Reverse Logistics - Case Studies From hazardous materials handing in Hawaii to management of returns for national retailers and manufacturers, ABF has become the single-source solution for businesses seeking a competitive advantage. Put the Reverse Logistics professionals at ABF to work enhancing your supply-chain management. Case Study # 1

Situation: To serve Hawaii, a worldwide leader in water treatment and process chemicals uses one carrier for transportation to Honolulu, another for distribution throughout the islands, and yet another for retrieval of empty totes. Though functional, the process is anything but efficient. Read more

Case Study # 2

Situation: A national supermarket chain increases sales of non-food items like TVs, DVD players, video recorders, and vacuum cleaners. However, lacking a consistent policy for dealing with reverse logistics, the supermarket chain loses money on the goods and uses valuable storage space to handle returned goods accumulating at the stores. Read more

Case Study # 3

Situation: A manufacturer with a diverse base of consumer products experiences periodic spikes in returned merchandise. Causing these surges in returns are items specially packaged for sale during specific timeframes, such as holidays and seasonal sales. Although most of the returned products are in saleable condition, all of the items are discarded solely because the packaging has become obsolete. Read more

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Case Study # 1

Situation: To serve Hawaii, a worldwide leader in water treatment and process chemicals uses one carrier for transportation to Honolulu, another for distribution throughout the islands, and yet another for retrieval of empty totes. Though functional, the process is anything but efficient.

Solution Offered: By choosing ABF, the company gains a highly efficient process from a single-source solutions provider. ABF Reverse Logistics provides a seamless solution that covers the entire supply chain: transportation to Honolulu, warehousing, distribution, and retrieval. Full totes of the company's chemicals are delivered to a refinery the company operates on the island. Empty totes are retrieved, stored, and shipped back to the mainland for replenishment in a continual process that recaptures lost revenue, improves productivity, and enhances bottom-line performance.

Result: Full totes of chemicals are continuously delivered to the refinery on the island. The empty totes are retrieved and stored in a warehouse before shipment to the mainland for replenishment. ABF professionals deliver the chemicals and transfer them from barrels into the cooling tower units. Since the chemicals are considered hazardous, ABF collaborates on safety training. Warehousing in Hawaii improves both the company's productivity and its customer service. ABF's handling of everything from transportation to warehousing and distribution creates a timely, efficient, and very cost-effective operation.

Case Study # 2

Situation: A national supermarket chain increases sales of non-food items like TVs, DVD players, video recorders, and vacuum cleaners. However, lacking a consistent policy for dealing with reverse logistics, the supermarket chain loses money on the goods and uses valuable storage space to handle returned goods accumulating at the stores.

Solution Offered: The supermarket chain collaborates with ABF Reverse Logistics to develop an end-to-end solution. A new system is developed to audit returned goods. The system enables the company to identify debits and credits, report replenishment inventories, and track product movement. The retailer clears returned products quickly and efficiently and has complete control over whether the products are refurbished, redistributed, resold, or disposed.

Result: The supermarket chain gains an efficient way to manage its returns without interfering with its distribution network. The company knows what products have been returned from which stores and at what cost. Plus, they add the capability to properly classify and direct returned goods in a number of different directions: refurbishment, re-distribution, resale, or disposal. Armed with these options, the chain can increase revenue from returns and free valuable space previously used to store returned product.

Case Study # 3

Situation: A manufacturer with a diverse base of consumer products experiences periodic spikes in returned merchandise. Causing these surges in returns are items specially packaged for sale during specific timeframes, such as holidays and seasonal sales. Although most of the returned products are in saleable condition, all of the items are discarded solely because the packaging has become obsolete.

Solution Offered: The reverse logistics professionals at ABF analyze the situation and develop new procedures. With ABF as its supply-chain partner, the manufacturer captures returned merchandise at specified return centers. All obsolete packaging is removed and all saleable products are repackaged and redistributed for retail sale. Damaged products are either liquidated or disassembled to recapture any functional components for reuse at the manufacturing facilities.

Result: The manufacturer takes control of its supply chain and reduces its consumption of raw materials by 20 percent. Plus, by ensuring that all viable products are placed back into inventory, recovered assets more than offset the traditional costs of returned goods. Productivity and profitability increase markedly.