Finally, according to the LSP point of view, the postponed interchange could contribute in the reduction of the overall cycle time for a round trip, as it allows to reduce waiting times mainly due to pallet quality check activities at the customer site.
Direct interchange systems provide an easier inventory management process, as reverse flows are not present even though replenishment rates of new pallets increase.
By analyzing data from the LSP and the retailer point of view, the most effective interchange system is based on the application of postponed interchange. This result is also confirmed by analyzing the total purchase cost for the whole supply chain: the introduction of postponed interchange systems could allow us to reduce the overall replenishment cost even if one actor has increased its own cost.
In closed loop pallet management systems, direct and reverse flows are influenced by organizational scenarios applied for the interchange system: if a direct interchange is working, return flows of empty pallets are directly connected to forward deliveries; thus, uncertainty in pallet quantity could be reduced. Otherwise when a postponed interchange system is applied, return flows are more uncertain even if a maximum delay period is allowed by the company. Uncertainty in quality of return products could also affect the performance of closed loop pallet management systems .when direct interchange is applied, the quality of the returned flows is less uncertain than in postponed one as the quality check process is carried out immediately on the delivery trip.