The concept of circular economy (CE) and CE initiatives are taking hold across both developed and developing nations and represent one of the most promising approaches to organizing sustainable economic activity for the future, bringing new revenue and jobs. Central to advancing the CE is an efficient reconfiguration of core global supply chain management (SCM) processes that underlie current production and consumption patterns. This paper seeks to develop a conceptual understanding of SCM's role in support of the successful implementation of CE. It maps the ways in which the five principles of CE (closing, slowing, intensifying, narrowing, dematerializing loops) intersect with eight core SCM processes (customer relationship, supplier relationship, customer service, demand, order fulfilment, manufacturing flow, product development and commercialization, returns), thus providing a framework and research agenda for stakeholders and scholars working to adapt current supply chain processes and driving needed change. In doing so, it proposes a new element to SCM theory by showing how they relate to advancing CE. The theorizing in this article can be used to support future inquiry into increasing understanding and dissemination of how SCM will be the driving factor behind transition from traditional linear approaches to production and consumption to a more circular approach.
