As companies in the hi-tech and electronics industry work to differentiate themselves, add value to their products and develop new revenue streams, reverse logistics and after sales services are proving to be seen as more valuable tools. To take a closer look at this, Eyefortransport conducted a survey of hi-tech and electronics manufacturers and retailers, as well as transportation solution providers, consultants and academics. The majority of the over 200 respondents represented companies with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion.
The resulting report looks into such questions as how hi-tech companies are incorporating after sales services and reverse logistics into their company strategies, the level of transparency hi-tech companies and solution providers are seeing in their reverse logistics and the level of collaboration they are achieving with their reverse logistics partners.
Key findings of the report were that while such services are a key component to the strategies of both solution providers and hi-tech companies, several key differences were found:
• Collaboration in the supply chain was one area where hi-tech companies and solution providers differed, as 23% of solution provider respondents felt that they had achieved full collaboration with their hi-tech counterparts, whereas only 8% of hi-tech companies felt the same way.
• Hi-tech companies favored much greater transparency than solution providers.
• Solution providers were able to profit from these services far more than their hi-tech counterparts.
• Hi-tech companies were split between seeing their after sales services and reverse logistics as just cost centers to support product sales and as competitive differentiators. Some 5% of hi-tech company respondents were able to use these services towards their profit centers, suggesting that some hi-tech companies are able to generate revenue through after sales services and reverse logistics.
• Both sides were in complete agreement over the ultimate solution they would invest in, were they given the budget—a supply chain monitoring solution—further underlining an apparent disconnect between hi-tech companies and their solution providers in reverse logistics and after sales services.
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