RLEC Project Plans

1
RLEC Project Plans

• Dr. Dale S. Rogers
• Center for Logistics Management
• University of Nevada
• Reverse Logistics Executive Council
• Livonia, MI
• 18 October 2001

2
Reverse Logistics Executive Council

• Mission
• The Reverse Logistics Executive Council is a
  not-for-profit professional organization whose
  purpose is to
• develop best practice industry standards that
  take costs out of the system for consumers,
  retailers and manufacturers
• provide on-going benchmarking
• return causal information in order to improve the
  entire Reverse Logistics process.
• www.rlec.org

3
Total U.S. Logistics Cost
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4
U.S. Reverse Logistics Costs

• Total U.S. Logistics Costs 1,006,000,000
• Approximate RL cost 4.00
• Estimated U.S. RL Costs 40,240,000
• Source for U.S. total costs Bob Delaney, 12th
  Annual State of Logistics Report.

5
Consumer Electronics Project

• Objective
• Examine consumer attitudes and responses toward
  no-fault found consumer electronic returns.
• Improve their customer satisfaction levels at the
  stores and save money by reducing returns.

6
Methodology

• Identify Sprint consumers that have recently
  returned product to a Sprint store
• Frame the questions into a short group that
  relate to consumer satisfaction with the store
  and the product.

7
Questions

• How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with the
  store's handling of your return?
• Was your item defective?
• Did you find the same item for less at another
  store?
• Did you get an exchange, or a refund?
• Did you know the store has a lowest price
  guarantee?

8
Questions

• Was the replacement the same product, or did you
  select another item?
• If you replaced the item, did the second one work
  correctly?
• If you had problems operating the product, were
  you able to get help?
• From the store or from the manufacturer?

9
Questions

• Were you dissatisfied with the performance of the
  product?
• Or the difficulty to operate it?
• Or the inability to get help?
• Or did you get help from the manufacturer's 800
  , or web-site, etc?

10
Secondary Markets

• Size unclear
• Excess goods approximately 60 billion in US
• In 2000, eleven percent of manufacturers using
  online trading exchanges to mobe excess inventory

11
Reverse Logistics Systems Research

• To be completed in conjunction with AMR Research
• What systems exist?
• What is the extent of their reverse logistics
  capability?
• Processing, financial, asset recovery,etc.
• Trading exchanges?

12
Reverse is Different
13
Key Elements of Reverse Logistics Systems -
Retailers

• Buying agreements for each item
• Store level gatekeeping disposition
• Product/Supplier database with decision rules
• Disposition options
• Transportation planning
• WMS elements

14
Key Elements of Reverse Logistics Systems -
Manufacturers

• Buying agreements for each item
• Product/Supplier and Product/Customer database
  with decision rules
• Processing rules
• Disposition options
• Fast credit reconciliation
• Refurbishment/Remanufacturing (almost MRP)
• Transportation planning
• WMS elements

15
Reverse Logistics Packaging

• Reusable totes and containers
• Tracking systems
• RFID tags
• Reboxing
• Consumer reboxing and damage
• Legal issues