Reverse logistics and social responsibility: Rethinking production ecosystems

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze reverse logistics as a tool for social responsibility in dairy production ecosystems. The methodology is a descriptive, non-experimental, field, quantitative, and transversal. The population consisted of seven dairy products companies in the Maracaibo and San Francisco municipalities of the Zulia state in Venezuela, and a questionnaire-type data collection instrument was designed and applied. The results show that reverse logistics represents an important tool for implementing social responsibility practices in organizational ecosystems in the dairy sector. These ecosystems are made up of linear chains, structured in phases: supply, production, and marketing. The ecosystems studied deploy closed-chain reverse logistics systems and subsystems of recovery and commercial returns that represent initial practices in the field of social responsibility. They apply processes for the recovery of waste, containers, and expired and/or damaged products, presenting self-management as an outstanding characteristic. The recovery is in charge of the quality department, which leads procedures with the application of its technologies, recovering a high percentage of returns. There is a need to articulate social and organizational aspects such as stakeholder participation and information systems to achieve sustainable management and enhance social responsibility.