The Impact of Gartner's Maturity Curve, Adoption Curve, Strategic ...
Returns Management: Where are you on the Maturity Curve?
Transcript of Returns Management: Where are you on the Maturity Curve?
Spinnaker Proprietary & Confidential 2015
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Where are you in the curve?
Returns Management
Maturity Curve
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Founded in 2002 as a Supply Chain Planning consulting firm,
Spinnaker Management Group has become a holding company for several brands.
350+ resources
200+ clients globally
Spinnaker Overview
ERP & CRM
Maintenance
HQ Denver
Supply Chain
Services
HQ Houston
Technology
Staffing Services
HQ Pittsburgh
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Introductions
Jack DeButts• 25+ years of leadership
experience in Global Operations,
Reverse Supply Chain, and
Medical Device Operations
• Pivotal in driving down the cost
and improving overall recoveries
for the Global Dell Outlet
(GDO) business. Focused on
solutions that deliver:– Value to the customer
– Benefit to the organization
– Team recognition
• 2014 “Pro-to-Know” by Supply
Chain Executives magazine
Paul Adamson• 20+ years of leadership
experience in Repair Operations,
Reverse Supply Chain, Retail
Returns Management, and
Sustainability
• Paul blends creativity and passion
in leading teams and providing
solutions that:– Leverage core differentiators
– Create financial value from returns
– Minimize risk and environmental
impacts
• U.S. National Strategy for
Electronics Stewardship
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• Introductions
• Goals for the Session
• RM Maturity Curve
• Case Study: Dell Retail
• Industry Trends in Returns Management
• Keys to Success in Returns Management
• Q&A
Agenda
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• Define the Maturity Curve
• Benchmark: Where are you on the
Maturity Curve?
• Understand what makes Returns
Management Pros and All-Stars
• Learn about available tools and
technology to improve Returns
Management
Goals for the session
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• Define what ‘great’ looks like
• Increase visibility of current
efforts
• Justify expenditures: head
count, technology, tools
• Manage expectations
• Learn from industry
pioneers
• Develop professional goals
Why do we need a maturity curve?
Most companies don’t know where they stand relative to
industry peers or compared with other industries.
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RM Maturity Curve
High
Low
Rooki
e
A
AA
AAA
Professiona
l
All
Star
• Product triaged
prior to
receipt/DIF
• Technology
interface with
business
• Organization led at
VP level
• Robust metrics
• Timely Customer
crediting, clear
customer centric
returns policy
• Dedicated
remarketing team
Returns Management Attributes
Pro
cess
Te
chn
olo
gy
Org
aniz
atio
n M
etri
cs
Bu
sin
ess
Polic
y
• Organization led
at Director level
• Incoming/
outgoing/aging/In
v/ WIP metrics
• Sales to
employees and
resellers
• Lean process
layout
• Organization
led at Sr.
Manager level
• Disposition at
receipt
• Organization
led at
Supervisor level
• Defined Metrics
• Customer
crediting at
receipt
• Credit at
receipt
• Project lead
managing
returns
• Published
returns policy
• No identified
owner
• Marginal metrics
• Customer
crediting at
receipt
• No RM Tech
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• People
– Who Owns Returns?
• Policies
– Returns Management Strategy
– Insource or Outsource
– Liquidate, Resell, Reutilize
– Sustainability and Green Disposal
• Process
– Ease of Customer Crediting
– Lean Processing Lines
• Technology
– Visibility to ALL returns (Incoming/WIP/Inventory/Outbound)
– Technology Connects (Ops/Finance/Inventory/Sales)
• Metrics
– Define the Key Metrics and KPIs
Criteria for the Maturity Curve
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Background
• In 2006, Dell entered the retail arena to much
hype and excitement. I was the Production
Control Manager at the Americas Return
Center in Austin.
• Day One, I was not involved in the contractual
T’s & C’s of the retail arrangements.
Case Study: Dell Goes Retail
Challenges
• Big Chief Tablet and Crayons
– Technology Challenges
– Date & Percentage Caps
• Moving from US to Global support
Getting Involved
• Wal-Mart was the first retail partner. The first trailer of Wal-Mart returns arrived and no process was in place.
• No internal champion, so I became the champion.
• The starting point was to understand the contractual T’s & C’s.
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Mature Company: DELL
Proactive TechnologyMeet &
MeasureCrediting
Market
Knowledge
• Save the
sale
• Disposition
prior to
receipt
• Direct Ties– Operations
– Finance
– ARB
– Sales
• Product
Refurbishment
• Weekly
operations
meeting
• Robust
metrics
– WIP /
Inventory
Control
• Credit at
Retrieval
• Credit
Upon
Receipt
• Secondary
market
controls
• Work with
new sales
• Brokers /
Auctions /
Tear-Down
& Parts
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Industry Trends in Returns MGMT
There is a gap of
200k US Supply
Chain roles due
to a lack of
qualified talent.
Less than 20 of the
Fortune 500
companies employ VP
level Reverse
Logistics / Returns
Management experts
Price erosion
Improvement of service quality
Importance of social media
Changing customer behavior
Rising logistics costs
Returns avoidance
Retailer-OEM partnering
Improvement of customer satisfaction
Thoughts on Returns Management
7.26%
8.70%8.04% 8.12% 8.29%
8.77% 8.60%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
RETAIL RETURNS
(% OF SALES)
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Returns Management Strategy
Executive Champion
Returns Business
Planning
Reverse Supply Chain
ExecutionOrder Management
Financial Management Inventory Control
Returns Order
Management
Keys to Success in Returns Management
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• Benchmark your company against the Returns Management
Maturity Curve
• Know the functional and strategic areas to address to move along
the Returns Management Maturity Curve
• Acknowledge and recognize your key competencies
– Missing skills must be supported through partnering
• The higher the leadership owning returns management, the more
effective the returns management program and the better the
program is supported
• Spinnaker can help you define and implement an effective Returns
Management program
Key Takeaways
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• Submit topics for future webinars
• Request a Returns Management assessment
• Learn more about the Returns Management Leadership Exchange
on LinkedIn
• Today’s information will be available to members of our LinkedIn
Group
Last Thoughts
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Thank You!
Paul Adamson
Director,
Business Development & Marketing
512.731.5957
Jack DeButts
Director
512.592.9416