Reverse Logistics : A Comparative Study of LPG Agencies in Urban and Rural Areas

The paper presents a comparative study of a typical reverse logistics problem, i.e., refilling of LPG cylinders in urban and rural areas. Due to the large consumption of LPG cylinders for domestic purpose and market price fluctuations of the gas reserves that are present in India and that are being imported which has a lot of uncertainty, there is a need to optimize the transportation costs, considering environmental concern, consumer satisfaction and lead time. This paper has made an attempt to identify the problems and challenges experienced by LPG agencies in urban and rural areas, and also offered a few managerial recommendations. Managing the reverse logistics network is critically discussed with reference to both rural and urban agencies, considering SCM drivers. The paper has also proposed an EDI implementation strategy