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Reverse Logistics – Monitoring Life-Cycle of Products

But What is Reverse Logistics?

Reverse logistics refers to the practice of returning (or recycling) goods from a customer to a seller or a manufacturer. The efficiency of a company’s reverse logistics process directly impacts customer satisfaction and customer retention. Thus, to build customer trust, organizations must move goods from end customers back to their possession and then to their suppliers. However, this practice is a trillion-dollar problem, which, if not managed properly, may incur substantial costs for businesses. Unilog is a team of professionals that can help businesses to manage their reverse logistics better.

Let’s look at the processes of reverse logistics.

Reverse Logistics Processes

1. Asset Recovery
It starts when a customer signals their desire for product replacement or refund. It involves arranging the shipping and refunding or replacing the faulty product.

2. Categorizing the return
Identify whether the product can be fixed, resold, recycled, or disposed of.

3. Repair
If the product can be repaired or fixed. Otherwise, sell any sellable parts.

4. Reuse, recycle, or disposal of the remaining parts.

Benefits of Reverse Logistics

Even though many companies consider returns a negative outcome, efficient reverse logistics may provide several benefits. For example:

● Cost reduction
By planning independently or relying on Unilog, your company can reduce the risks of additional costs associated with reverse logistics.

● Customer satisfaction
By replacing or refunding products fast, the inconveniences for customers can decrease, which can positively impact the trust customers have in your brand.

● Reduced losses and unplanned profit
Customer returns do generate costs for the company. However, not meeting their needs efficiently can incur an even greater cost. Therefore, it is important to have EFFICIENT reverse logistics to optimize your operations and generate the minimum possible costs. Also, if products can be fixed and resold, it is an additional unplanned profit for the company.

● Positive press
Meeting customer needs efficiently enhances your brand’s image and can be an amazing marketing tool. Customers themselves would be happy to share their positive experiences with their acquaintances generating new business leads

Challenges of Reverse Logistics

Reverse Logistics has its challenges. The companies that can respond to these challenges effectively enjoy a bigger market share and can increase their profits. That is why it might be worth considering relying on independent expert 3rd parties such as Unilog.

The challenges include:

Response Time
Modern consumers are very time-sensitive. They want their products to be shipped in a matter of days, and if the shipment is free of charge, it is even better. They also expect the full return and refund process to be effortless.

The storage and processing of the returned goods can generate storage costs. The ability to swiftly recover the product, repair it and release it back to the market in a short time can differentiate a company from its competitors.

Poor visibility
Good visibility of all parts of your supply chain is necessary for good reverse logistics. The ability to track and trace the goods across the supply chain is necessary for efficient collaboration between parties. This visibility optimizes the processes and decreases the cost and time of reverse logistics processes.

Lack of capacity to manage the returns
Businesses may lack the knowledge to manage their returns. The ability to choose the right courier, ship replacement products, respond to customer questions, and employ the appropriate personnel to manage all of it might not be feasible for the company.

However, they can always outsource all their reverse logistics to Unilog.

Solving Reverse Logistics Challenges with Unilog

Unilog will be able to address all of these issues efficiently and reliably. Given the nature of global trade, reverse logistics is becoming a top priority. To minimize costs and maximize profits and at the same time increase customer satisfaction, companies need to pay close attention to how they manage their product returns. One way is to manage it in-house.

However, when companies grow, the number of returns can potentially increase. Customers become more sensitive to negative experiences, and so any drop in customer experience can potentially harm your company’s image. Thus, over time it becomes increasingly complex to manage reverse logistics efficiently. Unilog can provide the best solutions for making complex and costly processes smooth and fast with minimal costs.

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