Glossary
Reverse logistics
The flow that moves goods backwards | from the user toward collection, inspection, repair, resale or recycling.
Where forward logistics moves known products from a warehouse to a customer, reverse logistics moves unknown ones the other way. That asymmetry is the whole difficulty: quantity, condition, configuration and even identity are uncertain until the item is opened and tested.
A reverse flow therefore cannot be planned like a forward one. Capacity has to absorb variability, routing decisions depend on a diagnosis that has not happened yet, and the economics of each item are only known after inspection.
This is why reverse logistics and repair capacity are usually discussed together but are not the same thing. Orchestrating the flow, routing, pricing, SLAs, disposition decisions, is a coordination problem. Actually restoring the device to working order is an industrial one, requiring benches, parts, trained technicians and procedures. A well-orchestrated flow arriving at a workshop that cannot repair reliably simply reaches its bottleneck faster.