A roadmap towards circular economies in pharma logistics based on returnable transport items enhanced with Industry 4.0 technologies

Sustainability of the pharmaceutical industry is a topic of growing interest. One central aspect in this regard is the reduction of waste in supply chains. Driven by the European Directive on packaging waste, companies are obliged to significantly reduce waste production by implementing innovative circular economy solutions. The concept of Returnable Transport Items (RTIs) appears promising in replacing one-way parcels, which contribute to the increasing production of waste considerably. Successful RTI implementation depends on the establishment of robust reverse logistics processes. The associated challenges could be largely solved by the integration with smart technologies, which requires multidisciplinary stakeholder engagement and alignment of strategic thinking. This article provides a roadmap towards circular economies in pharma logistics based on RTI solutions enhanced with "Industry 4.0" technologies. As part of the roadmap, analyses of selected pharma supply processes are presented, which suggest the economic feasibility of implementing RTIs in specific logistics usecase scenarios. [Display omitted]