Prospects and Challenges of Reverse Logistic Practice, a Case of Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Agency Jimma Branch

Abstract

Reverse logistics is a process that enables organizations to become more environmentally capable through recycling, disposing, and reusing unfit or returned products. Nowadays, business firms are giving great attention to the forward flow of goods than reverse logistics. To the best knowledge of the researcher, there are a few researches that specifically show the impact of adoption of reverse logistics practices on the organizations. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the prospects and challenges of reverse logistics practices in the Ethiopian pharmaceuticals supply agency of Jimma hub. To this effect, the study employed a Descriptive research design with both quantitative and qualitative methods. The required data was collected by using self-administered questionnaire, structured interview, and observing different secondary documents from 120 agency’s employees. Descriptive analysis was performed through SPSS version 20.From the result we can see that the company’s focus on recycling is very low. To reduce the cost from returned products and salvage any raw material from the returned product enough consideration must be given to recycling reverse logistics. Thus, the agency should have to enforce/strengthen its effort which was found on the way and should have to launch and becoming functionalize the new incineration establishment for its cost and time advantages. Since Ethiopia’s pharmaceutical Supply Agency competition is mostly not with each other but with imported products for health program from donors and revolving fund as well, reverse logistics practice gives them a better barraging power to impress local suppliers, distributers and wholesalers.