Circular Economy, Recycling & Remanufacturing worked example

Reverse Logistics Cost at 67% shipments assigned to this recovery program: a worked example

Suppose shipments assigned to this recovery program falls to 67%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate cost to collect and move returned products, cores, reusable packaging, or recovered materials back through the reverse network.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Returns or containers collected: 3,100 shipments (held at the documented default)
  • Reverse logistics cost per return shipment: 18.5 $ / shipment (held at the documented default)
  • Shipments assigned to this recovery program: 67 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 93)
  • Fixed depot, routing, labeling, or carrier setup cost: 5,600 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Variable reverse freight and handling cost = returns or containers collected × reverse logistics cost per return shipment × shipments assigned to this recovery program.
  • Total reverse logistics cost works out to 44,025 total reverse logistics cost at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Reverse logistics cost per return works out to 14.2 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Variable reverse freight and handling cost works out to 38,425 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed depot, routing, labeling, or carrier setup cost works out to 5,600 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where shipments assigned to this recovery program sits at 93% and the headline result is 58,936 total reverse logistics cost, this scenario comes in 25.3% below the baseline at 44,025 total reverse logistics cost.
  • It computes the total cost of a reverse logistics program by costing the shipments assigned to it at a per-shipment rate and adding fixed depot and setup overhead. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Total reverse logistics cost: 44,025 total reverse logistics cost (headline result)
  • Reverse logistics cost per return: 14.2 $ / piece
  • Variable reverse freight and handling cost: 38,425 $
  • Fixed depot, routing, labeling, or carrier setup cost: 5,600 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Reverse Logistics Cost calculator, set shipments assigned to this recovery program to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.