Consumer Returns Management 2015 (past event)
October 05 - 07, 2015
Contact Us: 1.888.482.6012
From Point Of Purchase To The Reverse Supply Chain: Charting The Journey
07:00 - 08:00 Continental Breakfast & Registration/Advisory Board Breakfast
08:00 - 08:05 Welcome
08:05 - 08:20 Chairperson’s Opening Address
08:20 - 08:50 KEYNOTE: Customer Driven Supply Chain Transformation
Across every industry companies are striving to achieve a customer-first mindset. It all starts with taking an end-to-end approach to reduce internal friction and create a seamless experience for customers. The role of Supply Chain is critical in integrating operations, from creating partnerships with suppliers to engaging with customers regarding the way they want to receive products and services. Companies can be customer champions by taking an integrated approach, through initiatives that put customers and stores first, by leveraging omnichannel capabilities and by creating processes that connect sales and operations. In this session, participants will hear how Supply Chain can adapt to meet customer needs.
Walgreens Co.
Dov Shenkman
Group Vice President, Supply Chain, Global Inventory and TransportationWalgreens Co.
08:50 - 09:10 Reducing The Cost Of Returns To Your Organization
Sony Electronics Inc., the U.S. Sales and Marketing arm, established a program to eliminate returns for most categories. In order to be successful, any program has to be beneficial - or at least cost neutral - to both the manufacturer and the retailer. But the economics of returns are complex and confusing. This presentation discusses what returns truly cost a company, as well as alternatives that you can use to provide an advantageous solution. It also addresses Sony’s journey from determining the problem to implementing such a program.
Liquidity Services Inc.
Daniel O’Neill
Senior Director Client Services and Business DevelopmentLiquidity Services Inc.
09:10 - 09:40 PANEL: Partnering Pre-Sale To Reduce Returns: OEMs And Retailers Team Up
There is a tremendous opportunity for manufacturers and retailers to collaborate to bring down the cost of returns. This panel addresses:
Acer America Corp.
- Involving OEMs in associate training to develop familiarity with key products & ensure that they can properly represent them
- Preparing retail sales personnel for questions and concerns that could emerge during the buying process
- E-learning/certification programs for sales professionals
- Aligning compensation with a returns reduction mentality: Basing commissions off of net sales rather than gross
- Return reason reporting: Getting tangible data on why units are being returned and establishing formal mechanisms for sharing that data with OEMs
- Solutions driven by data and designed to foster ease of product use
- Changes to packaging: Is it impossible to open?
- Simplified manuals: Too many languages?
- Quick start guides
Joyce Cruts
Director Return ManagementAcer America Corp.
09:40 - 10:10 Changing Consumer Behavior Around Returns
Moen recently ran a program to reduce return costs around defective goods. Along the way the company learned how to properly implement a change to a returns plan, understand customer behavior and create effective metrics to gauge success.
Moen
David Kerg
Customer Quality Improvement Project ManagerMoen
10:10 - 10:30 Understanding And Leveraging Pricing & Demand Trends In The Secondary Market
Understanding pricing and demand trends in the secondary market can turn liquidation into a strategic weapon for your company’s primary business. In this session we will take an in-depth look at category recovery and demand data and talk about why it matters.
10:30 - 11:10 Morning Refreshment Break In The Solutions Zone
TRACK A: CUSTOMER SUPPORT STRATEGIES
11:10 - 11:15 Chairperson’s IntroductionTRACK B: IMPROVING THE RETURNS PROCESS
11:10 - 11:15 Chairperson’s IntroductionTRACK A: CUSTOMER SUPPORT STRATEGIES
11:15 - 11:45 PANEL SESSION: Multichannel Consumer Education: Helping Consumers Make More Informed Purchases That Meet Their Expectations
Making sure that a customer has the right expectations and understands a product’s capabilities is crucial. Whether it’s an air conditioner that can only cool a certain size room or a tv that will only deliver top notch sound with a soundbar, there often seems to be an expectations gap. How do we close that? How important is the box in communicating the true capabilities of a product? Consumer education is a multichannel process, involving face-to-face interaction in a physical store, phone support and web resources – i.e., FAQs and product videos – that help consumers make more informed purchase decisions and drive down returns. Learn what strategies are being employed by industry leaders:
- Obtaining a comprehensive view of social media feedback (blogs, Facebook, Twitter) to drive better customer service: Identifying user experience hiccups
- Utilizing – and building awareness of - diagnostic applications to resolve customer issues with purchases
- Employing different strategies for new product categories vs. mature product categories
- Educating your employees on specific products to ensure that they are able to address customer concerns prior to the sale
- Informing the customer about support options so they turn to those when experiencing difficulty, rather than returning an item out of frustration
- Online tutorials & chat
- Call center support with special attention to first-time customer contact (priority handling) Home appliance strategies: Taking a proactive approach to ensure a product will work in a customer’s home and that it will be deliverable
TRACK B: IMPROVING THE RETURNS PROCESS
11:15 - 11:45 The Omni-Channel Retail Challenge: Managing Online Purchases & Returns Through The Physical Store
Omnichannel is an evolution of multichannel retailing. It is focused on a seamless customer experience across all channels - dotcom, brick and mortar, mobile, call center, etc.- in all transactions and interactions with a retail brand. Customers want a seamless shopping and return experience. Nothing annoys them more than buying an item online and being restricted or challenged in returning an item to a physical store. In this sense, mastery of omnichannel will be key to retaining customers. There are a multitude of challenges these integrated experiences bring to retailers and suppliers alike in the areas of inventory assortment and management, order fulfillment, policy management, promotions strategy management, and more. This panel addresses:
- Driving seamless integration of the online and store network: Ensuring that your customers see you as one system rather than multiple channels with separate inventory, delivery and returns practices.
- Integrating DF and forward logistics operations
- Leveraging inventory in the stores to fulfill a portion of your orders and reduce order to delivery timelines
- Tracking product serial numbers
- Inventory management challenges
- When an algorithm decides that a buy online, deliver from store order makes sense to clear excess inventory, how do you handle that product coming back to you?
- Best practices for consumer returns management and return to vendor (RTV) management
TRACK A: CUSTOMER SUPPORT STRATEGIES
11:45 - 12:05 Does A Better Customer Experience Reduce Consumer Returns? A Data Analytics Study
This research examines the association between in-store customer experience during a purchase and a subsequent return. More specifically, using around 45 million purchase/return transactions and 90,000 customer satisfaction survey responses from a national jewelry retailer, we examine the significant variation in return rates across stores within the same company with respect to product quality, service quality, and customer satisfaction. Our analysis reveals surprising findings for retailers. For instance, we demonstrate that retail efforts such as increasing salesperson competence and improving store environment, so long believed to prevent returns, may indeed induce a subsequent return. Our findings also suggest that a return event may enable a retailer to regain a dissatisfied customer who would otherwise be lost.
Texas A&M
Necati Ertekin
Ph.D. Candidate, Information & Operations Management, Mays Business SchoolTexas A&M
TRACK B: IMPROVING THE RETURNS PROCESS
11:45 - 12:05 How Large Is The Demand Benefit Of Offering Return Polices?
What type of consumer values your return policies more? How much will a non-refundable forward shipping charge erode consumer valuation of return policies? Is seller reputation score an alternative buyer safeguard mechanism to the return policies? Who are the sellers that strategically choose their return policies? What is the impact of your competitors’ return policy on your demand? Dr. Guangzhi Shang present a comprehensive study of the demand benefits of online return policies.
TRACK A: CUSTOMER SUPPORT STRATEGIES
12:05 - 13:35 Social For Customer Care: The Missing Piece Of The PuzzleTRACK B: IMPROVING THE RETURNS PROCESS
12:05 - 13:35 PANEL: Reason Codes: Garbage In, Garbage Out? Can There Be Any Value In The Information OEMS Receive From Retailers?
13:35 - 14:35 Interactive Roundtables
Speakers:
Tony Sciarrotta Former Director of Asset Recovery Philips Consumer Lifestyle
Lee Gibson Director, Reverse Logistics Silent Circle
Timothy Quinn Manager of Logistics, Budget and Analysis BJ’s Wholesale Club
Joyce Cruts Director Return Management Acer America Corp.
Michael R. Galbreth Associate Professor of Management Science & Moore Research Fellow University of South Carolina
John Meagher Director, Service Operations Samsung Telecommunications America
Frank Martino Director, Service Division Samsung Electronics Canada
Mike Prochaska Vice President of Supply Chain Gopher Sport
Tony Sciarrotta Former Director of Asset Recovery Philips Consumer Lifestyle
Lee Gibson Director, Reverse Logistics Silent Circle
Timothy Quinn Manager of Logistics, Budget and Analysis BJ’s Wholesale Club
Joyce Cruts Director Return Management Acer America Corp.
Michael R. Galbreth Associate Professor of Management Science & Moore Research Fellow University of South Carolina
John Meagher Director, Service Operations Samsung Telecommunications America
Frank Martino Director, Service Division Samsung Electronics Canada
Mike Prochaska Vice President of Supply Chain Gopher Sport
Talking with your peers about how to confront shared business challenges is the most valuable part of this event. Consumer Returns 2015 has set aside an hour each day so OEMs, retailers and solutions providers can discuss current issues of importance. This is your opportunity to discuss ways to improve out-of-box experience, postsales support and methods for maximizing recovery rate once a return has occurred.
1. Minimizing The Impacts Of Dimensional Weight Pricing With Packaging On Demand
Mike Prochaska, Vice President of Supply Chain, Gopher Sport
2. Resolving Lost Or Damaged Claims With Carriers
Timothy Quinn, Manager of Logistics, Budget and Analysis, BJ’s Wholesale Club
3. Advanced Returns Forecasting Strategies
Lee Gibson, Director, Reverse Logistics, Silent Circle
4. Returns Policies: Trends Around Time Frames & Restocking Fees
Michael R. Galbreth, Associate Professor of Management Science & Moore Research Fellow, University of South Carolina
5. Analyzing Returns Data To Discover Root Causes: Driving Returns Prevention Back To Product Design To Enhance Performance And Reliability
Joyce Cruts, Director Return Management, Acer America Corp.
6. Providing Manufacturers With A Smart Direct Channel To End Users: Managing Their Experience From Point Of Purchase To Point Of First Use and Point Of Need
Tony Sciarrotta, Former Director of Asset Recovery, Philips Consumer Lifestyle
7. Tracking Serial Returners: Retailer Experiences & The Growing Consumer Backlash
8. Leveraging Remote Access And Support Technologies As A Returns Avoidance Strategy
John Meagher, Director, Service Operations, Samsung Telecommunications America
9. Trade-In Programs: Managing The Volume And Frequency Of What’s Coming Back
John Meagher, Director, Service Operations, Samsung Telecommunications America
10. Reducing The Cost Of Returns: Changing The Consumer Mindset
Frank Martino, Director, Service Division, Samsung Electronics Canada
11. Reducing E-Commerce Returns: Utilizing High Quality Images, Product Descriptions, Product Comparisons & Reviews To Bolster Consumer Knowledge
Acer America Corp.
University of South Carolina
Samsung Telecommunications America
Gopher Sport
1. Minimizing The Impacts Of Dimensional Weight Pricing With Packaging On Demand
Mike Prochaska, Vice President of Supply Chain, Gopher Sport
2. Resolving Lost Or Damaged Claims With Carriers
Timothy Quinn, Manager of Logistics, Budget and Analysis, BJ’s Wholesale Club
3. Advanced Returns Forecasting Strategies
Lee Gibson, Director, Reverse Logistics, Silent Circle
4. Returns Policies: Trends Around Time Frames & Restocking Fees
Michael R. Galbreth, Associate Professor of Management Science & Moore Research Fellow, University of South Carolina
5. Analyzing Returns Data To Discover Root Causes: Driving Returns Prevention Back To Product Design To Enhance Performance And Reliability
Joyce Cruts, Director Return Management, Acer America Corp.
6. Providing Manufacturers With A Smart Direct Channel To End Users: Managing Their Experience From Point Of Purchase To Point Of First Use and Point Of Need
Tony Sciarrotta, Former Director of Asset Recovery, Philips Consumer Lifestyle
7. Tracking Serial Returners: Retailer Experiences & The Growing Consumer Backlash
8. Leveraging Remote Access And Support Technologies As A Returns Avoidance Strategy
John Meagher, Director, Service Operations, Samsung Telecommunications America
9. Trade-In Programs: Managing The Volume And Frequency Of What’s Coming Back
John Meagher, Director, Service Operations, Samsung Telecommunications America
10. Reducing The Cost Of Returns: Changing The Consumer Mindset
Frank Martino, Director, Service Division, Samsung Electronics Canada
11. Reducing E-Commerce Returns: Utilizing High Quality Images, Product Descriptions, Product Comparisons & Reviews To Bolster Consumer Knowledge
Joyce Cruts
Director Return ManagementAcer America Corp.
Michael R. Galbreth
Associate Professor of Management Science & Moore Research FellowUniversity of South Carolina
John Meagher
Director, Service OperationsSamsung Telecommunications America
Mike Prochaska
Vice President of Supply ChainGopher Sport
14:35 - 15:05 PANEL: Sales Allowance Or Bring Back Into Your Network For Resale? A Look At Different OEM Approaches In Dealing With Retail Partners
15:05 - 15:15 Innovation Spotlight
The Consumer Returns Innovation Spotlight features snapshots of today’s bleeding edge companies who are leading the way in technology advancements and service methodologies. These sessions are tailored to help you better understand what you can do to help your organization streamline and improve your returns management processes and practices.
