【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 ers.ThisphenomenonismuchmoreprevalentintheUnitedStatesthaninothercountries.Inmostothercountries,consumersareencouragedtorepairdamagedproductsoracceptalternativesolutions,suchascontactingthemanufacturerdirectly,insteadofreceivingcashrefundsforreturns.ButintheUnitedStates,Philips(andotherglobalpanies)havetofindwaystostartworkingdifferentlywithretailerssothattheycanreducetheflowofgoodsinthereversesupplychain—especiallythoseproductsthatarenottrulydefective.Ifwedon39。t,theestimatedcostsforbothsidesareenormous.Manufacturer39。sSteps:ImprovingtheOutoftheBoxExperienceBasedonthisresearch,weidentifiedfactorsatthemanufacturing,retail,andservicesupplychainthatwerecontributingtothehighrateofreturnsandlookedforpotentialactionstotaketoalleviatethem.Oneofthemainmessagesofthesurveywasthatitwasn39。tpoorproductqualitythatwasdrivingreturns,buttheplexityoftheproduct.Internally,atPhilips,werecognizedeaseofuseasthenextbarrierforconsumersandbeganworkingtoimprovetheoutofboxexperiencefortheconsumer.WehaveincreasedservicesupportwithWebandcallcenterenhancements,suchasFAQs,hookupdownloads,andfreeproductupgradesforDVDandotherdigitalproducts.Additionally,Philipsisnowincludingstopsheetsintheboxwiththeproduct.Thesesheetsareemblazonedwithastopsignanddirecttheconsumertocontactthemanufacturerfirstbeforetakingtheproductbacktotheretailstore.Alloftheseactionshavehelpedreducereturnsbyencouragingtheconsumertocontactthemanufacturertotrytosolvetheproblem.Philipsisalsoexaminingwaystoincreaselocalorcentraldepotrepairandoffereasyexchangeprograms.Undersuchaprogram,Philipswouldpayretailersorservicersahandlingfeetosendreturnedproductsdirectlybacktous.TheseprogramsmightpossiblyincludeprovidingdropoffcentersforreturnsatplaceslikeStaplesorMailBoxesEtc.orprovidingUPScall/shiptagsforwarrantyservice.Inadditiontotheseefforts,PhilipsjoinedtheEaseofUse(EOU)Roundtable()in2002.TheEaseofUseRoundtableisaPCandconsumerelectronicsindustryassociationmittedtoimprovingtheconsumerexperiencewithhightechproducts.Participantsincludeleadingmanufacturersandretailers.Intelfoundedtheroundtablein1998whenindustrydataindicatedthatthenumbertworeasonpeoplewerenotbuyingPCswasbecausetheyweretoohardtouse.TheEaseofUseRoundtablelooksathowpaniescanbasenewproductcreation,design,andoperabilityonthedesireduserexperienceratherthandevelopingatechnologyandlookingathowtosellitafterwards.Forexample,hightechpaniesmaylookatdesigningprintersandputerssothatawhenaprinterishookeduptoaputer,theputerrecognizesandsetsupthesoftwareneededforittowork.Thisisacplishedthroughusinghumanfactorengineering(HFE)—agrowingdisciplineinthePCandconsumerelectronicsindustries—tocreateInitialExperiencePredictors(IEPs).AnInitialExperiencePredictorisachecklisttoolthatprovidesthedesignteamwithaseriesofquestionsthathelppredictwhatauser39。soutofboxexperiencewithaproductwillbe.TheIEPwasinventedbyIntelandfurtherdevelopedbytheEOURoundtable.Itcanbeusedduringproductdevelopmenttotaketheendconsumer39。sneedsintoaccountwhendesigningtheoperation,packaging,andinstructionsforuseofanewproduct.Doingthisshoulddecreasethenumberofnodefectfoundreturnsaswellasreducingsupportcentercallsandimprovingcustomersatisfaction.Suchimprovementswilladdsignificantlytothebottomlineforallmanufacturers,avoidunnecessaryreturnsatretail,andlowercallcenterandothersupportcostsdrivenbyproductplexity.AllofthiswillhelpexpandthemarketforeasiertousePCandconsumerelectronicsproducts.Yet,whilethereismuchpotentialinusinghumanfactorengineeringandInteractiveExperiencePredictors,roomforimprovementstillexists.Philipshasbegunusingthesetechniquesindesigningitsproductsbutwithvaryingdegreesofsuccess.Whilereturnshavedecreased,wehavefounditdifficulttoaccountfordifferencesinhowconsumersaroundtheglobeapproachelectronicproducts.EOURoundtablemembersalsoparticipateinsettingindustrystandardsforusability.TheEOUalsopublishesguidelinestohelpdevelopmentteamsproducedesignenhancementsthatreducethesetuptimefornewputeroperatingsystems.TheEaseofUseRoundtableguidelinesandwhitepapershavehelpedthehightechindustry,includingPhilips,developandexpandtheuseofquicksetupguidesandreduceoverdesignedowner39。smanuals.Manufacturers,suchasPhilips,thatadopteaseofuseasthenextfrontierbeyondqualitywillwinattheretailandconsumerlevel.RetailerSteps:NewPoliciesandTechnologiesRetailers,fortheirpart,alsohavebeenmakingchangestoreducereturnsandtheirreverselogisticsflow.BasedonPhilipsresearch,someretailershaveimprovedstoresignstoincludeimportantinformation,suchassubscriptionservicefeesandminimumsystemsrequirements,atthepointofsale.RetailersalsoaretrainingtheirsalesassociatestoprovidecustomerswithmoreinformationaboutproductoperationandsubscriptionservicefeesforsuchthingsassatelliteTV.Additionally,inthelasttwoyears,retailershavemadeanefforttogainmorecontrolofreturnsfromconsumers.Someoftheseeffortssimplyinvolveenforcementofpreviouslyexistingreturnpolicies.Manyretailers,suchasBestBuy,nowposttheirreturnpolicyinplainsight.Thesepolicystatemen