Transforming Market Research into Customer Satisfaction and Retention

by William K. Pollock

What is Market Research? Webster's New Millennium Dictionary defines market research as "the investigation and analysis of consumer needs and opinions about goods and services." However, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, market research is defined more as "the gathering and evaluation of data regarding consumers' preferences for products and services." However, thefreedictionary.com complicates matters by defining it as "research that gathers and analyzes information about the moving of good(s) or services from producer to consumer."
Full Article

Signal Holdings, Overstock.com, Bell Industries, Research in Motion, Li Tong Group, eSpot and GENCO each recently joined or renewed their Gold Level RLA Membership.

Spring Global Mail, RigelSoft, Data Exchange Corp. (DEX), Flextronics, Apto Solutions, Chip Partners and Total Repair Solutions each recently joined or renewed their Silver Level RLA Membership.

RLA Members can display the RLA membership logo on their website. Membership provides passes to RLA events and access to RL Quote and conference presentations. Go online for a complete list of membership benefits.

U.S. Cellular recently promoted Jeff Brown to service manager in New England. In this position, Brown's responsibilities will include creating the ideal customer experience in U.S. Cellular's cell phone repair centers.

Sparton Corporation announced the retirement of David W. Hockenbrocht, its Chief Executive Officer and President and his resignation as a Director, effective on March 7, 2008. Richard L. Langley has been appointed interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

Eelco Meenhorst was recently promoted to CEO of Cycleon. In his previous role as COO, Eelco Meenhorst had a broad range of responsibilities including the development of the Cycleon proprietary IT system. He succeeds Gerben Willems who co-founded Cycleon in 2005 and has managed the transition of Cycleon to Reverse Logistics Group in 2007. Eelco will continue the development of Cycleon and the further integration with RLG.

We at RLA are interested in learning more about your Reverse Logistics processes, so that we may serve you better. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey questions.

Click HERE to complete the survey.

Planning Reverse Logistics Returns, Inventory and Parts Requirements

by Paul Rupnow

Planning is a very challenging area for Reverse Logistics Professionals. Predicting the future flow of product returns and the related Reverse Logistics production, inventory and parts requirements can seem to be an overwhelming challenge. However with an understanding of some of the inventory planning methods and tools, it is possible to remove some of the risk and enable better planning for Reverse Logistics teams to respond to production needs, ensure availability of parts and replacement inventory, enhance customer service and improve the financial impact on cash by improving inventory management. More Info

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.

The event features Workshops on the first day followed by a two-day Conference & Expo highlighting topics relevant to latest industry best practices. Reverse Logistics Professionals from OEMs, ODMs, Branded Companies, Retailers, Academia and 3PSPs represent the wide array of speakers and panel discussion participants.

On Tuesday, Doug Schmitt, Vice President of Global Field Delivery at Dell, will deliver the Keynote Address on the "Major Challenges Facing Reverse Logistics".

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

We are expecting over 500 attendees and more than 25 exhibitors! More info.

RL Quote - Four Key Procurement Advantages for OEMs

RL Quote provides OEMs, ODMs and Retailers a way to connect with 3PSPs. With RL Quote a retailer or manufacturer can send out RFIs anonymously to our worldwide database of service providers, screen through the 3PSP responses and narrow down the prospects.

Using RL Quote is simply a better way to source for Reverse Logistics Services, here are four reasons why...

• FREE Industry Expertise
• Anonymity
• Wider Selection
• New Technologies

For more details, click here.

• RL Seminar – Los Angeles – April 9, 2008
• RL Seminar – Hong Kong – May 14, 2008
• WERC Annual Conference – Chicago – May 4–7, 2008
• 2008 International Computer Refurbishers Summit – Toronto, Ontario – May 5–6, 2008
• Investment Recovery Association Spring '08 Seminar & Tradeshow – May 19–21, 2008
• RLA Conference & Expo Amsterdam 2008 – June 16–18, 2008
• Electronics Recycling Conference & Trade Show – Chicago – June 22–24, 2008
• RL Seminar – Toronto – July 9, 2008