Reverse
Logistics

How will the life cycle of your product end or be returned?

Emerald EMS’ customer-focused process supports you every step of the way for the entire life cycle of your product.

At Emerald, we look beyond the immediate concerns of product development, New Product Introduction (NPI), testing, assembly, production and distribution to what comes next—how will your product be returned, reworked, recycled or reused when its useful life has ended? As your partner in your next great project, our experienced Emerald team will help you in planning, implementing and controlling logistical flow. Whether your product is at the concept stage or ready to transition to its next evolution, we leverage our years of product life cycle experience to help you reduce costs, waste and time-to-market using strategically planned and implemented reverse logistics.

Emerald EMS Facilities for Reverse Logistics

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Benefits of Reverse Logistics

At Emerald, our attention to reverse logistics offers our customers a number of potential benefits, including:

  • Reduced Costs

    Advanced planning at every stage of your product’s life saves money by anticipating the unanticipated. Returned or defective products can result in unanticipated cost overruns related to administration, shipping, technical support and more.

  • Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty

    By planning ahead for all stages of your product’s life, Emerald equips our customers to address potential problems before they damage your company’s reputation and inconvenience your customers.

With you every step of the way!

At Emerald, your dedicated Customer Success Team will be there through every stage of your product’s life cycle, including returns processing and fulfillment, parts reclamation or recycling in compliance with all environmental regulations.

What is Reverse Logistics?

Extend your customer reach with reverse logistics.

If “logistics” is the normal flow of a product from concept through development, testing, manufacturing and distribution to the end user who buys the product, “reverse logistics” is that happens after that sale. Reverse logistics is for all operations related to the reuse of products and materials. It is “the process of moving goods from their final destination for the purpose of capturing value, or proper disposal. Re-manufacturing and refurbishing activities may also be included in the definition of reverse logistics.” Normally, logistics deal with events that bring the product towards the customer. In the case of reverse logistics, the resource goes at least one step back in the supply chain. For instance, goods move from the customer to the distributor or to the manufacturer.

In electronics manufacturing, reverse logistics might involve any potential reuse of your product, the proper disposal of the product after use or return and recycling of the product in order to extract additional value.

Effectively planned and executed, reverse logistics improve customer satisfaction and mitigate complaints; reduce investment of time, money and resources; and cut distribution and storage costs for your product.

Traditional logistics follows the flow of materials from point of origin, or the raw materials stage, toward the sale or point of consumption, of a finished product.

The Council of Supply Chain Professionals defines “reverse logistics” as “the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point of consumption to the point of origin for the purpose of recapturing value or proper disposal.”

Reverse Logistics
Flow vs.
Traditional
Logistics Flow

The “5 R’s” of Reverse Logistics:

Emerald offers customized logistical and systems expertise to be your one-stop-shop for product lifecycle management, including post-consumption:

  • Returns

    Manufacturing customers can spend as much as 15 percent of revenue handling product returns. Emerald offers customized returns and warranty management services as part of our end-to-end supply chain service, with an eye to maximizing material recovery and re-use.

  • Recalls

    Emerald’s experienced systems engineers will work with you to develop advanced solutions to manage recalls and returns with the goal of minimizing your expenditure of resources and capital.

  • Repair (refurbish, re-use or re-manufacturing)

    Before implementing any repairs, Emerald’s experienced team of testing engineers will perform a series of tests based on product safety and performance requirements. After product faults or system failures are identified and isolated, your product is repaired and refurbished to specifications.

  • Repackaging

    There are two scenarios where returned parts and products might be re-manufactured. Most products are returned (in the neighborhood of 95 percent) because customers are dissatisfied with them, not because there’s something wrong with them. When testing reveals “no trouble found,” Emerald will facilitate the repackaging of these products and return them to a usable inventory location as quickly as possible.

  • Recycling, Disposal and Disposition

    Emerald’s product end-of-life support services include take-back, tear-down, recycling and asset utilization, in compliance with all safety and environmental regulations, allowing our customers to reduce costs, minimize inventory exposure and respond nimbly to market conditions.