Information Technologies in Reverse Logistics Systems

Upravljanje opskrbnim lancem predstavlja kontrolu i praćenje kretanja dobara, informacija i financijskih sredstava kroz cijeli opskrbni lanac, od početne točke (opskrba materijalima i komponentama) sve do završne točke (krajnji potrošač). Moderni opskrbni lanci uključuju i povratnu logistiku, odnosno obrnuti tok prethodno navedenih elemenata, koji nastaje kao posljedica nezadovoljavajuće razine kvalitete isporuke robe (kriva isporuka, oštećenje robe, višak robe itd.) ili radi raznih ekoloških i reciklažnih zahtjeva. Informacijske tehnologije pružaju podršku koordiniranju aktivnosti i praćenju potrebnih podataka vezanih za sve uključene subjekte. RFID (Radio-frequency identification) tehnologija poduzećima omogućuje prikupljanje i praćenje podataka o kretanju proizvoda u povratnom kanalu u stvarnom vremenu. RFID koristi radio frekvencijske signale kao način primanja informacija i podatka o stanju označene transportne jedinice (kutija, sanduk, kontejneri itd.). Podaci vezani za iste fizičke objekte se mogu identificirati te pratiti kroz cijeli vijek kretanja proizvoda.Supply Chain Management represents controlling and monitoring the flow of physical goods, information and financial resources throught the entirety of the supply chain, from the initial point (procurement of materials and components), all the way to the final point (the consumer). Modern supply chains also include reverse logistics, the backwards movement of previously mentioned elements of supply chain flows, as a consequence of unsufficient quality of conveyance of goods (delivery to wrong locations, damaging of goods, overshipments etc.) or due to various ecological and recycling demands. Information technologies provide excellent support, and help in the coordinating of activities and tracking the necessary data, relevant for all included subjects. RFID (Radio-frequency identification) technology enables a company to track and trace data related to the reverse movement of goods in real-time, through the collecting of informations concerning the state and location of a transport unit (box, crate, a container etc.). Alongside this, the collected data can be traced throught the entire life cycle of the reverse flow of a product