Abstract The generation of packaging waste has fast become a supply chain management concern, especially with the growth of e-commerce. This calls for an integrated understanding of the product-packaging-supply chain system, which is currently nascent in the research literature. The present study considers a two-stage, profit-oriented supply chain that employs disposable primary packaging, disposable protective packaging, and returnable secondary packaging in supplying the product to a price-conscious consumer. With a special emphasis on the return of last-mile packaging, an analytical model is developed to examine the integrated lot-sizing and pricing decisions for the product and its secondary packaging. The model is developed for a decentralized channel with a Retailer-Stackelberg power structure and a centralized channel. In both the channels, it is shown that the retail price not only drives the equilibrium decisions and profits but also the total waste generated across different packaging types. It is found that the decentralized channel produces lower channel profits, however, it also generates lesser packaging waste when compared to a centralized channel. The study identifies the economic improvements in reverse channel operations that can encourage channels to adopt the take-back of secondary packaging in the last-mile for reuse. The findings also support the intuitive understanding that channels that adopt larger sized products can reduce packaging waste. Additionally, penalizing protective packaging in the last-mile is shown to have the potential to reduce total packaging waste by inducing the channels to supply larger products. Scope for contracts and regulatory mechanisms are identified, along with future research directions.

中文翻译：

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具有二次包装退货和保护性包装管理的综合产品和包装决策

摘要 包装废弃物的产生已迅速成为供应链管理问题，尤其是随着电子商务的发展。这需要对产品-包装-供应链系统的综合理解，目前该系统在研究文献中尚处于萌芽状态。本研究考虑了一个两阶段的、以利润为导向的供应链，该供应链采用一次性初级包装、一次性保护性包装和可回收二级包装，将产品供应给价格敏感的消费者。特别强调最后一英里包装的回报，开发了一个分析模型来检查产品及其二次包装的综合批量和定价决策。该模型是为具有 Retailer-Stackelberg 权力结构和中心化渠道的去中心化渠道开发的。在两个频道中，结果表明，零售价格不仅会影响均衡决策和利润，还会影响不同包装类型产生的总废物量。发现分散渠道产生较低的渠道利润，但是，与集中渠道相比，它也产生较少的包装浪费。该研究确定了反向渠道运营的经济改进，可以鼓励渠道在最后一英里采用回收二次包装进行再利用。调查结果还支持直观理解，即采用较大尺寸产品的渠道可以减少包装浪费。此外，在最后一英里惩罚保护性包装被证明有可能通过引导渠道供应更大的产品来减少总包装浪费。