Under its Advanced Hardware Replacement model, Cisco ships replacement equipment to customers prior to receiving the returned damaged parts. With billons of dollars in replacement hardware shipped annually, more customer-friendly and scalable return capabilities were required to address low return rates for a growing global install base. Customer focus groups and satisfaction surveys indicated a need for a fast, easy, and flexible returns process with an emphasis on technology driven, self-service capabilities. Cisco’s innovative approach to address this challenge transformed the task of returns management into a value-added service.
Cisco’s Global Collection Technology suite of customer returns capabilities is a flexible, differentiated returns management solution that supports return scheduling using both traditional peel and stick labels as well as web-based and mobile applications through a single, integrated platform. It provides powerful customer returns history and tracking capabilities through both internal Cisco and global carrier system integration and offers a flexible framework for continued innovation in Cisco’s customer returns strategy.
Global Collection Technology has dramatically boosted return rates, adding more parts back into the supply chain and reducing inventory new-buy. In addition, addressing potential part quality issues more quickly results in fewer faulty parts being sent to customers, in turn resulting in fewer replacement requests, and ultimately, significantly reduced support costs (labor, logistics, repair, etc.).