Joint Optimization of Warranty and Refurbishment under Heterogeneous Failure Rates in Remanufacturing

Joint Optimization of Warranty and Refurbishment under Heterogeneous Failure Rates in Remanufacturing | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Joint Optimization of Warranty and Refurbishment under Heterogeneous Failure Rates in Remanufacturing Mubashir Unnissa M, Jalapathy P, Prabu D, Bharathy S This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9376847/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study develops an integrated analytical framework for optimal warranty design in remanufactured products under age uncertainty. The model jointly optimizes pricing, warranty structure (free replacement, prorated, and extended warranties), refurbishment effectiveness, and eligibility thresholds while explicitly incorporating increasing and decreasing failure rate behaviors. A virtual age approach is used to capture the impact of refurbishment on product reliability, and salvage loss is modeled to reflect inefficiencies in reverse logistics. The resulting nonlinear optimization problem is solved using a multi-start constrained optimization procedure, followed by extensive sensitivity and robustness analyses with respect to acquisition and refurbishment cost elasticities. The results show that coordinated decision-making significantly improves performance, with profit gains exceeding 25% in IFR settings and up to 170% in DFR scenarios, alongside substantial reductions in salvage losses. The findings highlight that optimal warranty and refurbishment strategies are highly dependent on failure-rate regimes, offering actionable insights for improving profitability and reliability in remanufacturing systems. Warranty Design Refurbishment Policy Failure Rates Circular Supply Chain Salvage Loss Modeling Robustness Analysis Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 13 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 12 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 10 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9376847","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":634809832,"identity":"afcb8514-37a7-4b87-b68c-e67d3d3c0096","order_by":0,"name":"Mubashir Unnissa M","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Vellore Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mubashir","middleName":"Unnissa","lastName":"M","suffix":""},{"id":634809833,"identity":"63dc98d1-44bb-450a-8465-cb1743016362","order_by":1,"name":"Jalapathy P","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgbmBjCDj7/54AMgzcNHWAsjRAubxLFkA5AWNmLsgWhhyFGTgDAIAOb2g42fCyrs8tkYzrBVfs2xk2FjYH746AY+O3oSm6VnnEm2bGPuPXZbdlsy0GFsxsY5eJ2V2CDN28ZswMZwLu225DZmoBYeNmm8WvofNv/m/VcP1JJjViy5rZ4ILTMS26R5Gw6DtTB+3HaYGC0P26xnHDtuAApkacZtx3nYmAn4xbA/+fDtgppqA35gVH78ua3anp+9+eFjvFoagAEN4zDzgEk8ykFAHlkN4w8CqkfBKBgFo2BkAgCyMUQP7WUC3gAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Chennai Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jalapathy","middleName":"","lastName":"P","suffix":""},{"id":634809834,"identity":"d1650098-453d-4b49-9250-be38988062bf","order_by":2,"name":"Prabu D","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chennai Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Prabu","middleName":"","lastName":"D","suffix":""},{"id":634809836,"identity":"9c4acd54-1d37-4c4f-84fe-31e02190f091","order_by":3,"name":"Bharathy S","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Global Institute of Engineering and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bharathy","middleName":"","lastName":"S","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-10 08:40:52","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9376847/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9376847/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108807783,"identity":"76a00b48-79c6-4189-ade9-39e6ba0fc406","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 15:33:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":39817095,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"snarticletemplate.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9376847/v1_covered_ec672c64-aa4d-4883-91bf-a227e70e358a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Joint Optimization of Warranty and Refurbishment under Heterogeneous Failure Rates in Remanufacturing","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-remanufacturing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"rman","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Remanufacturing](http://link.springer.com/journal/13243)","snPcode":"13243","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/13243/3","title":"Journal of Remanufacturing","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Warranty Design, Refurbishment Policy, Failure Rates, Circular Supply Chain, Salvage Loss Modeling, Robustness Analysis","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9376847/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9376847/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This study develops an integrated analytical framework for optimal warranty design in remanufactured products under age uncertainty. 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