PurposeRecently, interest in sustainability has grown globally in the heavy vehicle and equipment industry (HVEI). However, this industry's complexity poses a challenge to the implementation of generic sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices. This study aims to identify SSCM's barriers, practices and performance (BPP) indicators in the HVEI context.Design/methodology/approachThe results are derived from case studies of four multinational manufacturers. Within-case and cross-case analyses were conducted to categorise the SSCM BPP indicators that are unique to HVEI supply chains.FindingsThis study's analysis revealed that supply chain cost implications and a deficient information flow between focal firms and supply chain partners are the key barriers to SSCM in the HVEI. This analysis also revealed a set of policies, programmes and procedures that manufacturers have adopted to address SSCM barriers. The most common SSCM performance indicators included eco-portfolio sales to assess economic performance, health and safety indicators for social sustainability and carbon- and energy-related measures for environmental sustainability.Practical implicationsThe insights can help HVEI firms understand and overcome the typical SSCM barriers in their industry and develop, deploy and optimise their SSCM strategies and practices. Managers can use this knowledge to identify appropriate mechanisms with which to accelerate their transition into a sustainable business and effectively measure performance outcomes.Originality/valueThe extant SSCM literature has focused on the light vehicle industry, and it has lacked a concrete examination of HVEI supply chains' sustainability BPP. This study develops a framework that simultaneously analyses SSCM BPP in the HVEI.

The integration of the concept of the circular economy (CE) within the supply chain is known as the circular supply chain (CSC). Although various articles have identified barriers to implementing CE, no comprehensive study has investigated the impacts of barriers focusing on CSC. This study includes a systematic literature review to contextualize the impact of barriers from the perspective of 3R (i.e., reusing, remanufacturing, and recycling) recovery approaches. It classifies barriers into seven main groups in the context of CSC. The most often observed barriers hindering 3R recovery approaches are identified, and their impacts are discussed. The results demonstrate that barriers related to "economics and finance," "governments and regulations," and "society and culture" substantially impact the ability of organizations in the initial phase of adopting recovery approaches. In particular, key findings outline that consumer willingness to purchase recovered products impacts reuse, deficient supportive regulations impact 3R approaches (especially recycling), and a lack of support in the market impacts the ability of organizations to execute remanufacturing effectively. In addition, conducting empirical research is still desirable and creates a meaningful link between theory and practice. It helps to understand the barriers to remanufacturing, reusing, and recycling.

This study analyses remanufacturing operations of a Finnish heavy vehicle manufacturer with global operations. The company has remanufactured and refurbished certain components for a decade in a centralised remanufacturing and recycling centre in Finland, but it has encountered significant challenges, especially in reverse logistics. The company considers regional remanufacturing to decrease these disadvantages. The purpose of this study is to analyse the characteristics, challenges and benefits of regional remanufacturing by reviewing the relevant literature and analysing the empirical data, including a survey for international subsidiaries of the case company to determine regional needs. As a result, we have identified significant benefits, especially related to minimised logistics costs and better availability of the components, but also challenges, such as lack of resources, and insufficient economies of scale.