Amsterdam 2008 Highlights

Over 450 registered attendees representing nearly 200 companies gathered in Amsterdam for Europe's largest reverse logistics conference! Reverse logistics professionals and leading academics from throughout Europe met to share best practices and discuss the most pressing reverse logistics challenges.

Companies represented included Alcatel-Lucent, HP, Apple, DHL, Nike, Intel, Flextronics, Cisco Systems and Plantronics, just to name a few. Please visit our Event Attendees page for the complete listing of the companies that participated.

Conference sessions and panel discussions focused on industry-specific issues such as Managing Reverse Logistics through the Supply Chain to Improve Performance, WEEE & RoHS Impact on OEMs & 3PSPs and Controlling Reverse Logistics Processes to Improve Bottom Line.

Attendees also had the opportunity to meet with Exhibitors during the 2-day Expo.

Visit the Photo Gallery for pictures from the show.

The conference presentations are now available and free to RLA members for download.

For the next 30 days, attendees at the RLA Conference & Expo in Amsterdam may apply their registration fee to an Associate level membership. For only $200.00, this Membership Upgrade will provide access to all presentations delivered in Amsterdam as well as all prior conferences.

Encompass Group Affiliates, Inc. an integrated company serving the reverse logistics industry recently announced that Brent Berry, a seasoned industry expert, has joined the organization as Vice President of Sales. Brent will be responsible for sales enterprise-wide, concentrating on the combined services and offerings of Encompass Group companies Vance Baldwin and Cyber-Test.

Brent was previously Director of Sales for Data Exchange Corporation and held prior executive sales positions with DecisionOne Corporation and Dell Computers.

Inmar, the parent company of CLS, CLS MedTurn, CMS and Carolina Services has named Joseph M. O'Donnell as the company's new CEO. John Whitaker, founder and Inmar CEO since 1980, will remain on the Board of Directors.

O'Donnell formerly served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Artesyn Technologies, a leader in design, manufacturing, and sale of electronic subsystems recently acquired by Emerson.

ATC Technology Corporation, provider of solutions for logistics and refurbishment services, recently announced that Bill Conley is retiring as President of the Company's ATCLE business unit. Antony Francis will succeed Bill as President of ATCLE. Antony joined ATCLE in July 2007 as Vice President and General Manager, OEM Services. He brings over 39 years of experience in the Supply Chain industry across both domestic and international markets. His background includes operations and finance and he has a comprehensive understanding of the 3PL business.

Bill has agreed to continue to provide services to the Company through a consulting arrangement for certain special projects.

Elcoteq, Foxconn and Click Commerce recently renewed their RLA Gold Membership.

Broadtech, ReturnPool, The Service Business, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Coretronic, Millennium 3000, Beacon Management Inc., Datacheck Informatica, A Novo and Pelican Products each recently joined or renewed their Silver Level RLA Membership.

RLA Members can display the RLA membership logo on their website. Membership provides passes to RLA events and access to RL Quote and conference presentations. Go online for a complete list of membership benefits.

The Keynote Address was delivered by Timmy O'Dwyer, EMEA Regional Service Parts Planning & Logistics Senior Manager at Dell. Tim talked about the reverse logistics challenges facing all companies. A few highlights from his presentation include:

• Maintaining high quality in both products and services while keeping cost down
• Service and product aspects while involving logistic, vendor and sales partners in cost sharing in honoring warranties and maintaining price protection.
• In emerging markets forecast accuracies, business strategies, and other legal and cultural aspects add greater complexity to the RL process
• Customer satisfaction is strengthened when the RL process is flexible enough to meet the customer's needs.
• How environmental concerns must be included in the process such as proper disposal of hazardous materials, energy conservation, and lessening the amounts of waste materials going to landfills through following government directives

The fifth annual RLA Conference & Expo Singapore will be held on October 7-9, 2008 at the Le Meridian Hotel. Companies from the South Pacific, Asia and many other international delegates will be in attendance. ODMs and OEMs will be looking for 3PSPs that can manage Reverse Logistics in North America and Europe, along with identifying Service Logistics solutions for the Far-East.

This premier Reverse Logistics Event is just three months away. The chance to meet with peers and competitors to discuss Reverse Logistics issues along with meeting key industry professionals make this Conference & Expo second to none.

Many Speaker and Panelist positions are still open. There are great benefits for speaking or participating on a panel. Also, it is never too late to make a good decision, so exhibit now to showcase your products and services!

The Post RFI Button makes it easier than ever to post an RFI. One click takes you right to the data entry screen -- complete the form, submit and it's posted. It's as simple as 1-2-3.

RL Quote is available for all manufacturers and retail companies at no cost. 3PSPs that are members of RLA can respond to RFIs:

• RFI ID 106 - Large E-Retailer Needs 3PSP to Purchase Returned Products

More RFIs will be posted in the coming weeks, be sure to check back regularly. RL Quote provides OEMs, ODMs and Retailers a way to connect with 3PSPs. Get details at RL Quote.

Reverse Logistics Tactics to Fight the "War on Returns"

by Paul Rupnow

The best way to reduce your Reverse Logistics costs is to reduce the number of returns you need to handle. With electronics goods flowing to consumers through the retail channel, this is a particularly challenging area due to liberal retail return policies. Surprisingly, a very low percentage of the electronics goods returned to the retailers are truly defective. The Wall Street Journal recently published an excellent article entitled "The War on Returns" outlining some very interesting ways that the Reverse Logistics teams at Retailers like Best Buy and Manufacturers like Sony, Vizio and Seagate are utilizing to reduce product returns. Full Article