Secondary market: A significant aspect in reverse logistics and sustainability

Reverse logistics is a well-established concept in today’s business world that may also relate to extended producers’ responsibility, take back law, closed loop supply chain, product stewardship, and circular economy. Reverse logistics returns products back to the supply chain for value extraction. Literature reveals that these activities contribute to economic and environmental sustainability. One important aspect related to reverse logistics is the secondary market. According to the literature, reverse logistics is a “system” and the secondary market is a “system drain.” Consequently, the more companies become aware of reverse logistics, the more likely it will be that products will move through this system and end up in the secondary market. However, the existence, size, viability, policy, regulations, and even the definition of secondary markets are very limited in the literature. If sustainability, through reverse logistics, is to be seen as an ongoing agenda, research on the issues related to secondary markets becomes an urgent need. With that point in mind, this paper will serve as a research call paper on the significance of secondary markets as they relate to reverse logistics and sustainability.