Mozhgan Jahanafroozi's Thesis Defense

This dissertation falls within the field of optimizing reverse logistics systems in the circular economy, where the efficient management of return flows must be ensured under significant operational, economic, environmental, and social constraints. It is based on a dual approach combining empirical investigation and mathematical modeling to identify levers for improving the collection phase and to formalize its optimization.

An empirical study based on a survey of industry experts identifies the collection phase as the most critical stage of reverse logistics operations, and reveals that big data analytics is perceived as the most decisive Industry 4.0 technology, as it improves data visibility and the quality of decision-making.

Motivated by the centrality of the collection process, this thesis develops an optimization framework based on the Capacitated Location-Routing Problem for Pick-up Operations in Reverse Logistics (CLRP-RL-P) — CLRP-RL-P).

The proposed mixed-integer linear programming model jointly incorporates economic costs, CO₂ emissions, and driver well-being constraints. It is solved using Gurobi, supplemented by a mathematical heuristic approach combining Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS) and mathematical programming for large-scale instances.

Computational experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework for designing sustainable reverse logistics networks consistent with the objectives of the circular economy.

Reviewers:

• Feng CHU, Professor, University of Évry Paris-Saclay – IBISC, Évry Courcouronnes
• Imed KACEM, Professor, University of Lorraine, Metz
  

Examiners:

• Hamid ALLAOUI, Professor, University of Artois
• Marwa NOUIRI, Associate Professor, IUT de Nantes – University of Nantes
   

Thesis Co-advisors:

• Abdelhakim ARTIBA, Professor, Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France
• Joseph SARKIS, Professor, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA
  

Advisors:

• Abdessamad AIT EL CADI, Professor, Hauts-de-France Polytechnic University
• Abdelghani BEKRAR, Associate Professor (HDR), Hauts-de-France Polytechnic University

Reverse logistics; Circular economy; Capacity-constrained location-routing problem; Heuristics; Industry 4.0; Sustainable development.