Factors affecting the design and operation of reverse supply chains: a grey-based DEMATEL approach

The objective of this paper is to identify and study the main factors that affect the design and operation of reverse supply chains. Twelve factors were identified and the causal relationships that are developed among them were evaluated and analyzed using a grey-based Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach. Towards this end, eight supply chain experts from Greece were asked to express their perceptions on the relationships among these factors. According to the findings of this paper, the factors are classified in two groups of cause and effect factors, each of which contains six factors.