Circular Product Development in Supply Chains: a structured review of contributions, limitations and consequent gaps

Abstract

The transition from a linear production model towards a circular economy (CE) requires systemic changes in the way products, processes and supply chains are designed and managed. Rather than merely promoting the recovery of products and materials at the end of their useful life, circularity should be embedded from the early stages of product development, with the aim of preserving value, reducing resource consumption, and enabling cycles of use, reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling. In this context, this paper presents a structured analysis of the literature on the integration of CE principles into product development and supply chain management, seeking to identify existing advances, approaches and research gaps. A literature review was conducted using the IEEE Xplore, Scopus and Web of Science databases, combining concepts related to the circular economy, product development and supply chains. The results demonstrate significant advances in circular design, CE-oriented frameworks and approaches for supply chain integration. However, the literature remains fragmented. Product development is frequently restricted to design or redesign, while circularity indicators tend to prioritise resource-use efficiency, material recovery and waste reduction, at the expense of preserving and maximising product value throughout its life cycle. Furthermore, the identified frameworks and tools are often context-specific and are rarely empirically validated as broadly applicable classification methods. Accordingly, a significant research gap is identified: the absence of an integrated, clear, and product-oriented classification logic capable of relating circularity strategies, product development stages and implications across the supply chain. This gap reinforces the need for a systematic, consistent and comparable approach to guide the development of circular products across different contexts.