More and more enterprises realize the importance of return management, they take positive measures to save money and improve customer satisfaction. No one likes product return, but the inevitable tumor of the supply chain is attracting the attention of enterprises. Enterprises have realized the importance of return management to customer relationship, brand loyalty and net income.
Especially in the past year, we have noticed that more executive directors are paying attention to this area. They want to know why there are returns, the financial impact of returns, and how to reduce returns.
Return management is very complex, including not only products that need to be quickly re stored and re sold, but also products that need to be repaired and renovated. These products often have warranty cards and products that need to be handled safely according to environmental protection requirements.
For the sales supply chain, sales channels should be multiplied according to different products; similarly, reverse logistics also needs to increase channels. For most of the returned products, the return management can't be handled in the same way.
One
Manhattan return solution
To help consumers handle different returns, Manhattan partnership, a supply chain provider in Atlanta, USA, and other software providers have designed new solutions. Most enterprises have their own policies to deal with returns and follow many supplier rules, but these schemes are not simple. According to David hommrich, senior director of reverse logistics at Manhattan partnership, in fact, every enterprise has its own policy for handling returned products. However, due to the different policies of each enterprise and the unfamiliar operation personnel, the policy guidelines for handling returned products can only be put on the shelf and no one is interested in it. As a result, one of the goals of the Manhattan partnership is to make the return policy popular.
The Manhattan partnership's "return to supplier" model can incorporate all supplier return management policies into the plan. For example, a DVD manufacturer requires 20 DVDs to be returned each time. That means companies have to shelve 19 until the 20th arrives. However, Manhattan's "return to supplier" model can automatically generate a picking bill and transfer it to the warehouse management system. In this way, Manhattan partnership can avoid the problems that often occur in return management.
In addition, Manhattan partnership's return policy also has a "gatekeeper" function to prevent the return of unqualified products. For example, a manufacturer may enter into an agreement with a wholesaler to allow only a certain percentage of returns, whether it is a quality problem or not. In this case, the enterprise must master the quantity of returned goods in real time. Some enterprises only allow wholesalers to return goods once a quarter, while others' return quantity is related to the product life cycle. In either case, the "gatekeeper" function is involved. In accordance with the return policy, Manhattan partnership dynamically solves various situations and makes decisions independently based on relationship, product or environment.
Two
CellStar return solution
Yantra is a supply chain executive in tuxbury, Massachusetts. The company also uses a return policy to manage warranty issues. The warranty issue is just one of the many reverse logistics services offered by CellStar, yantra's customer. CellStar is a mobile phone logistics service provider in carrorton, Texas, USA. Omnigistics, a new service from CellStar, is designed specifically for mobile phone return processing. According to Chris Smith, vice president and general manager of CellStar, the forward logistics of the company is very mature, but the reverse logistics is very weak. Most of them use electronic tabulation software and other domestic software.
In addition, there are many problems in the mobile phone industry. Different mobile phones not only have different structures and styles, but also have different software technologies and warranty policies. Strictly speaking, there are countless mobile phones returned from clients every month. These returned mobile phones must be inspected and evaluated to determine whether they can be guaranteed or repaired economically. Especially when the customer returns the phone within the warranty period, the enterprise has to give the customer another phone. The average selling price of the new mobile phone is 150 US dollars, which is an expensive cost. Cellulstar's omnigraphics service advocates repairing that mobile phone for customers instead of replacing it with a new one, which can reduce costs by 30% to 40%.
Thanks to omnigistics, when a customer's mobile phone has problems and is under warranty, they will call the call center directly. Then, the call center records the phone information and transmits it electronically to CellStar, a copy of the customer's profile. The next day, CellStar will send a new phone with the same price and model. At the same time of receiving the new phone, the customer will return the defective phone with the package just received. When the customer initially calls the call center, all information about the call, including the product serial number, is entered into yantra's system. The serial number also helps omnigistics determine if the product is still under warranty. At the same time, when the returned product flows in the reverse logistics chain, its labor cost can also be calculated.
Omnigistics not only reduces costs and improves customer service, but also enables enterprises to