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Known by different names such as After Sales, Reverse Logistics, Returns/Service Management, After Sales Service, and Customer Care, the process of managing products after they have been sold has never received the attention or importance than it truly deserves. Even though after sales is a complex process involving numerous parties in different locations, a very few consider it as a core activity of the company. A greater percentage of companies and organizations continue to consider it as a non-core or low priority area that brings in less revenue for the company or organization.

It is nothing but sheer ignorance on the part of the companies that prompt them to underestimate the true potential of after sales service. Actually, after sales service if managed properly can bring companies the much-needed competitive advantage. Instead of looking at after sales from the perspective of transportation, inventory and warehousing costs, companies should look at it as a value generating process. Properly managed After Sales service can gain companies and organizations market share, reduced after-sales related overheads on products and services sold, and improved customer retention.

The following are some facts that might serve as an eye-opener especially for those companies and organizations that undervalue the importance of after sales service.

·         6% of all items sold are returned (Returns Logistics, 2009)
·         68% of returns have no technical fault (Accenture report, 2007)
·         The average loss related to a return is €19 (Newgistics, 2007)
·         Processing returns costs four times as much as processing the original order
·         An average of one consumer phone call is made per return

Companies and organizations can now leverage their after sales service with the help of eminent market players who specialize in solutions using cloud processes. These solutions help to provide end–to-end control and visibility of the entire after sales process. The following are some of the benefits of these solutions

·         Improved customer satisfaction thanks to online real time order visibility and reduced repair time
·         Being a streamlined  centrally driven process requiring less manual administration, it reduces costs by 10 to 50 percent
·         Reduced lead times by 20 to 50 percent
·         Real time visibility and reporting facilitates increased control over the whole supply chain
·         Significant cost reduction through process automation
·         Total track and trace using one’ own reference identifiers
·         Rapid implementation and deployment