Reverse Logistics Standards Focus Group Questionnaire Survey

As we look across the consumer electronics and appliances industries today, we see a need for automated product warranty registration, storage and retrieval. Such an automated system would potentially simplify initial warranty registration submission, recording and processing for both product companies and their customers. The system could also strengthen financial reporting compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley regarding warranty reserves and other analytical aspects. Additional benefits could include reduced distribution costs, improved data integrity, and enhanced customer satisfaction leading to repeat purchases. The key to realizing these benefits is standardizing the vocabulary and data-set definitions used in product warranty registrations and product return authorizations.

The Standards Committee would like your feedback on the need for such a system, the functions and features it would need to have, and the vocabulary and data-set definitions that would be required for successful operation. (See notes following the questionnaire.) The Reverse Logistics Association (RLA) is proposing the establishment of a Standards committee to focus on such issues and provide stakeholder input into any and all official standards bodies that address this issue.

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1. Do you believe that there would be a benefit if there were a common vocabulary and data sets related to reverse logistics that were standardized across companies and divisions?

Do you believe that there would be a benefit if there were a common vocabulary and data sets related to reverse logistics that were standardized across companies and divisions? Yes

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2. Do you believe that having a specific committee to manage these definitions would be the proper way to approach this?

Do you believe that having a specific committee to manage these definitions would be the proper way to approach this? Yes

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3. HOW LARGE A SAVINGS (rough estimate to the nearest 5 percent) in the total cost of your company’s entire warranty chain process could potentially be achieved by a standards-based automated system as described above? (Please enter a percentage to the nearest 5%)

HOW LARGE A SAVINGS (rough estimate to the nearest 5 percent) in the total cost of your company’s entire warranty chain process could potentially be achieved by a standards-based automated system as described above? (Please enter a percentage to the nearest 5%)

4. WHO would be primarily involved in doing the cost/benefit analysis and deciding to build or acquire such a system? Indicate the rank order of importance in making such a decision with 1 being the final decision maker.

	1	2	3	4
Finance	*WHO would be primarily involved in doing the cost/benefit analysis and deciding to build or acquire such a system? Indicate the rank order of importance in making such a decision with 1 being the final decision maker. Finance 1	Finance 2	Finance 3	Finance 4
Customer Support	Customer Support 1	Customer Support 2	Customer Support 3	Customer Support 4
Marketing	Marketing 1	Marketing 2	Marketing 3	Marketing 4
Warranty Management	Warranty Management 1	Warranty Management 2	Warranty Management 3	Warranty Management 4

5. WHAT CHANGES would have to be made to your company’s current processes and systems in order to achieve such cost savings and other benefits?

	Major	Minor
IT Systems	*WHAT CHANGES would have to be made to your company’s current processes and systems in order to achieve such cost savings and other benefits? IT Systems Major	IT Systems Minor
Customer Support	Customer Support Major	Customer Support Minor
Web Portal Services	Web Portal Services Major	Web Portal Services Minor
Warranty Management	Warranty Management Major	Warranty Management Minor
Product Inspection and Repair	Product Inspection and Repair Major	Product Inspection and Repair Minor
Manufacturing/Shipping	Manufacturing/Shipping Major	Manufacturing/Shipping Minor

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6. If your company were to undertake such an approach, indicate how would you proceed by checking the appropriate description closest to your approach:

If your company were to undertake such an approach, indicate how would you proceed by checking the appropriate description closest to your approach: Phase in product-by-product choice

Phase in division at a time

Test to validate then switch division at a time

Test to validate, then switch the entire company

None of the above

7. How long do you think this approach would take to implement?

How long do you think this approach would take to implement? Six months

One Year

Multiple years (how many)

8. WHAT WOULD BE THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS REASONS for taking action? (Rank each)

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Saving Money	*WHAT WOULD BE THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS REASONS for taking action? (Rank each) Saving Money 1st	Saving Money 2nd	Saving Money 3rd	Saving Money 4th
More Accuracy in Registration Process	More Accuracy in Registration Process 1st	More Accuracy in Registration Process 2nd	More Accuracy in Registration Process 3rd	More Accuracy in Registration Process 4th
Better Customer Support and Service	Better Customer Support and Service 1st	Better Customer Support and Service 2nd	Better Customer Support and Service 3rd	Better Customer Support and Service 4th
Corporate Support of Industry Standards	Corporate Support of Industry Standards 1st	Corporate Support of Industry Standards 2nd	Corporate Support of Industry Standards 3rd	Corporate Support of Industry Standards 4th

9. WHAT WOULD BE THE BIGGEST BARRIER in the way of taking action? (Rank each)

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Bureaucratic inertia	*WHAT WOULD BE THE BIGGEST BARRIER in the way of taking action? (Rank each) Bureaucratic inertia 1st	Bureaucratic inertia 2nd	Bureaucratic inertia 3rd	Bureaucratic inertia 4th
Budget rank	Budget rank 1st	Budget rank 2nd	Budget rank 3rd	Budget rank 4th
Reverse Logistics too low a priority to get attention	Reverse Logistics too low a priority to get attention 1st	Reverse Logistics too low a priority to get attention 2nd	Reverse Logistics too low a priority to get attention 3rd	Reverse Logistics too low a priority to get attention 4th
No centralized control over corporate stakeholders	No centralized control over corporate stakeholders 1st	No centralized control over corporate stakeholders 2nd	No centralized control over corporate stakeholders 3rd	No centralized control over corporate stakeholders 4th

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10. Would your company be interested in PARTICIPATING IN THE SPECIFIC COMMITTEE mentioned aboved to develop the common vocabulary and data sets for reverse logistics that would be standardized across companies and divisions?

Would your company be interested in PARTICIPATING IN THE SPECIFIC COMMITTEE mentioned aboved to develop the common vocabulary and data sets for reverse logistics that would be standardized across companies and divisions? Yes

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11. Is your company

Is your company A Hardware Manufacturer

A Software Company

A Third Party Service/Support Provider

A Consulting Company

None of the above

We hope to publish our survey results in a future RLA newsletter.

Thank you for your help.

NOTES
The issues discussed above are often deliberated in such bodies as XBRL.ORG, a standards body focused on financial and regulatory issues that works with the SEC. (Note: XBRL stands for Extensible Business Reporting Language and is an extension of the XML standard.) Practitioners (Operations) in the field of reverse logistics should contribute to such standards.

The best proposal we have seen incorporates an electronic token on a CD-ROM with electronic data interchange between consumer computers and manufacturer/retailer computers based on the open XBRL standard for business and financial reporting. The CD would be preloaded with product serial numbers and UPC codes and the user would merely add personal information and return the token to the manufacturer - leaving a record on the user computer of the registration event. This token could be re-used for product return authorizations.

Reverse Logistics Standards Focus Group QuestionnaireExit this survey >>

*1. Do you believe that there would be a benefit if there were a common vocabulary and data sets related to reverse logistics that were standardized across companies and divisions?

*2. Do you believe that having a specific committee to manage these definitions would be the proper way to approach this?

*3. HOW LARGE A SAVINGS (rough estimate to the nearest 5 percent) in the total cost of your company’s entire warranty chain process could potentially be achieved by a standards-based automated system as described above? (Please enter a percentage to the nearest 5%)