Service Supply Chain, Reverse Supply Chain Testing and Screening

ReSolve offers organizations a comprehensive reverse supply chain testing and screening inspection process to review materials received through the returns process for no trouble found (NTF), no fault found (NFF), and potential warranty returns. Materials are sorted, inspected, and tested to manufacturer specifications to determine if value can be recovered through warranty credits, intelligent redeployment into the service supply chain, or remarketing on the secondary market.

Our experience in reverse supply chain solutions has found significant NTF and NFF rates in product returns. Materials that are tested and meet strict manufacturer specifications are transferred back into the service environment through an organization's service supply chain (not returned to the production environment), thus reducing the need to purchase additional inventory to fulfill service requirements - recovering precious dollars from materials once considered acceptable waste.

Reverse Supply Chain Testing Process

ReSolve utilizes the same hardware and software platforms as leading original device manufacturers for all reverse supply chain testing and screening purposes, applying manufacturer-audited and manufacturer-approved processes for key commodities such as microprocessors, hard disk drives, memory modules, power supplies, and liquid crystal displays (LCDs). All milestones of this process are automated and tied to manufacturer-provided business rules and reference data — guaranteeing nonsubjective results.

Field Returns

Our field return component disposition program includes:

• De-trashing
• Product identification
• Physical inspection
• Functional testing
• Failure analysis
• Warranty determination
• RMA management
• Service supply routing
• Repeat-return management
• Asset recovery
• Recycling processes

We identify each component, provide part substitution logic as necessary (based on market conditions), determine warranty condition for each module tested, and route the modules accordingly. Product is sorted and classified by NTF, IWTY (in warranty), RMA (return material authorization) and OWTY (out of warranty), and scrap/obsolete.

For NTF product, we run repeat-return logic programs to pinpoint and disqualify intermittently failing components and then properly recycle them to industry standards. All data collected is shared with part owners and manufacturers, which allows us to work with various component manufacturers to help improve their manufacturing QA processes.

Quality assurance and engineering reports include:

• Receipt and identification of data
• Failure analysis data tied back to origin
• Incoming volume data tied back to origin
• VRR (verified repeat return) data based on unique identifiers
• Yield data tied back to origin
• CID (customer-induced damage) data tied back to origin
• Multiple data-exchange and quality data-reporting options
• Customized reports as requested by partner

For more information on ReSolve’s reverse supply chain testing and screening services, contact us.