Planner Inputs
Example Data Table
| Scenario | Sales Units | Return Rate | Collected Units | Recovered Units | Total Km | Net Cost / Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | 10,000 | 6% | 552.00 | 386.40 | 750.00 | 4.1840 |
| Higher recovery | 10,000 | 6% | 552.00 | 441.60 | 750.00 | 3.1410 |
| Longer distance | 10,000 | 6% | 552.00 | 386.40 | 1,120.00 | 4.7800 |
Values are illustrative for quick validation.
Formulas Used
- Returned units = Sales × (Return rate / 100).
- Collectable units = Returned × (Collection efficiency / 100).
- Recovered units = Collectable × (Recovery yield / 100).
- Disposed units = Collectable − Recovered.
- Trips = ceil(Collectable / Units per trip).
- Total km = Trips × (2 × Avg distance) × (100 / Route efficiency).
- Transport cost = Total km × Cost/km × (1 − 0.30 × Backhaul%).
- Carbon tons = Total km × Emissions factor / 1000.
- Carbon cost = Carbon tons × Carbon price.
- Net cost = Total cost − (Recovered × Resale value).
Penalties rise when planned lead time exceeds the allowed lead time.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter period sales and the expected return rate.
- Set collection efficiency and recovery yield for your network.
- Provide distances, trip size, and transport cost per kilometer.
- Fill cost inputs for handling, refurbishment, and disposal.
- Add capacity, lead times, and penalties for service realism.
- Optionally include emissions factor and carbon price.
- Click Calculate Plan to view results above.
FAQs
1) What is reverse logistics planning?
It estimates volumes, costs, capacity, and service risks for product returns. Planning helps choose collection points, transport approaches, and recovery strategies.
2) How does route efficiency affect distance?
Route efficiency scales kilometers to represent detours, routing quality, and stop density. Lower efficiency increases total distance and raises transport and carbon costs.
3) What does backhaul utilization represent?
It models shared or partially loaded return legs. Higher backhaul utilization reduces effective transport cost, reflecting better asset usage and fewer empty kilometers.
4) Why are penalties included?
Penalties approximate customer impact and contractual costs when returns exceed capacity or lead time targets. The model increases penalties if planned lead time exceeds allowed lead time.
5) How are recommended collection points calculated?
The tool divides collectable volume by per-point period capacity, then rounds up. It provides a practical minimum number of points for the chosen throughput assumption.
6) Can I ignore carbon costs?
Yes. Set carbon price to 0 to exclude carbon from totals. You can still view estimated CO₂ tons to compare scenarios.
7) Is this model suitable for detailed network design?
It is a fast planning model for scenarios and budgeting. For full network optimization, combine it with facility-location, routing, and inventory models.