On your birthday, you might hear the phrase "Many happy returns", to offer the hope that the happy day will occur many more times.
While we may want this in our personal lives, most businesses don't
like to hear about returns. Rather than a gesture of goodwill, it is usually
a sign of poor product quality, or mistakes in the shipping and distribution
process.
Even though businesses prefer not to have the "problem" of returns,
in our high-tech life of online shopping and centralized distribution with
automated pick-pack and ship routines, it is inevitable that most businesses
will have to deal with returns, repairs and replacement orders at some time
with their customers. Businesses that do the best job of handling these situations
not only generate goodwill with their customers, but also develop rewarding, long-lasting
relationships with them.
Customer advocacy is a trend in business whose time has come. The concept
is quite simple; businesses that put the interests of their customers ahead
of their own interests will have more satisfying (and more profitable) relationships
with their customers.
Managing returns, repairs and replacement orders in a timely, efficient and
cost-effective manner is one way a business can demonstrate its effort
at putting its customers' interests first, and is the key to good customer
service and inventory management.
These goals are usually the driving force behind implementing a Return Material
Authorizations and Repair Tracking (RMA) solution. Unlike the core applications
of your business management system which focus on automating accounting processes,
an RMA module focuses on automating the management process of authorizing
and managing returns, repairs and replacement orders. Organizations who implement
this type of solution gain a competitive advantage by offering improved customer
service, increased productivity of warehouse and accounting staff, and reduced
inventory management costs.
An automated RMA system improves customer service by reducing the time it
takes to process credit notes and/or replacement orders and update inventory
quantities. Through tight integration with your Order Entry and Inventory
Control modules, returned items can be received, inspected and flagged
as complete, and the appropriate accounting documents generated almost
immediately with no re-keying of data.
In addition, RMA provides better control over stock by automatically updating
the quantity of items available for sale when an item is returned. If returned
items will not be put back into stock, RMA can track the inventory movement
between the customer and your organization. You may even wish to identify
product faults for future analysis and track third party repair
agents if repair work is subcontracted. This allows a business to identify
and communicate the status of a return or repair at any
time to its customer.
You can usually create RMAs automatically from the original customer invoice,
or by searching for an item by Serial or Lot number. When you tie the RMA
document to the original invoice, the system will check to make sure that
credit is not offered for more items than were originally sold.
Returned items can also be sent back to the original supplier through a Vendor
Return document that updates the Purchase Orders module.
An RMA system automates repetitive returns
and repairs processes and tracks information about customer and vendor warranties.
However, make sure you also allow for special exceptions for good customers
and/or unique circumstances by authorizing managers in your company to override
system defaults when necessary to accept repairs and returns and provide
top-notch customer service.
If you are struggling to manage the returns and repair process in your business,
an RMA solution can help you improve customer service,
increase productivity of your warehouse and accounting staff, provide better
control, and reduce inventory management costs.
To arrange for a demonstration, or to find out more about what an RMA application
can do for you, contact
Laura Kasman at lkasman@kastechco.com or 215-702-8155.
