In this study, the events of interest are unique within a context
of real life and contemporary phenomena, featuring an exploratory
character and aiming to raise questions and hypotheses for further
top studies. The methodology adopted was the case study, as
proposed by Yin (1994). The case study was applied in a company
that produces machined engines heads, and its identity was
preserved due to strategic issues.
The research team consisted of researchers outside the company
and an internal technical team responsible for collecting data in the
company. The research methodology used included:
Literature review: databases were searched for publications
involving the topic of this research focusing on theoretical and
practical studies on reverse logistics in order to gather relevant
technical information;
Field data collection: included interviews with company
representatives and the analysis of technical documents and
standards of the company. Each of these activities is shown in
Table 2;
Definition of the new concept of returnable packaging:
a returnable packaging model, which was already adopted by
the company in the domestic market,was used. In addition, the
opportunities for improvements observed during field data
collection were included;