Largest Reverse Logistics Event Ever!

The Reverse Logistics Association hosted the 5th Annual RLA Conference & Expo in Las Vegas on February 4–6, 2008. Attendance was at a record high of over 1,400 registered attendees but even more important was the number of companies represented–over 600. Companies such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Procter & Gamble, Cisco, Fujitsu, Microsoft, The Shopping Channel and Mattel were in attendance. The complete list of the companies that participated is available on the Event Attendees page. Thanks to attendees, speakers and exhibitors, this was the largest ever worldwide event focused on reverse logistics!

Activities began on Sunday with the private RLA Football Party. Guests enjoyed great food and a great game. Over the next three days, OEMs, Retailers, 3PLs and 3PSPs had the opportunity to discuss RL issues, share ideas and leverage best practices. Monday provided a variety of activities including RL workshops, Industry Focus Committee meetings, the opening of the Exhibit Hall and the RLA Charity Golf Tournament.

Tuesday began with a Welcome Address by RLA President Gailen Vick followed by Micky Long of the Aberdeen Group who provided an Industry Overview and look at RL Trends. The Keynote Address was presented by Joe Warren, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Support Operations, Canon USA.

Five tracks of sessions and panel discussions filled the afternoon. The Exhibit Hall was also open where manufacturers and retailers would find many solutions for their RL needs among the over 100 exhibitors and sponsors participating. The day ended with a spectacular reception hosted by Flextronics.

The Wednesday morning Keynote Address was provided by Bernie Schaeffer, Corporate Vice President, Global Repair & Reverse Logistics Integrated Supply Chain, Motorola. Additional sessions and panel discussions filled the remainder of the day right up to the closing remarks by Gailen Vick and the Lucky Draw. Gailen presented prizes for "Best Use of the VIP Program" which was awarded to ONEPAK and also for the "Best Booth" which went to GENCO.

"I commend RLA for the excellent way in which the conference was organized and for the quality of the speakers, and their respective presentations. I feel I have learned a lot and will be able to tackle some of the reverse logistics issues in my company with a lot more knowledge and experience behind me in the future." – William Jaworski, Traffic Manager-Canada, Thomas & Betts Ltd.

Conference presentations are available for download by RLA Members at no charge. For a limited time, Las Vegas 2008 conference attendees can apply their registration fee towards a RLA membership upgrade. For just $200, attendees can upgrade to an Associate membership and download the presentations from this Conference (and from all past conferences). Upgrade now!.

We at RLA are interested in learning more about your Reverse Logistics processes, so that we may serve you better. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey questions.

Click HERE to complete the survey.

Jerry Adamski recently joined Gleason Corporation as Global Customer Service Director. He brings over 20 years of experience with Eastman Kodak encompassing a wide range of experience in global service and manufacturing. Jerry will focus on developing strategic plans for the Gleason global customer service in alignment with other business strategies. He will also focus on identification and implementation of world class best practices in total customer support.

Shelor Consulting recently announced that Roy Steele has joined the company as vice president and senior partner. Roy has over two decades of field service and support operations experience including service parts management, field service operations and repair center operations.

Ixia, a leading, global provider of IP performance test systems, recently announced that Raymond de Graaf has been appointed to the position of vice president of Operations. Mr. De Graaf brings to Ixia about 15 years of operations experience most recently as vice president and general manager of Precision Communications and Flextronics International.

MCA Solutions, has expanded its executive team to include Jack Barr as senior vice president of strategic accounts. Jack brings more than 20 years of high-tech sales, marketing, operations and business development experience to MCA Solutions. He spent more than 12 at SAP America where he helped launch SAP's strategic client-server solution.

Service Net Solutions LLC recently named Chris Smith to the newly created position of president of sales and marketing operations. Prior to joining Service Net, Smith led the startup of ServicePower Field Service Solutions, a subsidiary of ServicePower that provides automated job scheduling, GPS tracking and navigation and warranty management services for the service delivery and installation industries.

Do you replace or repair your broken iPod?

by Glen Kashgegian

Unlike any other consumer product introduced in the last ten years, the Apple iPod has taken America by storm. In April 2007, Apple announced that it had sold its 100 millionth iPod¹. Approximately 60 million of these were sold in the United States. How many of these lay broken in drawers and closets? More importantly, do your replace or repair your broken iPod?

Given that many of these iPods are owned by adolescents and teenagers, many are broken due to rough handling, resulting in cracked screens and crashed hard drives. Every parent of teenagers knows that teens can give a thousand reasons why they should get a new iPod Nano, iPod Mini, iPod Video, or iPod Shuffle to replace the broken one. Since everyone wants to get the cost bang-for-the-buck, the question is whether you can extend the life of the iPod to justify the cost of the repair. More Info
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¹ Macworld – Apple:100 million iPod sold and counting – Peter Cohen

Join us for Europe's Premiere Reverse Logistics Event! Companies from throughout Europe as well as many other international delegates will be in attendance. ODMs and OEMs will be looking for 3PSPs that can manage Reverse Logistics in Europe, along with identifying solutions for Asia and the Americas.

Starting Monday with Workshops on a variety of subjects including Reverse Logistics Self Assessment and Performance Improvement Toolkit and Best Practices: Lean Repair and Reverse Logistics Trends. Tuesday and Wednesday will have keynote addresses followed by sessions presented by RL professionals, leading academics and also includes panel discussions.

Call for Speakers. Nominate reverse logistics thought leaders to speak at our Amsterdam event! There are many benefits for session speakers and panel participants.

We are expecting over 500 attendees and more than 25 exhibitors! More info.

Reverse Logistics Software Systems Framework and Benefits

by Paul Rupnow

The RLA Conference & Expo 2008 in Las Vegas just wrapped up its fifth year of record attendance with over 1,400 Reverse Logistics professionals in attendance.

This year a lot of people were asking questions about Reverse Logistics software and trying to understand what is available and how can it help their Reverse Logistics processing. Several excellent Reverse Logistics software companies were exhibiting at the show and all are very committed to understanding and serving the special needs of the Reverse Logistics process.

This article outlines a possible Reverse Logistics Software System framework that can be used to help understand and assess existing systems and to develop plans for future systems. Full Article

RL Quote - Four Key Procurement Advantages for OEMs

RL Quote provides OEMs, ODMs and Retailers a way to connect with 3PSPs. With RL Quote a retailer or manufacturer can send out RFIs anonymously to our worldwide database of service providers, screen through the 3PSP responses and narrow down the prospects.

Using RL Quote is simply a better way to source for Reverse Logistics Services, here are four reasons why...

• FREE Industry Expertise
• Anonymity
• Wider Selection
• New Technologies

For more details, click here.

Manufacturing & Technology Centre, Fagerdala World Foams, ARC International Corporation, Computer Trends Canada and OneLife Digital each recently joined or renewed their Gold Level RLA Membership.

Bigston Corporation, Landstar, Technology Solutions & Services, RnE Technology, JKA Logistics, ATC Logistics & Electronics, Ryder and IC Communications 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.

• RL Seminar – Los Angeles – March 26, 2008
• RL Seminar – Hong Kong – April 16, 2008
• WERC Annual Conference – Chicago – May 4–7, 2008
• RL Seminar – Chicago – May 7, 2008
• Investment Recovery Association Spring '08 Seminar & Tradeshow – May 19–21, 2008
• RLA Conference & Expo Amsterdam 2008 – June 16–18, 2008
• Plastics Recycling Conference & Trade Show – Chicago – June 22–24, 2008
• RL Seminar – Toronto – July 9, 2008