1 Introduction
With the rapid development of emerging technologies such as the internet of things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, 5G, smartphones are becoming more and more popular and showing a continuous growth trend. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, by the end of May 2021, China had 1.608 billion mobile phone users, with a mobile phone user penetration rate of 113.9%, 11% higher than the global mobile phone penetration rate. The huge number of mobile phones has brought a huge amount of elimination. According to Deloitte's 2021 China Mobile Consumer Survey, the frequency of mobile phone replacement among Chinese users ranks first in the world, and 65% of consumers choose to buy a new mobile device because they stay at home longer due to the epidemic
[1]. At the same time, with the official commercialization of 5G, the shipment of 5G mobile phones in the Chinese market will show explosive growth, and massive 3G and 4G mobile phones will be eliminated. Waste mobile phone parts contain many harmful substances, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury, which may pose a threat to human health if left idle at home. If carelessly discarded or improperly disposed of, it will have a negative impact on the ecological environment. Through the recycling of waste mobile phones, on the one hand, they can be processed, refurbished, or repaired in the second-hand market to realize the recycling of waste objects and reduce the waste of social resources. On the other hand, it can also refine useful metals and other materials such as gold, silver, copper, iron, etc., to realize the recycling of resources, which has obvious economic benefits. Taking "ATRenew" as an example, the average carbon emission reduction contribution of the waste mobile phones successfully sold by the group in 2021 is 30.41 kg per unit, and the total carbon emission reduction contribution of the whole platform is 463, 692 tons, which is equivalent to the carbon sink effect of 2.3 million mu of urban forest in a year. In 2021, ATRenew will recycle and supervise the green disposal of 223, 000 waste electronic equipment, reducing about 35.7 tons of pollution from electronic products. However, the current situation of waste mobile phone recycling in China is not optimistic, and the recycling rate of formal channels is still less than 10%
[2]. In recent years, with the continuous promotion of China's "Internet +" strategy, "Internet +" recycling has become an effective way for efficient recycling of waste mobile phones in China. The main parties of "Internet +" recycling of waste mobile phones mainly involve manufacturers, retailers, third-party recycling enterprises, etc. Retailers are in the core position of connecting mobile phone users and manufacturers, having a sales network covering urban and rural areas and a perfect logistics system, and having unparalleled advantages in the recycling of waste mobile phones. Therefore, this paper puts forward the research on the "Internet +" recycling of waste mobile phones led by retailers.
As for the recycling research of waste mobile phones, Arya, et al.
[3] researched controlling procurement costs to maximize profits when competitors are also upstream customers. Wang, et al.
[4] proposed that recycling systems and regulations, the willingness to recycle demanded by consumers, the environmental awareness of managers, and the economic benefits of recycling had a positive impact on producers' recycling behavior. Georgiadis, et al.
[5] analyzed the impact of environmental legislation and environmental goodwill on the environmental and economic sustainability of the closed-loop supply chain of electronic products with system dynamics simulation. Ylä-Mella, et al.
[6] proposed that user recycling behavior had a significant impact on the recycling rate of used mobile phones. Wang, et al.
[7] proposed that government reward-penalty mechanisms could increase the recycling rate of waste products, reduce the retail price of new products, and increase the buyback price. Welfens, et al.
[8] argued that the recycling of waste mobile phones was mainly influenced by various factors such as economic, social, and psychological factors. Scalco, et al.
[9] focused on consumer factors and introduces descriptive social norms to optimize waste product recycling mode. Chen, et al.
[10] proposed that recycling attitudes, perceptual recycling behavioral intentions jointly influence e-waste recycling behavior. Yao, et al.
[2] analyzed the impact of resources, human health, and ecosystem quality on the recycling of waste mobile phones through life cycle assessment and system dynamics. Liu, et al.
[11] suggested that the factors affecting the recycling of waste mobile phones mainly lay in the convenience of the internet. Li, et al.
[12] calculated the number of waste mobile phones by 2020 and how many were being recycled, then made reasonable estimation and quantification of the material flow of waste mobile phones in China. Prabhu, et al.
[13] focused on the identification and analysis of various research works undertaken on the disposal of obsolete mobile phones by users, and believed that the in-use life span of mobile phones got reduced to between one to two years in many countries due to damaged phones, reduced functionality and outdated technology. The majority of the users do not adopt sustainable disposal methods such as handing over to formal end-of-life channels for reuse and recycle.
In addition to the research on influencing factors, Yi
[14] studied the supply chain decisions of different dominant modes, then proposed consumer and industry preferences for retailer dominance. Gao, et al.
[15] studied the recycling efforts, sales efforts, and pricing decisions of manufacturers and retailers under different dominant modes of the supply chain. Feng, et al.
[16] proposed the recycling pricing strategy of a closed-loop supply chain led by third-party recyclers. Wang, et al.
[17] studied the manufacturer-led recycling and remanufacturing decision of waste electronic products under the reward and punishment mechanism. Nie
[18] examined the impact of retailer information sharing on a manufacturer-led closed-loop supply chain recycling mode. Zhang, et al.
[19] explored the impact of retailer fairness concerns on the optimal decisions and performance of members of a manufacturer-led dual-channel recycling closed-loop supply chain. Savaskan, et al.
[20] compared and studied the three traditional recycling modes, and concluded that the retailer recycling mode was the most efficient. Sun, et al.
[21] compared the profitability of retailer-led supply chains under three different recycling modes as affected by the intensity of internal supply-chain competition. Chen, et al.
[22] studied the optimal channel selection problem of recycling channels for each participant in a retailer-led closed-loop supply chain under reward-penalty mechanisms. Hu, et al.
[23] constructed a dual-channel green supply chain dynamic game model based on retailers and e-commerce platforms as mobile phone recycling entities. The results show that offset price, recovery price, and recovery quantity are positively correlated with the income through their respective channels, and the optimal equilibrium in the supply chain is conducive to integrating waste mobile phone green supply chain. The retailer, as an important party in the closed-loop supply chain, has a greater influence on recycling.
With the proposal of the "Internet +" strategy, some scholars began to apply the "Internet +" strategy to the research of waste electrical and electronic equipment recycling. Wang, et al.
[24] proposed that perceived usefulness, perceived benefits, and subjective norms had a positive impact on residents' attitude toward "Internet + recycling". Li, et al.
[25] explored the influence factors of internet word-of-mouth on consumers' willingness to participate in "Internet +" waste mobile phone recycling. Wei
[26] and Wei, et al.
[27] innovatively constructed the "Internet +" recycling mode of waste electrical and electronic equipment involving different recycling parties and empirically analyzed the influence factors of "Internet +" recycling. Jian, et al.
[28] researched on collaborative recycling efforts of third-party recyclers and e-tailers based on "Internet +" recycling. Wang, et al.
[29] showed four typical internet recycling modes and discussed the implications for sustainable "Internet +" recycling based on the problems and cases analysis. The results show that the hybrid mode combining online recycling and offline recycling is the best mode for waste mobile phone recycling. Xi, et al.
[30] studied the operation process of the "Internet + recycling" mode of renewable resources and made corresponding suggestions. Gu, et al.
[31] examined the quality and environmental performance of recycling under "Internet +" recycling. Hou, et al.
[32] proposed that a combination of government subsidies and publicity investment could improve the economic benefits of internet recycling platforms and dismantling companies. Wang, et al.
[33] examined the impact of consumer loss aversion behavior on pricing strategies of "internet+" recycling platforms. Qu, et al.
[34] built a dual-recycling channel reverse supply chain decision model using the Stackelberg model, and discussed the impact of consumer perception, efforts of online recyclers, and government regulations on collection price, quantity, and profit.
The above research mainly focuses on the influencing factors, recycling modes, and cooperation strategies of the recycling of waste mobile phones, but there is no specific in-depth analysis and research on the influencing factors of recycling of waste mobile phones dominated by recycling parties in the "Internet +" recycling environment. The "Internet +" recycling of waste mobile phones is a complicated process of system operation and feedback adjustment under the mutual influence and joint action of many factors. In order to clearly show the "Internet +" recycling process of waste mobile phones, this paper will make an in-depth analysis and research on the "Internet +" recycling of waste mobile phones led by retailers with the help of System Dynamics theory
[35]. Based on the construction of the retailer-led SD model of "Internet +" recycling of waste mobile phones, we analyze the key factors affecting the recycling of waste mobile phones by retailers under the "Internet +" recycling mode and the impact of changes in these factors on retailers' "Internet +" recycling decisions.
2 "Internet +" Recycling Mode of Waste Mobile Phones Led by Retailers
The retailer-led "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones is based on the traditional recycling mode of waste mobile phones, which integrates internet technology and realizes the recycling of waste mobile phones through the deep integration of online information interaction and offline entities interaction. There are two ways to realize this: 1) Online recycling. After registering, users log in to the online recycling platform to provide information such as brand, model, appearance, and operation of waste mobile phones. The online recycling platform gives the corresponding recycling price according to the information provided by mobile phone users. If the mobile phone users accept the recycling price, the waste mobile phones will be handed over to retailers for recycling through offline logistics enterprises. After receiving the waste mobile phones, the retailer will conduct a professional technical inspection on them. If the actual situation matches the description of the mobile phone users, the retailer will pay the mobile phone users through the third-party payment platform. 2) Offline recycling. Mobile phone users bring their waste mobile phones directly to the retailer's recycling point, negotiate the price face-to-face and decide whether to recycle. Taking "AHS Recycle" as an example, it creates a C2B reverse business model to provide users with professional recycling services for used electronic products, promising to thoroughly shred user information in old machines, give users reasonable and transparent pricing through feedback from more than 100 regular contracted recyclers and market data in the background, and provide high-quality and convenient free door-to-door recycling service, free SF Express recycling service, and offline directly operated stores covering popular business districts in key cities. In terms of online recycling channels, AHS Recycle has deep cooperation with mature e-commerce platforms such as Jingdong, and Gome, so users can recycle old machines through e-commerce portals when buying new ones; users can place orders online through AHS Recycle's official website, APP and WeChat official account, and make transactions through offline channels; AHS Recycle has established partnerships with mobile phone brands such as Samsung, Xiaomi, and Meizu so that users can trade in old for new. In terms of offline recycling channels, AHS Recycle has store recycling, door-to-door recycling, and express mailing.
In the retailer-led recycling mode of waste mobile phones, retailers are only responsible for the recycling and collection of waste mobile phones, but not for the subsequent recycling process. After the waste mobile phones are recycled by the retailers, the retailers will hand over the recycled waste mobile phones to the mobile phone manufacturers according to the recycling price given by the manufacturers, and the mobile phone manufacturers will carry out subsequent dismantling or refurbishment treatment (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Retailer-led "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones |
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3 Retailer-Led SD Model for Recycling Waste Mobile Phones
System dynamics is a system simulation method, which can realize the quantitative analysis of the system by simulating the overall behavior structure of the real system. According to the retailer-led "Internet +" recycling system factors, the SD model is constructed, and the causal loop diagram and stock flow diagram under this recycling mode are drawn, so as to clarify the relationship between various parts of the system, and the key factors affecting the retailer-led "Internet +" recycling are accurately analyzed through quantitative simulation.
In the retailer-led "Internet +" recycling model of waste mobile phones, after recycling the waste mobile phones, retailers do not need to carry out subsequent disposal of the waste mobile phones, and can directly return the waste mobile phones to the original factory. This model involves online and offline recycling by retailers, as well as the return of waste mobile phones to the factory.
3.1 Model Assumption
In order to reduce the influence caused by irrelevant factors in the model and improve the accuracy of the model, the following assumptions are put forward before modeling:
1) The "Internet +" recycling model of waste mobile phones studied in this paper only involves the recycling business of waste mobile phones, without considering the benefits and costs brought by other businesses of retailers.
2) It is assumed that the recycling business of waste mobile phones will continue all the time, and the business process will not be stopped or changed due to the influence of other factors.
3) The recycling business of waste mobile phones does not consider competitive factors.
4) Considering the situation that waste mobile phones may be lost during recycling, and parts are missing, it is assumed that the resource loss rate is fixed during recycling.
5) It is assumed that the demand for mobile phones is stable, large changes due to political or economic reasons are not considered.
6) It is assumed that if there is no limit to the recycling capacity of retailer recycling enterprises, there will be no recycling saturation.
3.2 Variable Description
The variables involved in the system dynamics model are mainly divided into four types:
1) State variable: It represents the concept of stock, which represents the accumulated level of some physical quantities, and it can be represented by the integral of rate variable in the structure diagram or equation.
2) Rate variable: It represents the concept of flow rate and reflects the speed at which the variable flows in or out.
3) Instrumental variable: It represents the intermediate variable in the decision-making process, and describes the information transfer and conversion process between the state variable and the rate variable in the decision-making process.
4) Constant: The quantity that remains unchanged or changes little during the simulation process will be set according to the actual recycling of waste mobile phones.
3.3 Model Factor Determination
According to the specific operation process of the "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones led by retailers and the relationship between different subjects, there are some model factors under this mode (Table 1).
| Name of factors | Variable types |
| Mobile phone usage | State variable |
| Waste mobile phone quantity | State variable |
| Offline recycling of waste mobile phones by retailers | State variable |
| Online recycling of waste mobile phones by retailers | State variable |
| User purchase rate of mobile phone | rate variable |
| Elimination rate | rate variable |
| Offline recycling rate | rate variable |
| Online recycling rate | rate variable |
| Retailer's offline unit recycling price | Constant |
| Retailer's online unit recycling price | Constant |
| Manufacturer's unit recycling price | Constant |
| Annual fixed cost | Constant |
| Annual operating cost of online platform | Constant |
| Unit logistics costs | Constant |
| The service life of mobile phone | Constant |
| Retailer's recycling rate influenced by offline recycling price | Instrumental variable |
| Retailer's recycling rate influenced by online recycling price | Instrumental variable |
| Recycling rate affected by logistics costs | Instrumental variable |
| Recycling rate affected by online operating cost of platform | Instrumental variable |
| Recycling rate influenced by manufacturer's incentive | Instrumental variable |
| Total annual revenue | Instrumental variable |
| Total annual cost | Instrumental variable |
| Total annual profit | Instrumental variable |
| Manufacturer's incentive factor | Instrumental variable |
3.4 Causal Loop Diagram Drawing
The causal loop diagram can intuitively express the dynamic feedback structure of the retailer-led "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones. In Figure 2, the factors indicated by the positive arrow will increase with the increase of the arrow tail factor, while the factors indicated by the negative arrow will decrease with the increase of the arrow tail factor. According to the factors included in the retailer-led "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones, the causal loop diagram was drawn by using the simulation software Vensim (Figure 2).
Figure 2 Causal loop diagram of retailer-led "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones |
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The key feedback loops in the causal loop diagram of "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones led by retailers are as follows:
Feedback loop 1: Offline recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers total annual revenue total annual profit retailer's offline unit recycling price offline recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers . The feedback loop shows that the increase of the retailer's offline recycling amount will increase the retailer's revenue, so that the retailer has more funds to raise the offline recycling price and further increase the retailer's offline recycling amount of waste mobile phones.
Feedback loop 2: Online recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers total annual revenue total annual profit retailer's online unit recycling price online recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers . The feedback loop shows that the increase of the retailer's online recycling amount will increase the retailer's revenue, so that the retailer has more funds to raise the online recycling price and further increase the retailer's online recycling amount of waste mobile phones.
Feedback loop 3: Online recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers total annual revenue total annual profit annual operating cost of online platform online recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers . The feedback loop shows that the more waste mobile phones retailers recycle online, the greater the revenue, which promotes their investment in the platform operation, and thus increases the online recycling amount.
Feedback loop 4: Online recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers total annual revenue total annual profit unit logistics costs online recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers . The feedback loop indicates that the increase of online recycling of waste mobile phones by retailers will bring more benefits to retailers and promote the optimization of logistics services by manufacturers, so as to recycle more waste mobile phones.
Feedback loop 5: Online recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers total annual cost total annual profit unit logistics costs online recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers . The feedback loop indicates that the increase of the recycling amount of mobile phones online by retailers will increase the retailer's cost. If the cost is too high, the profit will be reduced, and finally the online recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers will slow down.
3.5 Stock Flow Chart Drawing
On the basis of the causal loop diagram, drawing the stock flow diagram can further distinguish the stock and flow in the "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones led by retailers, the logic relations between system variables are described by using equation, clarify the quantitative relationship and control process between variables, and depict the feedback and dynamic law in the "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones led by retailers (Figure 3).
Figure 3 Stock flow chart of "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones led by retailers |
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4 Model Simulation and Analysis of Influencing Factors
4.1 Parameter and Equation Setting
The main parameters and equations of the retailer-led "Internet +" recycling system dynamics model are set as follows:
1) Annual mobile phones usage = user purchase rate of mobile phones elimination rate;
2) Annual waste mobile phones quantity = elimination rate online recycling rate offline recycling rate;
3) Total annual revenue = manufacturer's unit recycling price (offline recycling of waste mobile phones by retailers + online recycling of waste mobile phones by retailers);
4) Total annual cost = unit logistics cost (2 offline recycling of waste mobile phones by retailers + online recycling of waste mobile phones by retailers) + annual fixed cost + annual operating cost of online platform + retailer's online unit recycling price online recycling of waste mobile phones by retailers + retailer's offline unit recycling price offline recycling of waste mobile phones by retailers;
5) Total annual profit = total annual revenue total annual cost;
6) Retailer's offline unit recycling price = RANDOM NORMAL (120, 200, 150, 5, 0);
7) Retailer's online unit recycling price = RANDOM NORMAL (120, 200, 150, 5, 0);
8) Retailer's recycling rate influenced by offline recycling price=WITH LOOKUP (retailer's offline unit recycling price, , (52.2936, 515.351), (73.8532, 574.561), (83.4862, 629.386), (108.716, 688.596), (127.064, 741.228), (144.037, 807.018), (168.349, 850.877), (185.78, 925.439), (197.706, 986.842));
9) Recycling rate affected by logistics costs = WITH LOOKUP (unit logistics cost, , (3.04281, 508.77), (4.86239, 570.175), (5.69725, 635.965), (6.1896, 686.40), (6.9816, 765.35), (7.3027, 817.98), (7.9021, 883.77), (8.4373, 921.05), (9.0367, 945.17), (9.4434, 964.91), (9.9572, 969.3));
10) Recycling rate affected by online operating cost of platform = WITH LOOKUP (annual operating cost of online platform, , (10825.7, 532.895), (23761.5, 703.947), (47431, 1046.1), (55963.3, 1315.8), (68623.9, 1539.5), (74679, 1776.3), (83211, 1927.6), (95045.9, 1980.3), (100000, 1986.8)).
4.2 Model Checking
The retailer-led "Internet +" recycling system for waste mobile phones has the complexity of the real system, and some basic assumptions have been made before the model is built. In order to have the model built in this paper closer to reality, before the formal simulation, it is necessary to conduct a reality and limit check on the "Internet +" recycling model of waste mobile phones led by retailers to ensure that the model is more consistent with the actual recycling of waste mobile phones.
4.2.1 Reality Checking
Checking 1: Increase the retailer's offline unit recycling price by 10% (Figure 4), which means changing the retailer's offline unit recycling price = RANDOM NORMAL (130, 210, 160, 5, 0) to the retailer's offline unit recycling price = RANDOM NORMAL (130, 210, 176, 5, 0). After the retailer's offline unit recycling price increased by 10%, the number of offline recycled mobile phones increased slightly compared with the initial state, which was in line with the reality and passed the reality checking.
Figure 4 Reality checking 1 |
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Checking 2: Increase the retailer's online unit recycling price by 10% (Figure 5), which means changing the retailer's online unit recycling price = RANDOM NORMAL (120, 200, 150, 5, 0) to retailer's online unit recycling price = RANDOM NORMAL (120, 200, 165, 5, 0). After the retailer's online unit recycling price increased by 10%, the number of online recycled mobile phones increased slightly compared with the initial state, which was in line with the reality and passed the reality checking.
Figure 5 Reality checking 2 |
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4.2.2 Limit Checking
At present, the average service life of mobile phones in the market is about 24 years, so it is assumed that the average service life of mobile phones is 3 years in general. Now, the service life of mobile phones is set as the limit value of 10 years to test the changes of the system in the limit state (Figure 6). It can be seen from Figure 6 that when the service life of the mobile phones is set to the limit value of 10 years, the number of waste mobile phones is significantly reduced, which conforms with the normal law and passes the limit checking.
4.3 Simulation Analysis
Based on the two core lines of "Internet +" recycling process of waste mobile phones, which rely on platform operation online and logistics transportation offline, two key factors of annual operating cost of online platform and offline unit logistics cost are selected for simulation analysis. Through simulating the influence of these two factors on the retailer's recycling volume and profit of waste mobile phones, reasonable decision-making suggestions for the retailer's recycling of waste mobile phones are put forward.
4.3.1 Simulation Analysis of Annual Online Platform Operating Cost
The annual operating cost level of the platform invested by retailers in the current state will be increased by 50%, 100%, 150%, 200%, 250%, and 300% successively, and the change of retailers' "Internet +" recycling amount (Figure 7) and profit (Figure 8) of waste mobile phones will be simulated.
Figure 7 Changes in the amount of waste mobile phones recycled online by retailers |
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Figure 8 Changes in the profit of waste mobile phones recycled online by retailers |
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As can be seen from Figure 7, with the increase of the annual operating cost of online platform invested by retailers, the number of waste mobile phones recycled online by retailers also increases. From the numerical simulation, it can be seen that when the annual operating cost of the online platform increases to twice of the current level of investment, the number of waste mobile phones recycled online by retailers has slowed down.
As can be seen from Figure 8, in the early stage of the waste mobile phones recycling business, the retailer's profit will lose in the short term, but as time goes by, the retailer will gradually gain profits from the waste mobile phones recycling industry, and the profit increases. With the increase of annual operating cost of online platform invested by retailer, the retailers' recycling profit also increases. From the numerical simulation, it can be seen that when the annual operating cost of online platform increases to twice of the current cost input level, the profit growth of retailers' waste mobile phones recycling weakens. However, when the online platform operating cost continues to increase to 2.5 times of the current level of cost investment, the profit increase of retailers' waste mobile phones recycling is not obvious. As can be seen from the simulation results, the increase of the enterprise's investment in the platform operation costs can improve the profits, but the cost needs to be controlled within a reasonable range to maximize the benefits.
4.3.2 Simulation Analysis of Online Unit Logistics Cost
Under the current situation, the retailer's unit logistics cost will be increased by 50%, 100%, 150%, 200%, 250%, and 300% successively, and the change of the retailer's "Internet +" recycling amount (Figure 9) and profit (Figure 10) of waste mobile phones is simulated.
Figure 9 Changes in the amount of waste mobile phones recycled online by retailers |
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Figure 10 Changes in the profit of waste mobile phones recycled online by retailers |
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As can be seen from Figure 9, the online recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers increases with the increase of the offline unit logistics cost input of retailers. From the numerical simulation, it is found that when the offline unit logistics cost investment increases to 2.5 times of the current logistics cost, the increase of retailers' online recycling of waste mobile phones will gradually slow down.
As can be seen from Figure 10, retailers' online recycling profit of waste mobile phones increases with the increase of retailers' offline unit logistics cost investment. From the numerical simulation, it can be seen that with the increase of offline unit logistics cost input of retailers, the profit of retailers' online recycling of waste mobile phones has decreased compared with the initial level. Moreover, since the total cost growth of retailers is greater than the increase of total revenue, the profit growth range may decrease year by year.
5 Conclusions and Suggestions
5.1 Conclusions
Based on the establishment of the dynamics model of the retailer-led "Internet +" recycling system of waste mobile phones, the influence of two key factors, annual operating cost of the online platform and offline unit logistics cost, on the recycling volume and profit of waste mobile phones by retailers is simulated and analyzed, and gives the following research conclusions and management inspirations:
1) The investment in online platform operation costs is conducive to the increase of the amount and profit of the retailers' online recycling of waste mobile phones. When the operating cost of the online platform gradually increases and does not exceed twice the current level, the recycling amount and profit will increase with the increase of the cost investment; When the cost input is [2, 2.5] times of the current cost level, the increase of recycling amount and profit slows down; When the cost input exceeds 2.5 times of the current cost level, the recycling amount and profit will not increase. With the rapid development of internet applications, retailers should increase the operational investment of online recycling platforms, and attract more users by improving the operational capability of recycling platforms, to obtain higher recycling volume and profit from waste mobile phones. However, the increase of platform operational investment should be controlled within a reasonable limit. If the increase in the operating cost of the retailer's platform fails to generate the expected benefits, the cooperative relationship between the retailer and the third-party payment platform will be affected. Therefore, the third-party payment platform should attach importance to the construction of the online platform and improve the operation level of the network platform.
2) The increase in offline unit logistics cost will increase the online recycling amount of waste mobile phones by retailers, but reduce their recycling profits. When the logistics cost input does not exceed 2.5 times of the current cost level, the recycling amount will increase with the increase of the cost input, but after exceeding 2.5 times of the current level, the increase in the recycling amount will no longer be obvious. The input of retailers' offline logistics costs has a double-edged effect of increasing and decreasing the recycling amount and profit of waste mobile phones. In the "Internet +" recovery process, retailers may not have enough funds to bear the high logistics costs. Therefore, retailers should control the input of logistics costs, formulate reasonable logistics price strategies, and finally achieve the goal of increasing the recycling amount of waste mobile phones and achieving the optimal recycling profit.
3) As the recycling channels of waste mobile phones are scattered and the market is in disorder, retailers may face problems such as high logistics costs and inconsistent pricing standards for recycling, leading to losses in the early recovery business. However, with the mature development of the "Internet +" recycling business and the passage of time, retailers' recycling volume and profit of waste mobile phones will increase year by year, eventually turning from loss to profit.
5.2 Suggestions
Based on the above conclusions, corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are put forward from the three aspects: The online platform, retailer, and government, to realize efficient recycling of waste mobile phones.
1) The third-party operating platform should pay attention to improving the operation level of the network platform, and focus on building its portal website. In terms of webpage design, user experience should be considered, with clear page design, easy operation, and coordinated and reasonable plate setting.
2) A hybrid model combining online and offline retailers is the best model for recycling waste mobile phones. With the development of the internet, traditional recycling enterprises should consider the construction and development of online recycling channels to meet the needs of consumers for more convenient recycling. At the same time, "Internet +" recycling enterprises should also try to cooperate with traditional offline recycling enterprises to obtain systematic support from offline entity recycling enterprises. Through cooperation, both traditional recycling enterprises and "Internet +" recycling enterprises can focus on the development of their core competitiveness and make up for their respective weaknesses.
3) In order to make up for retailers' losses in the early stage of the recycling business of waste mobile phones and encourage more retailers to participate in the recycling activities of waste mobile phones, government departments should refer to the traditional subsidy policy of "four machines and one brain" for waste electrical and electronic products, formulate and introduce the subsidy policy for recycling waste mobile phones as soon as possible. At the same time, strengthen the supervision of waste mobile phone recycling market, standardize the market pricing, optimize the incentive and punishment mechanism, in order to promote the recycling rate of waste mobile phones in China and the enthusiasm of relevant subjects to participate in recycling waste mobile phones. In addition, by strengthening information disclosure, the recycling pricing, dismantling, and other links of waste mobile phones will be transparent, accept the supervision of the whole society, reduce the cost of government supervision, and promote the service quality and efficiency of waste mobile phone recyclers.
There are still some shortcomings in this study. It is difficult to obtain data in this paper. The setting of model simulation parameters is mainly based on part of public data and the reference of authoritative literature, so the simulation of the model is slightly lacking. If there are more reference data in the future, the simulation of this paper can be further analyzed. Besides, the "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones studied in this paper only involves the recycling and processing of waste mobile phones, without considering the benefits and costs brought by other original businesses of manufacturers and retailers. However, in practice, both manufacturers and retailers will involve in the recycling business of waste mobile phones and produce competition. The subsequent research can consider the dual-channel competition and cooperation between manufacturers and retailers, deeply study the recycling situation in different modes, in order to provide suggestions for our waste mobile phone recycling.
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Figure 1 Retailer-led "Internet +" recycling mode of waste mobile phones
Table 1 Model factors
