Besides, if people take some measures to deal with the batter, tires and so on, people can also use them again. According to some surveys, if people can recycle a car, they can save 1 ton oil. What is more, if people can maximize the utilizations of the recycling products, they can reduce nearly 45% pollution to the natural environment, which is good for the human beings and the next generation. And it is the human beings' responsibility in protecting the natural environment and the earth.
2.23 The economical theory which is associated with the reverse logistic
The recycling economy is very related to the reverse logistic. When talking about the forward logistic, they may tend to the single and direct economy. But for the reverse logistic, they are more like the recycling economy, which mean the products can be used not only for once. If the products can be used more, it can help the manufactures to reduce the costs. Besides, as the pollution becomes more and more severe in the 21st century, people should consider more about the issues and try their best to deal with the issues. Secondly, it can help to promote the sustainable economy. Many professors point out that the industry does really help to maximize the profits a lot. However, it does also bring a lot of pollution and disasters to the natural environment. As the time passed by, the world may be polluted a lot, which must affect people's health. But if people can make good use of the sustainable economy, they can use the least resources to make the biggest profits. All of these are good for the human beings and the next generations, which may be the latest trend later. Furthermore, it is very associated with the ecological economy. For example, if people bring something bad to the environment, they should invest some money in repairing the environment again later in order to provide a clean environment for the human beings. And many researches show that it will cost people much money if they continue to pollute first and then repair. Thus, it is wise to make some controls about the products before putting them into the market. For example, if the tires of the cars are good, they can save the fuel, which is good to the environment. However, if the car uses some bad quality tires, they may need to consume more fuels, which produce a lot of pollution gas to the atmosphere. Thus, people can see nowadays lots of car corporations are focusing more on the promotional of the green cars, as they can be good for the sustainable development. With the advanced technology and the complete systems, people can have more different kinds of ways in checking the accessories of the cars, which can ensure the good quality of the accessory. Since the car industry is the core part in the GDP of China, it is very necessary to develop them better in the future, which can help a lot in bringing more business. And it can help to check the sources of certain products, which give people more guidance on how to select the car parts next time. Besides, the recycling process also help a lot in providing more job opportunities to the society.
3.0 The analysis about the GM General Corporation
The GM General Corporation, is one of the biggest cars manufacturers in the world, which is becoming more and more popular. It was built in 1908 and it grows stronger and stronger. Besides, it has entered the Chinese market more than 90 years. In the GM General Corporation of Shanghai was built in 1997 and it has two owner, one is the GM General Corporation and the other is the Shanghai Car industry Group. With the strong funds supports and the advanced technology, the Company has a lot of customers and is very popular in the market. The SWOT analysis can help people to know more about the organizations, which can motivate them to create better ideas. And the SWOT analysis is mainly including four parts, namely the strength, weakness, opportunity and the threat, by which people can be able to make some evaluations about the corporations.
3.1 Strength
First of all, as the GM General Corporation is built by the GM General Corporation and the Shanghai cars industry Group, there is no doubt that it can have enough money supports to conduct its marketing activities. If the corporation has a lot of limitations about the funds, they will find it hard to implement their economical activities. Secondly, the experience also plays a very vital role in the success of the corporation. They have a long experience in creating the cars, which can give them some future directions about the cars trends. Thirdly, since the GM General Corporation is cooperating with the local car industry, they will find it easier to get into the markets with their helps. And the Chinese government also gives more supports to the car industry, such as the tax preference and so on. All of these can help the GM General Corporation a lot in reducing the costs. What is more, the good reputations also help the GM General Corporation a lot. On the basic of many studies, many customers reflect that the quality of the cars which are produced by the GM General Corporation are the best in the car industry, which make them become loyal to this brand. Furthermore, they also invest more in the researching and developing of the new products and the new technology, which can bring more wonderful innovative ideas to the designs of the cars. For example, the green energy cars can help people to save the fuels and the prices are not high, which can be accepted by most of the ordinary people.
3.2 Weakness
However, for the GM General Corporation of Shanghai, it does have its limitations, which should be improved later. First of all, nowadays most of the cars still use the fuels, which may result a lot of bad impacts for the environment. Thus, for the customers who belong to the environmental friendly, they may prefer to use the cars which use the green energy or may use less fuel, which can help to protect the environment. Secondly, the GM General Corporation does really focus a lot on the quality of their products. Thus, they spend a lot of time in selecting the suppliers of the accessory of the car industries. However, it is very difficult to check every accessory, as there are thousands of small parts within a car. However, in the real situations, it may be not so easy to find some good suppliers with the best price. Without the reverse logistic, they cannot be able to check the reasons of some issues of the cars. What is more, if there are any accessories not good, they must affect the whole car a lot. For example, if the tires are not good, they may affect the speeds of the cars, which will surely affect the customers’ choices and the sales of the certain kinds of cars.
3.3 Opportunity
When talking about the opportunities, if the corporation can catch them, they will find it easier to reach the success. But on the other hand, if they lose the opportunities, they may lose a lot of profits. Thus, people should try their best to catch every chance to develop themselves and the corporations. And the reverse logistic may be a good chance for the GM General Corporation to develop better in the market. Firstly, they can use the reverse logistics to get back the wasteful products, which can lower down their costs. When the customers scrap the cars, the GM General Corporation may get back them and then send them to the factory to check. For those accessories that can be used again, the engineers should report to the corporation and then make some suitable plans to recycle the accessory of the cars. What is more, by making good use of the reverse systems, the GM General Corporation may know the exact directions about the accessories. Therefore, when they find out that some accessories are not passing the standards, they can return the accessories back, which can make sure the quality of the small parts of the cars. Furthermore, if people use the reverse logistics, it can reduce the pollution, which is good for the sustainable development and the next generations. In the past, once the cars are scraped, they may become totally useless. However, in the reality, not all of the accessories cannot be used and some of them may be used in the other ways. All of these can help the GM General Corporation a lot in expanding his business.
3.4 Threat
But people should also pay more attentions to the threats, as if people do not deal with these issues well, they may become some obstacles to their future projects. For the GM General Corporation, they do encounter a lot of threats in the new era. For example, there are more and more competitors in the market. Although they may not have so much experience and the funds, but people should not never neglect their influences. Furthermore, the customers nowadays may consider the quality first for their buying behaviors, which says that if the corporation can make sure the good quality of the products, they can be able to get more customers and expand their market shares. What is more, in the foreign countries, lots of car industries have begun to adopt the reverse logistic and combine the reverse logistic with their marketing strategies. And lots of evidence show that they have got a lot of benefits from the reverse logistic. Thus, if the GM General Corporation does not catch the opportunities, they may lose their competitive powers as the time passed by. For the other competitors, as they can reduce their costs, to some extents, they can use the low price strategy to attract the customers. For the GM General Corporation, if they cannot lower down their price and provide the best quality products, there is no doubt that they will lose their customers slowly. Moreover, in the future, the government may bring out more rules and regulations to protect the environment. For the corporations, the government must do some restrictions about their behaviors. For example, if the corporation produces a lot of pollution to the atmosphere, they may need to pay a lot of tax for the government, which in fact increase the costs of the products.
In a word, the Chinese auto manufacture will be a very big market, which can bring a lot of profits to the corporations (Beullens, Van Oudheusden & Van Wassenhove, 2004). And the reverse logistic will be the future trend in the auto manufacture industry. Since the sales of the cars are on the increase, there is no doubt that the demand of the accessory is on the increase. And on the basic of many surveys, people seem to focus more on the quality of the cars now. By the reverse logistic systems, on the one hand, the car factories can reduce their production costs, thus, they can use the low price strategies to attract the different kinds of customers. And on the other hand, the reverse logistics can help the car factories to make sure the quality of the components of the cars, which can ensure the whole quality of the cars and is good for building an excellent brand name. Besides, it is also the requirement of the environment and the society. For the human beings, the environment means a lot to their future, without which they cannot survive. Therefore, people will take a lot of measures to protect the environment in the future and the first stage may target at the manufacture industry. What is more, the pollution and the waste of energy do really affect the human beings a lot. If people can reuse some of the products, they can both save money and the materials. For some materials, they are limited and if people use them all, they cannot be produced any more. Thus, if possible, people should try their best to check whether certain materials can be used again. If the materials have the recycling cycles, they can be good for the human beings and the environment. Many evidence shows that the reverse logistics should be promoted in the society, especially for the Chinese auto manufacturers.
Reference
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