某公司怎样处理回收物流

1、How Philips Reduced Returns FromtheNovember/December2003issueofSupplyChainManagementReviewTONYSCIARROTTASupplyChainManagementReviewNovember1,2003Theanswertoreducingthecostofreturnsdoesnotalwayslieinimprovingyourreverselogisticsoperations.AtPhilipsConsumerElectronics,thereturnsmanagementdepartmenthas

2、focusedonhowitcanstopreturnsbeforetheyevenenterthereversesupplychain.Bytakingpreventativestepssuchasimprovingaproductseaseofuse,enforcingcompanypolicies,andrevitalizingtheservicenetwork,Philipshascutitsreturnsbymorethan$100millionperyear.In1998,Iwaspresentedwithanopportunity:headupareturnsmanagement

3、departmentwithinPhilipsConsumerElectronicsandhelpleadeffortstocontrolamajorcostdriverproductreturns.Atthattime,PhilipsConsumerElectronicshadnoreturnsmanagementdepartment,andreverselogisticswasnotyetpartofthelanguageofmostmanufacturers.ButmanagementandKenGoins,thevicepresident/generalmanagerofPhilips

4、ServiceCompanywhoapproachedmewiththeopportunity,recognizedthatthecompanywasfacingrelativelyhighreturnrates.Theimpactofthosereturnsonthebottomlinewassignificant,amountingtotensofmillionsofdollarsinlosses.Philipsmanagementwasunderpressuretoreducethecostofreturns.Theyrealizedthatthecompanyneededtodevel

5、opacorecompetencyinreturnsmanagement,whethertheactualprocesseswerehandledinhouseorviaoutsidepartners.Managementbelievedthatitneededadepartmentwithadedicateddirectorandfocusedstafftoaccomplishthesegoals,hopingthatsuchadepartmentwouldenduppayingforitselfintheprocess.WhenKenapproachedme,Iwasworkinginth

6、eproductmarketinggroupafteradecadeinsaleswithregionalandnationalaccounts.Mybackgroundwasnewforthereturnsmanagementrole.Normally,thecredit,finance,orservicegroupswithinmostcompanieshandlereturns.ButKenunderstoodthatreturnsreallyarereversesales,andtheyareoftencausedbyproduct-marketingdecisions.Aswebeg

7、antostudythesituation,wediscoveredareturnsenvironmentthatwasoutofcontrol.Ingeneral,returnsintheUnitedStateshavebeenincreasingduetoatakeitbackculture,propagatedbyretailerswithliberalandalmostunlimitedreturnpolicies.Retailerswerefoundtobegivingrefundstoconsumersovertwo-thirdsofthetime.Inmanyofthosesit

8、uations,consumersdidnothaveacopyofthesalesreceiptfortheirpurchases.Storepoliciesthatwereinplacewerenoteasytoenforce,makingitdifficulttoreduceimproperproductreturns.Theriseofreturnswasfurtherfueledbytheincreaseinproductsthatcouldnotbeservicedinthehomecoupledwiththedemiseoftheindependentserviceprovide

9、rswhoperformedin-homerepairs.Mostconsumerelectronicscompaniesviewedreturnsasthecostforthesteadysalesgrowthinnewretailchannels.Butalongwiththeincreaseinoverallreturnswasanotherdisconcertingstatistictherateofproductsreturnedwithnodefectfound(NDF)wasveryhigh,averagingmorethan70percentforconsumerelectro

10、nics,morethan85percentforPCproducts,andevenover90percentforsomesmallappliances.Retailersandmanufacturerswerepayingsignificantreverselogisticscoststomoveproductsthatwerenotdefective.ThesituationatPhilipsreflectedthisexternalenvironment.Becausewehadnoonefocusedonreturnsandnoclearreturnspolicyorprocedu

11、res,Philipshaddevelopedacultureoftakeanythingbackfromanybodyanytime.Thetotalcostofreturnshadneverbeenexposedtotheproductbusinessownersorevenidentifiedcollectivelyforthecompany.Philipshadneverattemptedtoimplementreturnssolutionsacrossdepartmentlinesorbyworkingwithretailers.Thislackofattentiontoreturn

12、swashurtingus:Until2000,thereturnsratesatPhilipswereevenhigherthantheindustryaverage.Addingtoourproblems,manymajorretailershadbegunthepracticeofdeductingforreturnsuponshipmentbacktovendors.Theclaims,counterclaims,andreconciliationprocessesbecametime-consuming,manual-intensivenightmaresformanufacture

13、rslikeus.Finally,thesecondarymarketforthesegoodsintheUnitedStateswascostlyforPhilips.ManyoftheliquidatorsthatPhilipsdealtwithhadquestionablefinances.Additionally,inthesecondarymarketwewereexperiencingpoorrecoveryonthefactorycostsofourproducts.Asanexample,forDVDssoldatliquidators,Philipswasonlyrecove

14、ring20to30centsonthedollar.Clearly,changesneededtobemade.Philipsfirstneededtoanalyzeitsreturnsnumberstounderstandtheirsizeandtotalcosttothecompany.Wealsohadtounderstandtheconsumerandretailerenvironmentinordertomakeimprovements.Thisinvolvedresearchingconsumersreasonsforreturningproductsparticularlyth

15、osewithoutdefects.Finallyaparadigmshiftwasneededinmanyareas.Thatis,weneededtotakeproactivesteps,bothinternallyandincooperationwithourretailpartnersandserviceproviders,toaddresstherootcausesofreturns.UnderstandingtheProblem:MeasuringReturnsEveryonerecognizestheaxiomthatwhatgetsmeasured,getsdone.Forth

16、oseofusinreturnsmanagement,thismeantrealizingthatakeytosolvingthereturnsproblemlayinhavingacommonsetofmeasurementswiththerightlevelofdetail.AtPhilips,themainproblemwasalackofconsistentmeasurements.ReturnsweremeasuredanddefineddifferentlyintheUnitedStatesthanintherestoftheworld,anddifferentpartsofthe

17、PhilipsorganizationuseddifferentITsystemstomeasurethem.Furthermore,wecouldnotagreeonwhattimeperiodtouse(yeartodate,monthly,rolling12month,delayedmeasureforretaillag,etc.)orhowtoclassifythereturns(carrierdamage,stockbalance,defectives,warehouseerrors,service,etc.).Thesedifferencesinmeasurementledtomi

18、sleadingresults.Finally,in2001,aPhilipscross-departmentalteamestablishedsomemeasurementstandards.Theteamdecidedtoseparatereturnsidentifiedasdefectivefromreturnsforallotherreasons(forexample,carrierdamage,stockbalancing,andordererrors).Theyalsoagreedtousearolling12-monthcomparisonovertwoperiods.Thism

19、eant,forexample,thatreturnsfromonedealerforSeptember2002toAugust2003wouldbecomparedtoreturnsforthatsamedealerfromSeptember2001toAugust2002.Theteambelievedthatthiswouldprovidethemostrealisticviewofdealerreturns,whicharelessaffectedbyseasonalitytrends.Returnreportsarenowissuedbydealer,byproductcategor

20、y,andbymodel.(AnexampleofatemplateforsuchareportisshowninExhibit1.)Tokeepthereturnnumbersinperspective,wechartthemagainstgrosssalesandtrendsinreturnandsalesratesfortheentirecompany,whichwouldshowanyspecificincreasesordecreases.Thereportsalsoincludeatargetpercentagereductionandareturnpercentratecolum

21、ntokeepalleyesonourgoals.MyroleinreturnsmanagementforPhilipsrequiresthatIdisseminatethisreturnsinformationtothekeysales,service,finance,andproductgroups,includingseniormanagement.ButIunderstandthatinformationaloneisnotknowledge.Forthisreason,eachsummaryreviewhastoincludekeyreturnsissuesbymodel,group

22、,ordealer,alongwithmyrecommendationsorupdatesofactivitiesforimprovement.Theconsistencyofthereportsplayedakeyroleingettingthekeyplayerstoacceptboththereportsthemselvesandtheresponsibilityforreturns-reductiongoals.Productmanagershadtoseethesameresultsfortheircategoriesasthesalesgroupssawfortheirtotals

23、.Ournewlyinstalledinformationsystem(SAP)enabledustoprovidethislevelofconsistency.AnyoneinPhilips,anywhereintheworld,whoistrainedtoaccessthereportswillseethesamedata.SAPalsoenabledourreturnreportstodrilldowntomodel-anddealer-leveldetail.ThisisamassivereportforacompanylikePhilips,whereweshipover10mill

24、ionboxesperyear.Inaddition,thebuilt-inflexibilityofSAPstillallowsustogeneratesomereportsthattrackreturnsatthemonthlyandyear-to-datelevel.Thesereportsaregiventogroupssuchasfinanceandlogisticsthatneedtheinformationpresentedthiswayforforecastingandwarehouseplanning.GettingInsidetheConsumersHeadUndersta

25、ndingthereturnssituationdependedonknowingnotonlyhowmanyreturnswewerehandlingbutalsowhyproductswerebeingreturned.In2001,PhilipswasabletoworkwithanationalretailertosurveyitscustomerswhohadboughtandreturnedselectedPhilipsproductswithhigherthanbudgetedreturnrates.Theretailersmarketresearchgroupcontacted

26、some400-plusconsumerswithanagreed-uponlistof25questionsabouttheirshoppingandreturnexperience.Togetparticipationandhopefullytogainmoreaccuratefeedback,weofferedgiftcertificatesfortheseextendedphoneinterviews.Surprisingly,morethan75percentoftheconsumersadmittedknowingtheirreturnedproductswerenotdefect

27、ive.Thesurveyidentifiedtheprimaryreasonforthereturnsasmisinformationatpointofsale.Thesecondaryreasonsrelatedtodifficultiesinhookup,use,oroperation.Anotherdisconcertingstatisticwasthattheretailergavecashorcreditrefundsfortwo-thirdsofthereturns.ThisstatisticwasparticularlytroublingtoPhilipsbecauseinth

28、emajorityofthesecasestheretailerdidnotusearepairserviceprovider.Insteadmostofthereturnsweresentbacktothemanufacturersasdefective.Asreturnsincreased,carriervolumegrew.Inresponsetothatincrease,wehadbeguntodevelopreverse-logisticsprocessesthatmademovingthesegoodsbackthroughthesupplychainmoreefficient.Y

29、et,whileefficientreverselogisticshelpedminimizeourlosses,theydidnothingtoaddresstheprofitsthatwerestillbeinglostateverypointofthereturnsprocess.Basedonthesurveyresults,Philipsandtheretailerrecognizedthatreturnswerenottiedtotheactualqualityoftheproduct.Instead,manyoftheseissueswererelatedtoproductpac

30、kagingnotclearlyrepresentingtheproductortheproductsoperatingrequirements,suchassubscriptionservices.Anadditionalfactorwasinadequatetrainingofretailsalespeopleforcommunicatingproductfeaturesandbenefitstotheconsumer.AtPhilips,theresearchalsohelpedustounderstandbetterthereasonsfortheincreaseincallcente

31、rtimespentonmanyofournew,digitalproducts,suchashometheaters,satellitesystems,digitalvideorecorders,andevenDVDplayerswithoutstandardantennajacks.Thecomplexityandtechnicalproblemswiththeseproductswasfurtherincreasedbyproductsfromonehardwaremanufacturerhavingtoworkwithsoftwareorservicesfromadifferentpr

32、ovider,suchasTiVo,AOL,orWebTV.OnedigitalInternetdevicewiththisdualownershiphadreturnratesofmorethan25percentandano-defect-foundrateofmorethan90percent.Suchresultspointtousabilityproblemsandlackofproduct-packagingclarity.ThesurveysubstantiatedmanyintuitivebeliefsfortheretailerandforPhilips.Itwasobvio

33、usthatstepsneededtobetakentoimproveproductclarity,usability,andinteroperability.ButtherealchallengewashowtocorrecttheperceivedentitlementamongAmericanconsumersforreturningpurchasesbacktoretailers.ThisphenomenonismuchmoreprevalentintheUnitedStatesthaninothercountries.Inmostothercountries,consumersare

34、encouragedtorepairdamagedproductsoracceptalternativesolutions,suchascontactingthemanufacturerdirectly,insteadofreceivingcashrefundsforreturns.ButintheUnitedStates,Philips(andotherglobalcompanies)havetofindwaystostartworkingdifferentlywithretailerssothattheycanreducetheflowofgoodsinthereversesupplych

35、ainespeciallythoseproductsthatarenottrulydefective.Ifwedont,theestimatedcostsforbothsidesareenormous.ManufacturersSteps:ImprovingtheOut-of-the-BoxExperienceBasedonthisresearch,weidentifiedfactorsatthemanufacturing,retail,andservicesupplychainthatwerecontributingtothehighrateofreturnsandlookedforpote

36、ntialactionstotaketoalleviatethem.Oneofthemainmessagesofthesurveywasthatitwasntpoorproductqualitythatwasdrivingreturns,butthecomplexityoftheproduct.Internally,atPhilips,werecognizedeaseofuseasthenextbarrierforconsumersandbeganworkingtoimprovetheout-of-boxexperiencefortheconsumer.Wehaveincreasedservi

37、cesupportwithWebandcallcenterenhancements,suchasFAQs,hook-updownloads,andfreeproductupgradesforDVDandotherdigitalproducts.Additionally,Philipsisnowincludingstopsheetsintheboxwiththeproduct.Thesesheetsareemblazonedwithastopsignanddirecttheconsumertocontactthemanufacturerfirstbeforetakingtheproductbac

38、ktotheretailstore.Alloftheseactionshavehelpedreducereturnsbyencouragingtheconsumertocontactthemanufacturertotrytosolvetheproblem.Philipsisalsoexaminingwaystoincreaselocalorcentraldepotrepairandoffereasyexchangeprograms.Undersuchaprogram,Philipswouldpayretailersorservicersahandlingfeetosendreturnedpr

39、oductsdirectlybacktous.Theseprogramsmightpossiblyincludeprovidingdrop-offcentersforreturnsatplaceslikeStaplesorMailBoxesEtc.orprovidingUPScall/shiptagsforwarrantyservice.Inadditiontotheseefforts,PhilipsjoinedtheEaseofUse(EOU)Roundtable()in2002.TheEaseofUseRoundtableisaPCandconsumerelectronicsindustr

40、yassociationcommittedtoimprovingtheconsumerexperiencewithhigh-techproducts.Participantsincludeleadingmanufacturersandretailers.Intelfoundedtheroundtablein1998whenindustrydataindicatedthatthenumber-tworeasonpeoplewerenotbuyingPCswasbecausetheyweretoohardtouse.TheEaseofUseRoundtablelooksathowcompanies

41、canbasenewproductcreation,design,andoperabilityonthedesireduserexperienceratherthandevelopingatechnologyandlookingathowtosellitafterwards.Forexample,high-techcompaniesmaylookatdesigningprintersandcomputerssothatawhenaprinterishookeduptoacomputer,thecomputerrecognizesandsetsupthesoftwareneededforitto

42、work.Thisisaccomplishedthroughusinghuman-factorengineering(HFE)agrowingdisciplineinthePCandconsumerelectronicsindustriestocreateInitialExperiencePredictors(IEPs).AnInitialExperiencePredictorisachecklisttoolthatprovidesthedesignteamwithaseriesofquestionsthathelppredictwhatausersout-of-boxexperiencewi

43、thaproductwillbe.TheIEPwasinventedbyIntelandfurtherdevelopedbytheEOURoundtable.Itcanbeusedduringproductdevelopmenttotaketheendconsumersneedsintoaccountwhendesigningtheoperation,packaging,andinstructionsforuseofanewproduct.Doingthisshoulddecreasethenumberofno-defect-foundreturnsaswellasreducingsuppor

44、tcentercallsandimprovingcustomersatisfaction.Suchimprovementswilladdsignificantlytothebottomlineforallmanufacturers,avoidunnecessaryreturnsatretail,andlowercallcenterandothersupportcostsdrivenbyproductcomplexity.Allofthiswillhelpexpandthemarketforeasier-to-usePCandconsumerelectronicsproducts.Yet,whi

45、lethereismuchpotentialinusinghuman-factorengineeringandInteractiveExperiencePredictors,roomforimprovementstillexists.Philipshasbegunusingthesetechniquesindesigningitsproductsbutwithvaryingdegreesofsuccess.Whilereturnshavedecreased,wehavefounditdifficulttoaccountfordifferencesinhowconsumersaroundtheg

46、lobeapproachelectronicproducts.EOURoundtablemembersalsoparticipateinsettingindustrystandardsforusability.TheEOUalsopublishesguidelinestohelpdevelopmentteamsproducedesignenhancementsthatreducethesetuptimefornewcomputeroperatingsystems.TheEaseofUseRoundtableguidelinesandwhitepapershavehelpedthehigh-te

47、chindustry,includingPhilips,developandexpandtheuseofquicksetupguidesandreduceover-designedownersmanuals.Manufacturers,suchasPhilips,thatadopteaseofuseasthenextfrontierbeyondqualitywillwinattheretailandconsumerlevel.RetailerSteps:NewPoliciesandTechnologiesRetailers,fortheirpart,alsohavebeenmakingchan

48、gestoreducereturnsandtheirreverselogisticsflow.BasedonPhilipsresearch,someretailershaveimprovedstoresignstoincludeimportantinformation,suchassubscriptionservicefeesandminimumsystemsrequirements,atthepointofsale.Retailersalsoaretrainingtheirsalesassociatestoprovidecustomerswithmoreinformationaboutpro

49、ductoperationandsubscriptionservicefeesforsuchthingsassatelliteTV.Additionally,inthelasttwoyears,retailershavemadeanefforttogainmorecontrolofreturnsfromconsumers.Someoftheseeffortssimplyinvolveenforcementofpreviouslyexistingreturnpolicies.Manyretailers,suchasBestBuy,nowposttheirreturnpolicyinplainsi

50、ght.Thesepolicystatementsidentifyanyrestockingfeesandmoreretailersareactuallycollectingthem.Someretailers,likeTargetandKmart,havebeguntostronglyenforcetheirrequirementsthatallproductreturnsmusthaveareceiptandfallwithinthespecifiedreturnperiod.Otherretailershaveaddednewpoliciestodealwiththeproblem.So

51、meretailersareofferingmanufacturercontactinformation(suchas1-800numbers)orlocalservicerinformation.Toreduceargumentsatthestoreservicedesk,Wal-Mart,nowoffersadirect-to-vendorwarrantyrepairprogramtoaccommodatecustomerswithoutasalesreceiptorwithproductsbeyondthereturnperiod.Underthisnewpolicy,Wal-Marto

52、fferstosendthedefectiveunittothemanufacturerforrepairorlikereplacement.Thispolicyhasmaintainedcustomersatisfactionwhilealsoavoidinglargenumbersofreturnsasconsumersfrequentlychoosenottosendbacktheproductpossiblysincethegoodsarenottrulydefective.Insomecases,newindustrycircumstanceshaverequiredchangest

53、oexistingpolicies.Therapidturnoverofnew,improvedmodelsfortechnologyproducts,suchasCDburnersanddigitalcameras,haschallengedthe90-dayreturnpolicypopularizedbymassretailers.Becausetheseproductshavesuchaquicklifecycle,the90-daypolicyallowsconsumerstoreturntheirnondefectiveproductsforanew,higher-speedCDb

54、urnerorhigher-resolutiondigitalcamera.Tocutdownonthenumberofupgradereturns,manyretailershavereducedthewindowforreturnsforselectedproducts(suchasdigitalproducts)andsomehavereducedthewindowforallproducts.Thispolicychangealsohashelpedtodecreaseweekendorvacationrentaluseofproductsandthenumberoffraudulen

55、treturns.ConsumerabuseofreturnspolicieshasreceivedpublicityfromsuchmediachannelsasThePhilDonahueShowandtheWallStreetJournal.Theattentionhasservedtohighlighttheproblemandtoencourageretailersandmanufacturerstostepupefforts.Withexpertsestimatingthat10percentofallreturnsarestolengoodsreturnedforcash,som

56、eretailershavechosentoeliminatecashrefundsandofferstorecreditsastheonlyoption.Likewise,Philipshasbeenmorevigorousaboutenforcingitsownreturnpolicieswiththeretailersthemselves.Inadditiontothesepolicychanges,retailersalsoimplementedmanyimprovementstopoint-of-salesystemstohelpthemidentifyandstoprepeatpo

57、licyoffenders.Someofthesesystemstrackreturnsbycustomerorbycreditcard,whichallowstheretailertoensurethatacustomerboughtthatproductatitsstoreandalsototrackrepeatreturners.Additionally,manypoint-of-returndeskcomputersarebeginningtoshowphotosoftheproductandkeyaccessoriesfortheclerkstomatch.Bothofthesesy

58、stemsprovideretailerswithstrongbackupmaterialsthatallowthemtorefuseanimproperorfraudulentreturn.Oneofthemostpromisingsystems-basedapproachestoeliminatingunqualifiedproductreturnsisSiRAS(/),apatentedelectronicregistrationprogram.Manynationalandregionalretailershaveimplementedthissystem,whichcapturesa

59、productsserialnumberatpointofsale.Thisprogramgivesretailersthebestwaytovalidateareturnwhenthereisnoreceiptwhichmaybemorethan75percentofthetime.SiRAShasworkedwithretailerssuchasWal-MartandTargettoflagselectedhigher-ticketelectronicproductstobescannedasecondtimeatthepoint-of-saleregisterfortheserial-n

60、umberbarcode.Theinformationaboutthestoreanddateofsaleforthatspecificproduct(butnotabouttheconsumer)istransmittedtotheSiRASdatawarehouseforuseasneededinthefuture.Whentheconsumerwantstoreturnoneoftheseregisteredproductsbutdoesnothaveasalesreceipt,theretailercanvalidateproofofpurchaseeitherwithascanora