【正文】 orttotheendconsumer.AlllicensedpartnershaveeasyaccesstothedateandplaceofpurchasefromtheSiRASsystem.Becausetheprogramisinstalledinthepointofsaleregistersystemsatmostretailers,costsareminimizedandthemanufacturerspaytheregistrationcostperunit.Agrowingnumberofmanufacturers(primarilyofhighercostgoods)arelicensingthiselectronicregistrationprogram,makingSiRASadefactoindustrystandard.Likemanyothermanufacturers,PhilipshasseenthebenefitsofSiRAS.Forexample,in2000whenPhilipsandanationalretailerplannedaonedaysalesblitzforaproduct,wedecidedtouseSiRAStohelpreduceimproperreturns.Normally,asalesitemofthistypegenerates7to9percentconsumerreturns.Butbyusingtheelectronicregistrationprogram,weendedupwithareturnsrateoflessthan2percent,whichismuchclosertothetruedefectrateofconsumerelectronicsproducts.TheSiRASprogramwassosuccessfulthatPhilipsarrangedtouseelectronicregistrationonanothersalesblitzitemin2001ServicerSteps:RevitalizetheNetworkAthoroughreturnsmanagementprogramwouldnotbepletewithoutanetworkofauthorizedservicecenters,eitherasfullyownedfactorybranchesorindependentchains.WhilePhilipshasalargenumberofauthorizedservicers,ournetworkhasdeclineddramaticallyoverthepastfewyears.Thedeclineinthenumberofservicershaseasthequalityofmostconsumerelectronicshasimproved.Additionally,servicersinthepastderivedasignificantshareoftheirrevenuefrombothwarrantyclaimrepairsandfromaffordable,outofwarrantyrepairsforhighercostproducts.Agrowingnumberofproducts,however,haveturnedintoexchangewarrantyproducts.Thepriceofconsumerelectronicshasdecreasedwhilethespeedofproductupgradeshasincreased.Asaresult,itisoftenmoreeconomicalforconsumerstobuyanewerandbetterproductthantorepairanoutofwarrantyone.Manufacturershavenotbeenabletoincreaserepairratesatthelevelsneededbytheindependentservicerstogrowtheirbusiness.Thegrowthoftheselesseasilyrepaireddigitalproducts,suchasputers,requiresaparadigmshift.Therepairindustryneedstoofferawiderrangeofservicestogrowrevenueandtosupportmanufacturers39。effortstoreducetheflowofnondefectivereturns.SomeservicersnowperformadditionalactivitiesforPhilips,suchasproductplugandplaytestingofreturnedproductsorinspectionprogramsatselectedretailers.Servicersalsohavebeguntoworkwithretailersandmanufacturerstoprovideinstallationassistanceforcustomersofplexelectronicproducts,suchashometheatresystemsandlargescreenTVs.Theneedforthistypeofserviceisgrowingbecausehomedeliverybusinessisincreasingbutcarriersarenotabletoprovideinstallationexpertise.Inaddition,servicerscanworkwithmanufacturerstoanalyzeaproduct39。squality,firstfailureofnewmodels,andconsumeroperationalissues.Thiscollaborativeeffortenpassesnotonlyprovidingimmediatefeedbacktothemanufacturerontheseissuesbutalsoidentifyingkeyproblemsfornewmodelsjustreleasedintothemarketplace.Philipshasbegunworkingwithservicerstoprovidethissortofanalysisandislookingtoexpandtheseeffortsintomoreproductcategories.Theservicerscanalsohelpmanufacturersprovideasamedayresponseprogramtorepairhighpricedproductsintheconsumer39。shomeandpreventacostlyproductreturn.Theyalsocanoffertohandlethemanufacturers39。exchangewarrantyproducts.Thismightinvolveanadvanceswapprogram,wherethemanufacturershipsreplacementunitstotheservicerbeforethedefectiveunitsactuallyarrivebackatthemanufacturer39。sfacility.Byofferingalltheseprograms,theserviceprovidercouldbeeaonestopshopforhandlingamanufacturer39。sreturns.Servicerscanandwillactasathirdpartyintermediaryforinspections,fieldscrap,andclaimsreconciliationinthereturnsarena.Butalloftheseactivitiesrequirerevitalizingtheservicenetworktofocusonpreventinghightechproductsfrommovingbacktomanufacturersinthereversesupplychain.Expandingsuchaproactiveservicenetworkwouldbebeneficial,aspaniescannolongeraffordtofocussolelyonreverselogisticstominimizereturns.Reverselogisticsisgenerallyconcernedwithprovidingthelowestcostmovementofgoodsbacktomanufacturers.Aservicer,however,canaddvaluebystoppingthereturnandenhancingcustomersatisfaction.Thistypeofservicewouldbeparticularlyusefulforhighpriceddigitalelectronicsthathaverapidpriceerosion,suchasputers.Additionally,therightservicesupportcanbuildbrandloyaltywithretailersandconsumers.Ultimately,wellstructuredserviceprogramsnotonlywillreducecostsaswellasthemostefficientreverselogisticssystembutalsowillprovideadditionalbenefitstoconsumerelectronicsmanufacturers.Philipsiscurrentlyinthemidstoftransformingitsservicenetworktoprovidethesehighvalueservicestotheendcustomer.TheResultsTheresultsofallofthesereturnsreductioninitiativesoverthelastfiveyearshavebeensignificantforPhilips.Thefirsttwoyears(19992000),whenPhilipsstillhadadividedreturnsgroupandmultipleareasofaccountability,thepanywasabovetheconsumerelectronicsindustryratesfordefectivereturns.Thenexttwoyears(20012002),weusedenforcementofthePhilipsreturnspolicyandgatekeepingeffortstobringthereturnratestoindustrylevel.In2003,weaddedseveralreturnsinitiatives,includingexpandeduseofelectronicregistrationandfieldservicetorepairproductsinthehomeaswellasimprovementsineaseofuse.With