Transition Decision-Making Framework for Remanufacturing: A Case Study in Malaysia Automotive Sector

Abstract

For the past few years, an increase in automotive production in Southeast Asia has led to serious concerns related to the environment. Pursuing a sustainable business while maintaining business profitability is a subject that has attracted major interest in Malaysia. Some of the positive steps adopted towards environmental protection and sustainability include on-going initiatives and cooperation from the government and different stakeholders, which focus on promoting environmental awareness and implementation of the 4Rs: repair, rebuild, recycling and remanufacturing. This is specifically applicable for manufacturing and has consequently become a research priority in this sector. On the other hand, the transition from other green strategies towards the practice of remanufacturing has resulted in a significant challenge that entails addressing the requirements from a diverse range of perspectives, such as the viewpoints of society, the government, and different stakeholders. Most of the research conducted in Malaysia tends to consider the development of remanufacturing, focussing on the critical factors that will contribute towards the success of remanufacturing, and analysing the impediments in remanufacturing implementation. Also, while the studies tend to emphasise on analysing the potential advantages of remanufacturing regarding society, the environment and economic factors, less attention has focused on the analysis and development of transitioning business operations towards remanufacturing. Therefore, this study aims to develop a Transition Decision-Making Framework (TDMF), where the remanufacturing and transition elements were identified through an extensive literature review and validation by undertaking two empirical case studies from the Malaysian automotive sector is required. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) can also be employed and used to implement the framework developed for the criteria and prioritisation of elements within the framework for future research.