Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Reverse Supply Chain- Make Your Returned Products More Profitable



Many a times for most of the production organizations material supplied to the market are returned through the reverse supply chain function. Most distribution networks are not set up to manage products that come back from the field.  Now what is a reverse supply chain? It is a set of activities required to get back a product that can be products return, damaged goods or service depot returns etc., either to dispose it of or reuse it.

And for a growing number of manufacturers, reverse supply chains are becoming an essential part of business with product returns management statistics indicating that the overall cost of product and scrap material returns to manufacturers is continuing to increase. The Aberdeen Group estimates that high-tech companies alone spend approximately 8% of revenue just to manage their reverse logistics function.

Earlier companies used to spend more time, effort and money on timely supply of the products to their customers using the forward supply chains, while ignoring the backward supply chains. However, in today's competitive business environment, companies can no longer ignore reverse supply chains bringing many benefits to the companies.  

Apart from benefits companies establishing a reverse supply chain also face many challenges. They have to establish new points of contact with customer; decide which activities to outsource and what not. In general with these costs adding to overall operating expenses, they need to discover innovative ways to recover value from material returns - and keep costs to a minimum. Reverse supply chain process is still treated as a back end process of a logistics.  Compliance laws are becoming more stringent and fines increasing, companies need returns goods management program to keeps them compliant.

Operations Cost – Reverse supply chain reduces operating costs as products or components can be reused. The returns need to be carefully managed else companies may find their warehouses flooded with returned products. Companies often will need to work closely with retailers and other distributors to coordinate collection.

Inspection and Disposal - The returned products need to be tested, sorted, and graded. The returns process needs to be streamlined using RFID sensors, bar codes, and other technologies to automate tracking and testing. Companies should dispose of the product based on quality and product configuration to eliminate logistics overhead costs and get remanufactured or refurbished products to market faster.

Refurbishing - Damaged products in the reverse supply chain get a new lease on life, through test and repair methodologies, companies can provide testing, depot repair and refurbishment services for products to create an “all in one” reverse logistics solution.

Distribution and Sales – Once the product has been refurbished it can be sent back to the market. To sell a recycled product, organizations need to create a market for it, invest in consumer education and other marketing efforts. Potential customers for remanufactured products or components include not just the original purchasers but also new customers in different markets.  

Thus by using reverse supply chain management system, returns are transformed from assets gathering dust into cash.

Know more -  value network

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Driving up the Value Network’s Efficiency


Today’s global business environment is radically sensitive, complex and demanding. It is a world where decisions have to be taken correctly without wasting much time. You have to work under tremendous pressures as you have to perform consistently without upsetting costs. This uphill task can be exhausting and make you weary before your goal is accomplished. However those who can keep up with the pressure and deliver on time enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Business today means numerous collaborations with vendors, third parties, suppliers, associates and partners to serve your customers with quality services at reasonable and affordable prices. Your professional alliances cumulatively form the value network that helps your business to progress without causing any disruptions in the service. Thus you need to have a flexible value network that can help you comply with the customers’ demands. Also you need to procure a system that can promote extensive visibility so that you are aware of the operations in your value network. Without transparency in the after sales process you are at a disadvantage that may culminate into expensive losses.

With the proliferation of your business your value network chain also gets larger. This means you will have to dedicate more resources, time and money to engage in a hassle-free environment. The administrative work also increases and that means added expenditure incurred for hiring new personnel. Also manual operations are liable to contain more errors that could prove fatal for your business. Preservation of environment has become another major issue where businesses are not allowed to indulge in practices that may cause detrimental effects.

It is heartening that there are various solutions available to make your business as effortless as possible without causing you any major distress, and also give you the rich benefits. One such solution is the cloud process. This solution has become popular amongst the business fraternity, and organizations have already started experiencing its advantages. The cloud process takes care of all your issues that have so far been acting as a deterrent for maximizing your value network and promoting a cohesive unit.

Employing cloud practices to further your business’ prospects is justified. You can gain increased awareness of your value network as visibility is prominently highlighted. All the work undertaken is put through an automated procedure, thus ensuring a regularized system. The cloud process is replete with thoroughly integrating capabilities that leverages productivity and reduces cost, manifesting in marvelous ROI. Also with the cloud process you can be guaranteed a relevant compliance system that helps you conduct your business within the permissible limits and gain maximum mileage. The cloud process is your most ideal partner that gives you the opportunity to concentrate on distinctive, innovative and productive strategy implementations.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Transitioning the BPO into a Profitable



Business Process Outsourcing or the BPO concept has provided businesses the facility to concentrate on the core functions while outsourcing some parts of their operations to third parties. The BPO companies handle different operations of multiple companies where it can range from administrative work to accounting, customer service operations to payments etc. With a variety of operations to handle the BPO environment becomes a complex one which has to be handled with care and expertise.

Agility is one of the most essential qualities required to run a BPO business. Customers can be very demanding and the business has to comply readily with their demands. They want prompt and positive responses. To provide prompt service to the customers, accessibility to precise and timely information is vital. Reliable information needs to be sourced from the business network which can be quite a challenge. The BPO companies invest a lot on IT infrastructure to enable smooth operations and provide high service levels.

The traditional IT structures normally are not ideal to deal with the current business demands. It lacks flexibility which affects integration that is necessary to maintain a link in the business value network for information acquisition purposes. Without an integrated business process network, efficiency is hampered and the returns are disappointing. Lack of visibility in business processes lead to management inefficiencies.

BPOs tend to waste a lot of money on new applications and infrastructures to meet the demands. The companies can now avoid being burdened by large investment costs and poor results by employing the cloud process which is transparent, integrative and cost saving. The cloud process deploys automated and streamlined processes adding value to the company’s returns. Real-time information is readily accessible to be distributed anytime anywhere without any complications.

The process renders important analysis of the executed functions and performance reports of the operations that helps the BPO Company to determine the maintenance of service levels. It automatically sets the monitoring and supervision metrics into action to assess the performance of the value network that helps in making critical business decisions. The cloud process extends greater control to the BPOs and provides customization facilities for a synchronized business effort.

It also promotes reuse of assets thereby enhancing convenience and reducing costs. The cloud process is the best option for the BPO companies that are constantly driven by a dynamically changing environment. It has tremendous influential capabilities to tip the revenue scales towards heartening directions with quick, logical and effective decision making powers.

Know more -  Reverse Logistics Management, business travel management