Return and Disposal of Unused Medicines: A Customer Perspective of Reverse Logistics

Efficient and effective operations of supply chains have been à challenging task for practitioners. Management of a supply chain in reverse direction, referred to as reverse logistics, becomes more challenging, particularly, in the context of supply chains of perishable products. Disposal of the unused medicines, if not handled properly, may be harmful for the living beings in the system. Moreover, an in-efficient reverse process might lead to customer dissatisfaction. This paper has been extracted from a study of reverse logistics in Indian pharmaceuticals industry, recently conducted by the authors. The present portion of the study examines the relevance of some key issues of reverse chains in Indian pharmaceuticals from customer perspective. The data are collected using a structured closed ended questionnaire administered to different customers and consumers sampled on convenience basis from seven districts of an Indian State i.e. Uttar Pradesh. Data are analyzed using descriptive and two independent sample t-test. The outcomes of this study are expected to help retailers, manufacturers, and policy makers modify their policies in order to improve the customer satisfaction and reduce the environmental hazards.