Real option approach to evaluate cores for remanufacturing in service markets

Acquisition of cores is important for the success of remanufacturing business, but evaluating the value of cores is difficult due to many uncertain issues in the remanufacturing system. In this paper, we examine the value of cores using the real option valuation (ROV) approach, which well captures the production flexibility and represents different operations options in remanufacturing. First, in a system where the demand of remanufactured products is low, we focus on the uncertainty of price. We compare the cases where disposing cores occurs only at the expiration time and before that. The model also identifies under which circumstances disposing core early brings in more benefit. Furthermore, we study a remanufacturing system where demand and return are both uncertain. In this case, a spread option is used for evaluating the marginal value of obtaining additional cores. This approach also brings the advantage of linking the correlation between demand and return, which in fact is often exhibited in remanufacturing. The numerical experiments indicate that this correlation has an impact on collecting policies. This study illustrates the possibility of using ROV for core pricing modelling, and the study results also provide some managerial insights in managing returned cores.