Customer returns and economic downturn

Customer returns have long been a headache for especially consumer goods companies. With big box retailer returns, and their brand name at stake they generally viewed returns as a cost center. However, with economic downturn, customer returns either going to be a bigger headache for these companies, or they must revise the way they look at returns. An article by Diane A. Mollenkopf that came out on IndustryWeek analyzes customer returns in this hard economic times. Some of her ideas are already featured in this blog previously, but it's good to revisit them and see a fresh perspective. Please read the article here.

Why Xerox won't be a GM in the future?

A recent article published in Newsweek features Xerox's environmental initiatives and an interview with Xerox's CTO Sophie Vandebroek. Xerox, with its remanufacturing operations, has always been one of my favorite companies that I worked on. This article tells us about Xerox's seemingly counterintuitive R&D projects and products when you look at short-term gains. These products -disappearing ink, cartridgeless solid ink, etc...- may all be hits in the future when you consider the environmental impact and the green brand capital they can build and transform into market value.

Also, these are all complementary products. Xerox markets products with high initial investments, the more they improve their complementary product base by means of waste and cost (through reusability-the most logical manner), the more they earn in the long-term. That said, it seems that Xerox won't be the GM or Ford or Chrysler of the future, by simply foreseeing the trends in their industry and taking a proactive approach to deal with them when there is time.

Please read the article here.

John Deere buys ReGen Technologies

Last year John Deere bought 50% of ReGen Technologies, a remanufacturing company specializing on remanufacturing of farm equipment and engines. Basically, ReGen was founded in 1998 to remanufacture engines for John Deere products in the United States and Canada.

One of the findings of my dissertation research was that the vertical integration in remanufacturing operations provides companies with more control over their operations and improves integration of reman business to overall business model of the company. Moreover, more control can also mean making strategic changes more agile so it can pave the way for growth oriented ventures. I reached these findings by interviewing many managers from organizations that have significant remanufacturing businesses and using that data to develop a model on organizational decisions for remanufacturing.

Now, if I tie the dots with my research and this recent case: In John Deere's case first came the 50% joint venture, which provides some control but not all the way- some companies might be better off with a joint venture like this, but it depends on their business objectives regarding remanufacturing. Then came the full integration. John Deere bought ReGen, named the new business Deere Reman. “We aspire to an enhanced leadership position in the remanufacturing business,” said Barry Schaffter, senior vice president of manufacturing in Deere’s Construction & Forestry division. Deere Reman will now have a global focus and operations will be fully integrated with remanufacturing operations.

No financial details on the deal were announced. Please read the full press release by John Deere here.

Am I really coming back?

It has been a long time that things are slow in this blog. I have been very late on getting back to some people who contacted me for materials, discussions etc- I am sorry and I'll get back to them... Also, I will try to get back to my usual pace in updating my blog, which is interrupted by my dissertation and its defense for my committee. Unfortunately, I am still dealing with some scheduling issues on getting my PhD in hand, however, it's happening very very soon.

I want to make a smooth return to blogging by posting on responsible electronics recycling guidelines - nothing controversial or too complicated. If you go over these guidelines, you will notice both reuse and material recovery are emphasized and proper testing for refurbished equipment is urged. So it's actually not about "recycling" as we know it. It's product recovery, which spans remanufacturing, refurbishing, material recovery, material recycling, disposal, incineration.

Take a look at detailed guildelines here.

Mazda opens remanufacturing plant

Please see this link for the article.

Visteon sells remanufacturing facilities

Couple days ago Visteon sold its three facilities, one in US and two in Mexico. Transaction includes automotive reman facilities. There is not much information on the deal, motives etc. However, Visteon keeps its electronics remanufacturing facilities.

Read more here.

Remanufacturing video and an article

Here is an article by Marsha Cohen on the basics of remanufacturing. There is nothing that regular readers of this blog does not know. However, I believe adding these articles once in a while may appeal to beginners who has just got interested in remanufacturing. If you need more of these beginners resources dig the blog deeper, there is more.

I have been looking for a video of a remanufacturing process for a while. I have just found this video. It is engine remanufacturing process at Recon Automotive Remanufacturers, Inc. I think it is informative because you can see inspection, cleaning, remanufacturing, and final assembly and test stages.

A laptop reborn

A couple days ago this article by Liza Porteus Viana was published on portfolio.com. This article analyzes recycling initiatives at major OEMs and discusses how costs of recycling affect OEMs product recovery efforts.

Please read the full article and find my thoughts on this issue in the comments.