Simulation of purchase or rental decision-making based on product service system

In recent years, global demand for and dependency on resources has increased with the advancement of technology, development of a global economy, societal progress, and rapid population growth. The concept of a product service system (PSS) has been actively promoted by some companies in the US and Europe to mitigate this resource strain and has resulted in significant effects. The objective of this study is to construct a renting system in a reverse logistics environment on the basis of the PSS theory: this system includes the complete management of product examination, maintenance, upgrading, products recycling, and final waste disposal. Due to the different procurement processes of PSS, the following two product operations are analyzed: (1) procurement of new products and (2) rental of products. The simulation model is analyzed by using three different scheduling and dispatching rules (shortest processing time, first come first served, and earliest due date). A home/office electronic case study is conducted to validate its implementation.