Practical advice rather than flashy slideshows

Strategic Consultancy firms assist their customers in developing high level directions and strategies to cope with the challenges associated with changing environments. Over the years we have experienced that the translation of these high level, often global, strategies into operational roll-out appears to be a major hurdle. ReturnPool is specialized in translation of the high-level (reverse) logistics strategies into practical operational solutions. So we offer hands-on operational consultancy rather than flashy slideshows in the Boardroom.

In our experience, the “devil is in the detail” ; the Strategic Consultants lack detailed experience/knowledge on the more detailed and operational procedures on work-floor level. Country specific requirements which potentially conflict with the global direction should be studied in detail and evaluations should be made if these should be part of the strategy. Based on our hands-on experience, ReturnPool is able to make these detailed analyses and give the associated operational advice. This can range from guidance on global masterdata management, to methods of systems integration and assistance in operational partner selection and definition of Key Performance Indicators.

Companies that are about to implement a revised service/logistics strategy are likely to lack an experienced internal project management organization to do so, as this is not one of their common daily tasks. ReturnPool is able to provide you with operational consultancy, practical advice on process modification and optimization and implementation thereof. This often involves a “change management” rather than a simple “roll-out” approach in order to achieve full organizational alignment with the new business processes. Over the past years we have implemented solutions in over 35 countries supporting millions of transactions in the (reverse) logistics area.

Based on many years of practical experience we have created our own methodology around process analysis and improvement. Whether it is the assessment of processes in a local facility or the review of the overall (forward and/or reverse) supply chain, in our experience realistic opportunities for improvement can always be identified.

The aim can either be to further optimize the existing processes by taking out inefficiencies or to adapt the current processes to a new, for example global, strategy.

In either case we map the current “as is” situation in detail after consulting the main stakeholders and doing site visits (if applicable) to observe and learn the existing ways of working. Our detailed process maps highlight the inefficiencies and related opportunities for improvement: Use of spreadsheets, double data entry, redundant data entry, people not knowing why they are doing what they are doing or what the impact of their role is in the overall process. The outcome of our approach is a practical advice on how to improve the process and a proposal on how we can assist you in effectively implementing this solution.

Based on worldwide experience with leading companies in the high-tech industry, we have positioned ourselves in the gap between strategic consultancy firms and system providers. The combination of our skills in operational consultancy, detailed process engineering and rapid application development allows ReturnPool to act as an independent partner to make your service strategy happen.

The demand for increased efficiency in the (reverse) supply chain is continuously growing. Our experienced international team is well-positioned to enable you to optimize your (reverse) logistics infrastructure in this rapidly changing environment. Our specialism is on process and operational consultancy whereby we advocate a pragmatic approach.