The Who, What, Where, When and How to Improve Global Visibility with Reverse Logistics Partners

by Paul Rupnow

Successful Reverse Logistics depends on many partners performing functions such as transportation, processing, and fulfillment. The Reverse Logistics challenge is to quickly, efficiently and effectively process each returned unit, while minimizing costs and inventory. This challenge can be extremely difficult when you need to rely on multiple partners around the globe to help you get each return processed.  Full Article

The Reverse Logistics Association has recently formed two new Industry Committees.

The Service Parts Management committee will promote and share knowledge across the industry and continually explore new ideas to achieve total optimization of service parts inventory. The committee is chaired by Michael Shelor of Shelor Consulting.

The Food and Beverage Committee, chaired by Don Rombach of GENCO will strive to educate its members and the trade on Reverse Logistics strategies and practices that support savings and waste elimination.

Other active committees include: Information Technology Solutions, Standards, India Chapter and under the High Tech umbrella are Data Storage and Wireless/Telecommunications.

Reverse Logistics Conference & Expo
Dorint Sofitel Amsterdam Airport Hotel
June 25-27, 2007
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Join us for Europe's Premiere Reverse Logistics Event! Companies from throughout Europe as well as many other international delegates will be in attendance. ODMs and OEMs will be looking for 3PSPs that can manage Reverse Logistics in Europe, along with identifying solutions for Asia and the Americas.

Reinier Jens, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Philips Consumer Electronics Region Europe, will deliver the Keynote Address on Tuesday followed by industry leaders and top academics sharing their ideas on topics as returns and loss prevention, revenue opportunities within reverse logistics, outsourcing and regulatory requirements. See the Conference Schedule for a full listing of session topics.

Call for Speakers. Nominate reverse logistics thought leaders to speak at our Amsterdam event! There are many benefits for session speakers and panel participants.

With standing room only last year, we have reserved every meter of space for what is shaping up to be the largest show in Amsterdam - we are expecting over 400-450 attendees! The Exhibit Hall is almost sold-out - so call us today to reserve the limited exhibit space that is left!  More Info

Lowering the Logistics Costs of Electronics Recycling

by Brooks Hoffman

Logistics costs in the supply chain have inescapable implications for the recycling of end-of-life technology assets. Organizations either pay directly for pick-up and delivery to recycling plants, or incur hidden, internal costs of moving materials in the form of higher recycling charges. Depending upon the location and types of equipment involved, logistics can represent upwards of 75% of the total cost of electronics recycling.  Full Article

Jim Hunt has joined Seagate Recovery Services (a division of Seagate Technology) as VP of Business Development for New Markets. Jim brings over 20 yrs of experience in the technology and services industry in developing and maintaining key strategic relationships and alliance partnerships with Fortune 1000 companies. In this new role, Jim will focus on developing and driving Seagate's growth in eDiscovery and Data Migration services globally. Jim will be based in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Jeremy Vick joins RLA from PlanITROI, as our Director of World Wide Sales. At PlanITROI, Jeremy served as Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Prior to PlanITROI, Jeremy served as an Account Service Manager for two years at ModusLink, where he managed reverse logistics operations for companies such as McAfee, EarthLink, Dell, Sony, Fujitsu and many others.

Quantifying the Benefits of Independent Repair Vendors and Evaluating their Impact on Service Quality

by Michael Blumberg

The Reverse Logistics Industry has experienced an increased level of competition in recent years as the result of the emergence of independent repair vendor (IRV) providers. One of the most often cited benefits by IRVs for using their services is the potential cost savings to the customer, in the form of lower prices, which maybe as much as 10% to 30% lower than the OEM. In response, OEMs have promoted a higher level of quality as justification for their service fees. In order to understand this trade-off, end-users should understand the critical cost components, resources requirements, and quality drivers associated with repair services in order to effectively evaluate and select qualified repair providers.  Full Article

Industry Best Practices in Reverse Logistics: Benchmarking the Success Strategies of Top Industry Performers

With reverse logistics currently accounting for almost 1% of the total U.S. GDP, it is not surprising that this process - defined as the return/exchange, repair, refurbishment, remarketing, and disposition of products - is quickly emerging as an integral component in leading service organizations' competitive positions.

Download this white paper to learn how top manufacturers are using reverse logistics to recapture revenue, retain customers, comply with environmental regulations, reduce operating costs, and improve product uptime and quality.

White Paper made available by

Study: Reverse Logistics Management Practices and Trends - In-house vs. Outsource. Research report co-sponsored by San Jose State University and Reverse Logistics Association and includes current RL management practices, identify future RL outsourcing business opportunities and challenges/ problems in managing RL inhouse or when outsourcing.  Purchase Research

At RLTS, we continually strive to improve all aspects of our events and many improvements are initiated based on participant feedback. As we begin the planning phase for RLTS Las Vegas 2008, we would like to solicit additional feedback on the events that were held at RLTS Las Vegas 2007 on February 3-7. Please assist us by completing these following surveys: Post-Event Survey and Event Evaluation.

The Reverse Logistics survey will help us learn more about your Reverse Logistics processes, so that we may serve you better.

RLA thanks you for taking the time to complete these surveys.

We're good at connecting you with OEMs who need your services... right now!

RL Quote gives you the tools to identify and build relationships with the right customers for your business. You will have access to RFIs and provide responses with complete confidentiality, all online.

RL Quote is available for all manufacturers and retail companies at no cost. 3PSPs that are members of RLA can respond to these RFIs:

• Major Computer and Laptop OEM is looking to partner with a 3PSP/OEM for its internal repair operations
• Chicago-based Company is looking for liquidation/broker
• OEM seeks Third Party Logistics (3PL) partner
• Conglomerate is looking for Medical Device Processing/Repair
• US firm seeking Electronics Recycling

Get details at RL Quote.

Did you know that OEMs, Retailers and 3PSPs post jobs on the RLA website? Be sure and check out the Industry Job Postings from Kyocera, BMI, Cannon and more. If you are a reverse logistics professional, bookmark this page and visit often.

Not all positions within a particular company are listed. If you are interested in a higher or lower level position, consider contacting the point person to see what other positions are available.

• National Conference on Operations & Fulfillment (NCOF) - Schaumburg, IL - April 29 - May 2, 2007
• MEDIA-TECH Expo 2007 - Long Beach, CA - May 15-17, 2007
• RL Seminar - Raleigh, NC - May 09, 2007
• RL Seminar - Louisville, KY - June 06, 2007
• RLTS Amsterdam 2007 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - June 25-27, 2007