DHL Envirosolutions Australia: End-of-Life Management Services for E-Waste

Product stewardship services relied on an Australian Government regulatory framework built on the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – a policy that required producers to manage their product’s end-of-life segment by recycling a certain tonnage of electronic waste relative to their product tonnage imported into Australia. Envirosolutions was one of the approved providers of business-to-business logistics services for collecting and recycling waste on behalf of producers.

In response to requests by ANZRP, a competing provider, the Australian regulator decided not to separate the categories of Computers and Televisions and to set combined recycling tonnage requirements. As the in-house expert on regulation, Green decides to bring this matter up with the Senior Director of Envirosolutions, Peter Bruce and the Operations and Compliance Manager, Mark Philips. Given the regulatory changes and the entry of a new provider, they need to analyse the regulatory and competitive environment to fine-tune their future strategy. With the initial success in Australia, DHL is also evaluating the feasibility of their success in product stewardship services in other Asian markets.

This case can be discussed in classes on extended producer responsibility and reverse logistics. It is suitable for a course on sustainable operations or supply chain management. The case also lends itself to a discussion of the competitive strategy of a B2B service provider and can be used in a course on strategic management or competitive strategy.

The case has been used successfully in junior and senior undergraduate classes as well as in post-graduate settings.

Inspection copies and teaching notes are available for university faculty. To receive an inspection copy and teaching note, please email cmpshop [at] smu.edu.sg with your registered faculty email ID and a link to your contact information on the faculty directory at your university as verification. An inspection copy and teaching note will then be sent to your faculty email account.

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SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case & teaching note on iNet with your SMU login ID & Password via the following links:

· The Case (SMU-14-0004)

· Teaching Note (SMU-14-0004TN)

For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:

· The Case (SMU-14-0004)

· Teaching Note (SMU-14-0004TN)