Digital Servitisation and Reverse Logistics Towards a New Circular Economy

COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work. While governments have implemented differing extents of lockdown measures in curbing the transmission, people are also entering self-isolation and more work-from-home modes. While the pandemic has contributed to the growth of online businesses and deliveries, it has brought concerns about waste generation and management to a peak. The pandemic triggers us to reconsider how current consumption and production patterns can be shifted to a more sustainable way. As a sustainable consumption and production concept was introduced as one of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, businesses have mapped out various strategies on resource extraction, distribution, waste disposal, and reuse of products and services to further this quest. Reverse logistics, as a way to realise this quest, has been constantly referred to in literature. However, the reverse logistics system has not attracted much attention from businesses due to the high cost and complexity of the process. Nonetheless, today, it is noteworthy that more companies have begun to combine digital technologies with their reverse logistics systems to create a new competitive advantage. When a service incorporating digital technologies is applied to a reverse logistics system, it becomes a new solution for businesses to achieve sustainable consumption and production. This chapter sets out to shine new light on these emerging areas through an examination of reverse logistics and digital servitisation. Collectively, this chapter will provide useful strategies for businesses seeking to achieve sustainable consumption and production in the post-COVID world by looking at how digital servitisation can be combined within a reverse logistics system.