Varying lifecycle lengths within a portfolio for product take-back

Yuan Zhao, Vijitashwa Pandey, Harrison Hyung Min Kim, Deborah L Thurston

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Product take back and reuse is sometimes at odds with the rapidly evolving desires of some customers. For other customers, the environmental benefits of reuse more than compensate for minor drawbacks. "Selling a service" (rather than a product) through leasing enables the manufacturer to control the timing and quality of product take-back, but current methods assume a fixed leasing period. What is needed is a method for fine-tuning the time span of the customer's life cycle in order to provide each market segment the combination of features it most desires. This paper presents a new method for performing long range product planning so that the manufacturer can determine optimal take-back times, end-of-life design decisions, and number of lifecycles. The method first determines a Pareto optimal frontier over price, environmental impact and reliability using a genetic algorithm. Then, a multiattribute utility function is employed to maximize utility across different segments of the market, and also across different lifecycles within each segment. The proposed methodology is illustrated through an example involving personal computers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of the ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference 2009, DETC2009
Pages323-335
Number of pages13
EditionPART A
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010
Event2009 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, DETC2009 - San Diego, CA, United States
Duration: Aug 30 2009Sep 2 2009

Publication series

NameProceedings of the ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference 2009, DETC2009
NumberPART A
Volume8

Other

Other2009 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, DETC2009
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Diego, CA
Period8/30/099/2/09

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Hardware and Architecture
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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