Reverse Logistics is for all operations related to the reuse of products and materials. It is the process of moving goods from their typical final destination for the purpose of capturing value or proper disposal. Trying to effectively accommodate integrated product returns without adopting comprehensive and workable processes is comparable to climbing Mount Everest without oxygen.

It is not unusual to have four or five legs of transportation and handling involved when a price of high tech equipment has to be replaced or repaired. when it comes to post sales service in the high tech industry, whether a company chooses to do it or assign it to a third party, the companies has to follow the 4R’s of the integrated returns management- Recovery, Reconciliation, Repair and Recycling.

When customers have several options with regards to returning products the 4R’s provide companies with options to appropriately deal with variety of returned goods no matter the working condition or appearance. The 4R’s when intertwined can provide an effective post-sales supply chain that increases the efficiencies of returns management.

Recovery- Being able to recover assets from field engineers or customers is important for controlling a company’s inventory levels as well as maintaining, overseeing and monitoring product reliability. Experts says in order to have an efficient recovery program, a company must have accessibility to a transportation network, drop off locations, such as retail stores, shipping outlets or advanced exchange programs. The quick recovery of assets allows a company to test defective parts, and to find a quick solutions and get improved products back in to the market.

Reconciliation- the nest step after the product returned to the distribution facility. A variety of test can be performed on the returned products to determine the appropriate returns channel that needs to be used, such as repair, restock, refurbish or recycle, often a significant percentage of returned products are diagnosed as no trouble found and can be restocked immediately, thus reducing inventory in the post sales supply chain.

Repair- The repair of time-critical products is essential to minimize a customer’s down time. Customers can expect a 24-48 hour turnaround.

Recycling- Government enforcement of proper handling standards for used and obsolete electronic products is increasing globally, the Waste Electrical and Electronics Equipments (WEEE) regulations being put in to place in the European union. It is important that companies address the logistics processes to reclaim these products, the products disposition, the high cost of managing returns, and the liability associated with the activity if it is done correctly.