Remanufacturing in a Sustainable Wellbeing Economy

In order to reduce waste and to extend the lifecycle of products companies should consider real remanufacturing practices...

Remanufacturing is based on the concept of rebuilding a product using reused, repaired, recycled and reconditioned components

If we want to achieve relevant sustainability goals we must rethink the areas of product design and manufacturing. Products must be designed with a true focus on reducing their impact on the environment. Modularity in product design can help to achieve the goal. It can mean that we have to reduce the amount of available product variances, but on the other hand it will allow to optimize the use and recovery of materials, enable reverse logistic business models based on repairing, sharing and remanufacturing. But remanufacturing is not exactly the same as recycling, rebuilding or refurbishing. Let’s look at Rebuilding first. It is the process of dismantle a component, replace pieces that are worn out or out of specification and then put it back together and test it. When you refurbish a product the manufacturer replaces all failed components and then the whole product is sold/used again a s refurbished.

Remanufacturing is the process of rebuilding a product to specifications of the original manufactured product using reused, repaired, recycled and reconditioned components. So remanufacturing is a reliable process as it meets the same high standards as the original product did. Furthermore it supports the concept of the Circular Economy. So this means that remanufacturing supports core aspects of sustainability by transforming used products into a usable state while minimizing waste generation. Remanufacturing covers

Ok, sounds reasonable. But in order to switch to a remanufacturing business model a company must rethink and redesign/optimize products/components/services, optimize business processes to setup reverse supply chain management, inventory and manufacturing, educate customers/consumers and define the data that needs to be collected along the product lifecycle. And remanufacturing will only work with a solid reverse supply chain that supports waste products through a recycling process to restore the product state that may be reused or resold. So it is essential to know your current situation, where you want to go and who are the key stakeholders in your remanufacturing model.

🌎 Rethink product design, service products and manufacturing processes to enable a resource-efficient remanufacturing practice

🌎 Leverage Smart Technology to be able to track product conditions along the whole product lifecycle

🌎 Invest into Responsible Consumer Platforms to provide transparency and promote recycle and take-back models

Where to start? Companies need to have a closer look at their product design and how they can reduce the environmental impact of their products. The goal is to get a clear understanding how to optimize products from an engineering (e.g. less components, modularity, less options) and material (e.g. reusable raw materials, materials that can be refurbished, less energy consumption) point of view - the goal is to create resource efficient manufacturing practices. On the other hand companies must create new take-back options (e.g. reverse logistics and reverse service) and introduce new services for consumers/users. Furthermore companies must make sure that their products can be easily tracked (product information, product condition, at any state of the product lifecycle) across all relevant channels. Smart technology can help to achieve these goals.

I believe it is time to revolutionize the way we do business. It is time for a Purpose-driven Wellbeing Economy. But to achieve this goal we to speed the adoption of Sustainable Digitalization in industrial organizations to optimize the way how business is done. Smart Technology is one key enabler to get there. What do you think?