Thecurrentissueandfulltextarchiveofthisjournalisavailableatwww.emeraldinsight.com/0957-4093.htmIJLM22,2Evaluatingreverselogisticsprograms:asuggestedprocessformalization242StefanE.GenchevDepartmentofMarketing,CollegeofBusinessAdministration,UniversityofCentralOklahoma,Edmond,Oklahoma,USAR.GlennRicheyDepartmentofManagementandMarketing,CulverhouseCollegeofCommerce,UniversityofAlabama,Tuscaloosa,Alabama,USA,andColinB.GablerDepartmentofManagementandMarketing,CulverhouseCollegeofCommerceandBusinessAdministration,UniversityofAlabama,Tuscaloosa,Alabama,USAAbstractPurpose–Suppliers,manufacturers,wholesalers,andretailersalikearestillconsideringreverselogistics(RL)tobethe“necessaryevil”intheirday-to-dayoperationsratherthananopportunityforfutureperformance.Atthesametime,awell-structuredRLprogramcancreateasubstantialvalue-addedandpositivelyaffectthebottom-line.Basedonin-depthinvestigationofbest-in-classRLprogramsimplementedinpractice,thepurposeofthispaperistoofferagroundedflowchartingapproachforassessingthestateofprogramdevelopmentand,potentially,identifyingareasforimprovementacrossdifferentcompaniesinvariousindustries.Design/methodology/approach–Thecurrentstudyutilizesrichqualitativeresearchmethodologybasedonthecombinationbetweenathoroughreviewofexistingliteratureandmultiplefieldstudies.Thefindingsfromexistingresearch,semi-structuredinterviewsandobservationatcompanies’sites,andRL-relateddocumentationatthosecompanies,providethebackboneforthedevelopmentoftheassessmenttool.Findings–AlthoughsubstantialvariationsexistinthewaycompaniesaresettinguptheirRLprograms,somecommonprocessesprevail.FormalizingtheseprocessesandrelatedactivitiesbecomesthedifferentiatingfactorinRLprogramdevelopmentandimplementation.Inaddition,providingstructuretotheRLefforthelpscompaniestostrategicallycontroltherelatedvalue-added.Originality/value–ThepaperintroducesprocessformalizationasanecessaryconditionforthedevelopmentandimplementationofRLprograms.Thegroundedflowchartingappro