Annibal Sodero

Tony Sciarrotta, Former Directory of Asset Recovery, Philips Consumer Lifestyle
Dr. Annibal C. Sodero, Assistant Professor, Department of Supply Chain Management, University of Arkansas
Rubina Farooq, Director, Customer Operations, LG Electronics

Making sure that a customer has the right expectations and understands a product’s capabilities is crucial. Whether it’s an air conditioner that can only cool a certain size room or a tv that will only deliver top notch sound with a soundbar, there often seems to be an expectations gap. How do we close that? How important is the box in communicating the true capabilities of a product? Consumer education is a multichannel process, involving face-to-face interaction in a physical store, phone support and web resources – i.e., FAQs and product videos – that help consumers make more informed purchase decisions and drive down returns. Learn what strategies are being employed by industry leaders:

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Obtaining a comprehensive view of social media
feedback (blogs, Facebook, Twitter) to drive better
customer service: Identifying user experience hiccups

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Utilizing – and building awareness of - diagnostic
applications to resolve customer issues with purchases
categories vs. mature product categories

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Educating your employees on specific products to ensure
that they are able to address customer concerns prior to
the sale

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Informing the customer about support options so they
turn to those when experiencing difficulty, rather than returning an item out of frustration
o Online tutorials & chat
o Call center support with special attention to first-time
customer contact (priority handling)

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Home appliance strategies: Taking a proactive approach
to ensure a product will work in a customer’s home and
that it will be deliverable

Chuck Johnston, Director of Repair and Returns, The Home Depot
Dr. Annibal C. Sodero, Assistant Professor, Department of Supply Chain Management, University of Arkansas
Jeremy L. McClain, Senior Director, Reverse Flows and Supply Chain Inventory, Best Buy
Kristin Secreto, Vice President & General Manager, InComm Product Control

Omnichannel is an evolution of multichannel retailing. It is focused on a seamless customer experience across all channels - dotcom, brick and mortar, mobile, call center, etc.- in all transactions and interactions with a retail brand. Customers want a seamless shopping and return
experience. Nothing annoys them more than buying an item online and being restricted or challenged in returning an item to a physical store. In this sense, mastery of omnichannel will be key to retaining customers. There are a multitude of challenges these integrated experiences
bring to retailers and suppliers alike in the areas of inventory assortment and management, order fulfillment, policy management, promotions strategy management, and more. This panel discusses:

• Driving seamless integration of the online and store network: Ensuring that your customers see you as one system rather than multiple channels with separate inventory, delivery and returns practices.
• Inventory management challenges: When an algorithm decides that a buy online, deliver from store order makes sense to clear excess inventory, how do you handle that product coming back to you?
• Best practices for consumer returns management and return to vendor (RTV) management

Dr. Annibal C. Sodero, Assistant Professor, Department of Supply Chain Management, University of Arkansas
Jeremy L. McClain, Senior Director, Reverse Flows and Supply Chain Inventory, Best Buy
Troy Kubat, Senior Director, Specialty & Reverse Logistics, Walmart
Roy Garcia, Associate Director, Reverse Logistics, Verizon Wireless

Is there enough communication between your forward and reverse supply chain teams? Many organizations see a gap that must be filled. How do we align forward and reverse strategy?