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Manufacturing firms seeking to implement circular economy strategies often face a practical challenge in translating R-imperatives into coordinated decisions on product development and supply chain design. Although prior studies and conceptual frameworks have highlighted the importance of integrating these domains, there is limited guidance on how to operationalise such integration in practice. In response, this study develops a three-phase operationalisation framework for integrating R-imperatives, product development, and supply chain design. The framework comprises an As-Is phase, which identifies the current product and supply chain configuration and assesses the existing level of integration, a To-Be phase, which identifies feasible R-imperatives and the redesign requirements they imply, and a To-Do phase, which identifies implementation challenges, capability gaps, and action priorities. The framework is built on the existing knowledge in the literature and empirically grounded through multiple case studies of Norwegian manufacturing companies. The findings show that the feasibility of R-imperatives depends strongly on product architecture, reverse logistics capabilities, and the synchronisation between product redesign and supply chain adaptation. The study contributes by moving beyond conceptual recognition of integration towards a practical framework that supports design for circularity in industrial settings.
Darmian et al. (Mon,) studied this question.