Reverse Logistics Best Practices in Customer Service

by Paul Rupnow

Customer Service excellence is an important part of corporate strategy for competitive advantage, yet manufacturers are often so highly focused on developing and delivering new products, that they do not devote enough time, energy or resources to looking after their customers when a return is requested.

Trust is a critical component to a customer relationship. When a customer is unhappy with a product or has purchased a product that is experiencing a problem, your trust relationship has been damaged. It now becomes the responsibility of Customer Service and Reverse Logistics to repair that trust, because the sales and marketing gurus tell us that it is usually much harder to gain a new customer than it is to satisfy an existing customer.
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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 square 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

Kip Ferris, former VP of Sales at Celestica Global Services, has joined Jabil Global Services as the new VP of Business Development. Kip will be responsible for maintaining Jabil's market leading growth in its Global Services Operations.

After 14 years in the electronics recycling and asset recovery business, most recently as VP and Partner with Electronic Recycling & Trading, Andrew French has founded RTG Industries - one stop solution for customers needing support in the management of excess/obsolete materials, scrap, customer returns and depot repair. Andrew will serve as Director of Corporate Development and manage the global locations in Hong Kong and France.

DecisionOne, technology support services firm, recently announced the appointment of Mike Greenough as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Greenough is a recognized and experienced leader in transforming technology organizations and building corporate value.

Gary Bothmann recently joined Electronic Recycling & Trading as VP of Business Development. With over 25 years experience in developing customer supply chain solutions in technology, retailing, manufacturing, distribution and transportation, Gary provides a broad base of knowledge and expertise to the ERT team. Gary is responsible for client expansion, strategic planning and solution design.

Beth Millward joined the RLA team as Event Faculty Coordinator. Beth is responsible for recruiting speakers for the Reverse Logistics Conference & Expo, Workshops and Seminars.

• Six Sigma in Retail and Service Industries Conference - Chicago, IL - June 13-14, 2007
• RLTS Amsterdam 2007 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - June 25-27, 2007
• Entertainment Supply Chain Academy (ESCA) - Los Angeles, CA - June 27-28, 2007
• RL Seminar - Milwaukee, WI - July 18, 2007
• National Electronics Service Dealers Association - Denver, CO - July 24-28, 2007
• RL Seminar - Chicago, IL - August 15, 2007

Reverse Logistics - It's Not Just for Retail

by Larry Laux

When people think of reverse logistics, they often think retail and retail-specific things like original sales orders, UPC bar coding and warehouse management systems. Reverse logistics, however, isn't just a function of retail-service environments, such as repair centers and service parts management environments use reverse logistics as well. However, the way retail uses reverse logistics can be substantially different than how it's used in the service environment. Knowing these differences can be important when creating strategies, working with partners or deploying technology solutions.

Many of the differences can be traced back to the type of products handled in each environment. Many retail operations offer the whole gamut of goods-hard, soft, consumer (sometimes called brown or electronics) and white. In contrast, repair center environments typically work with hard goods. The differences in dealing with these different types of products can set the stage for different types of infrastructures, technology and tracking methods. Full Article

** NEW ** Returns Management Software RFP Template

Are you evaluating software applications to automate returns management / reverse logistics processes within your organization? Make sure you are asking the right questions with our new Request for Proposal (RFP) template. This detailed workbook provides a comprehensive framework covering the entire spectrum of Enterprise Returns Management capabilities.

• Detailed sections for company, product and application ratings
• More than 300 individual criteria
• Vendor scoring section
• Ability to prioritize features

Whether you are evaluating a packaged application, outsourcing or performing in-house development, this template will guide your planning efforts to ensure success.

Download RFP template.

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:

• RFI ID 89: Mexico - Manufacturer looking for Field Service and Potential Rework/Sorting Facility Service for Monterrey and Juarez, Mexico.
• RFI ID 88: Hungary/Czech - Manufacturer looking for Field Service and Potential Rework/Sorting Facility Service for Paty, Hungary and Pardubice, Czech
• RFI ID 87: Brazil - Manufacturer looking for Field Service and Potential Rework/Sorting Facility Service for Jaguariuna Sao Paulo, Brazil
• RFI ID 86: India - Manufacturer looking for Field Service and Potential Rework/Sorting Facility Service for Pondicherry, India

Get details at RL Quote.

Information Technology Solutions Committee Update

The IT Solutions Committee recently published a survey of the Reverse Logistics Association membership. The Committee will continue to utilize the feedback to guide and direct resources for the benefit of the membership. At this point, the top five areas of interest to members are as follows:

• Building a business case for returns management/reverse logistics
• A Returns management process model
• Identifying a best-of-breed reverse logistics IT solution
• Reporting, business intelligence and returns
• Metrics definition and benchmarking

Also of importance is the fact that 37% of respondents to the survey to date have been executives. This, in concert with the fact that just over 21% of respondents hail from the telecommunications industry, yield interesting insights.

Should you like to share your views, please take 5 minutes to fill out a survey.