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Friday, March 12, 2010
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Issue 2
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VOLUME 1
ISSUE 2
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WEEE – are you ready yet?
Waste disposal and environmental management of waste products is notably absent from most supply chains. However, several pieces of European legislation, including the WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment) and RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directives will come into force, in part, by mid 2004. This legislation will have a significant impact on the way that manufacturers deal with end of life electronic and electrical equipment.
Manufacturers will not only become responsible for considering the issues of environmental disposal at the point of manufacture, but will also be responsible for the disposal of all end of life products that they have manufactured. It’s worth noting that although liability can be passed on as an obligation through the distribution channel, ultimate liability is still held by the manufacturer. As responsibility for end of life products could potentially open the doors on an avalanche of items being sent back, manufacturers need to be certain that the product they are collecting is actually their responsibility. Accurate records will be key to this, so comprehensive reporting systems must be put in place now to track products throughout their lifecycle - serial number tracking, for example, can show which products were shipped where and will be able to record returned items.
In order to help high tech manufacturers resolve some of these issues, Walsh Western International (WWI) has recently launched a new service, WWI Reverse Logistics. WWI believes that up to 50 per cent of consumer electronics products returned require little more than low level testing, repackaging and relabelling before being remarketed and resold. As returned items depreciate in value by one per cent each day and with up to eight per cent of goods being returned, companies that fail to deal with returns quickly and efficiently can severely affect turnover and profits.
WWI Reverse Logistics is a complete managed solution which collects, screens, repackages and remarkets a company’s returned goods within the same timescale as the original fulfilment cycle. The service includes the collection of new product returns from businesses or consumers, delivery to a WWI warehouse, product screening and testing, rekitting and recalibration as necessary, repackaging and shipping to client brokers for resale.
A vital part of the service is WWI’s Reverse Enterprise Manager, a web-based account management software tool which tracks products throughout the returns cycle. It provides comprehensive tracking, auditing and reporting controls delivering the accurate detail needed to comply with the legislation. The collection, recycling and disposal of large volumes of ‘end of lease’ or ‘end of life’ products can be managed completely by WWI, including the provision of audit trails and environmental certification. The manufacturers that will win in the race to be green, are those that can put in place an efficient way of dealing with these products, which actually pays for itself. Unless they put these systems in place and test them now, many will be caught completely unprepared when the legislation is enforced. For further information about WWI Reverse Logistics, please contact Colin Byrne, Reverse Logistics Business Manager or visit our website at http://www.walshwestern.com/services/reverse.htm
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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Published by Walsh Western International.
Copyright © 2003 Walsh Western International. All rights reserved.
The Walsh Western Direct Newsletter is not intended to be a comprehensive statement of any relevant law or regulation and does not necessarily reflect the views of the firm. No responsibility is taken by Walsh Western for any errors it may contain or for any loss, however occasioned, to any person by reliance on it.
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