Your guide to a safe, effective,
compliant product recall
Recall Management:
Survival of the Fittest
Background
Surviving a night stranded in the wild is
hard; surviving a recall may be harder.
Just as many outdoor enthusiasts do
not know necessary survival skills, many
businesses lack the proper understanding
of recall protocol and strategy.
Too often, brands are caught off guard by adverse
events and are forced to hastily take corrective action, opening the door for greater hazards than a
lackluster bottom line.
Top 5 Tips to Survive a Recall
1.Understand the Environment
2.Identify Strengths & Weaknesses
3.Build a Backup Plan
4.Train for the Terrain
5.Learn the Warning Signs
Most would prefer to avoid them entirely, but crises
still happen. Preparation is vital, and it is never too late
or too soon to gain knowledge and expertise. Listed
below are five top tips every brand can implement to
ensure they not only survive a recall, but come out
on top of an unfortunate situation.
Recall Management: Survival of the Fittest
2
Recall Survival Tips
1. Understand the Environment
Much like campers would check the weather forecast
or determine the best hiking trails before leaving on
a weekend trip, companies should be aware of the
factors that influence their products. From industry
standards to regulatory oversight, nearly every product is subject to a range of established rules. Failure
to identify and abide by these expectations can lead
to a recall scenario, irreparable brand damage, and
significant revenue loss.
Recall Management: Survival of the Fittest
Furthermore, comprehensively understanding each
stage of a product’s lifecycle, consumer habits, and
overall purpose is imperative to maintaining compliant
business practices and best protecting consumers. Fully
understanding these qualities will help stakeholders
react should a worst case scenario strike, and potentially avoid one in the first place.
3
Recall Survival Tips
2. Identify Strengths & Weaknesses
Not every outdoor enthusiast is a skilled rock climber;
some only excel at kayaking or fishing. The same is
true of businesses. Capabilities differ widely from one
company to the next. While evaluating a product’s
recall environment, companies must also turn their
attention inward and realistically assess their capacity.
Recalls test each area of operations. Call centers
can be unexpectedly overwhelmed with concerned
Recall Management: Survival of the Fittest
callers, distribution centers can bloat with returned
products, and key team members can be put under
more pressure than ever to maintain regular business
operations – all while also managing a recall.
Proactively determining where strengths and weaknesses lie before a crisis ever occurs will help business
leaders plan to circumvent potential fallout.
4
Recall Survival Tips
3. Build a Backup Plan
Timing is everything. Hikers who take on too much
of a long distance trail at one time face injury and
exhaustion, so they must pace themselves in order to
accomplish their end goal. The same is true of recalls.
When recalls are handled internally, a great deal of
attention must be dedicated to managing the various
processes, leaving little time for key stakeholders to
work toward recovery. And many would agree: it’s
impossible to do it all.
Recall Management: Survival of the Fittest
In the case of a recall, outside assistance is often
necessary. An acute understanding of capabilities will
help companies identify where additional support
is required. Not only does utilizing a third-party for
contact center or product retrieval services alleviate
some of the stress of a recall, it helps ensure regulatory reporting compliance.
5
Recall Survival Tips
4. Train for the Terrain
Just like a family would practice setting up their tent
prior to a night out in the wild, companies must prepare to not only weather a recall, but to execute it successfully. A product’s recall plan should be developed
before it ever reaches the market, and should detail
the regulations and processes involved. Not only will
having a plan in place relieve needless stress should
a recall occur, it best ensures compliant practices and
avoidance of unnecessary missteps.
Recall Management: Survival of the Fittest
Once developed, companies should routinely test
their plan. Ensure everyone who would participate
in an actual recall is included in the mock scenario.
Because internal structure and external partnerships
shift and evolve over time, this testing should take
place every 12 to 18 months. Throughout the testing
process, gaps and potential pitfalls in its procedures
should quickly become apparent, giving all those
involved time to address recall problem areas and
make adjustments before a crisis occurs.
6
Recall Survival Tips
5. Learn the Warning Signs
Many adventurers and recall experts would agree,
survival often comes down to avoiding danger in the
first place. Companies that take every step to defend
themselves from potentially hazardous situations are
those best poised to mitigate product risks, protect
the public, and safeguard their bottom line. It also
preserves brand value and potentially increases business as other companies experience recalls.
Recall Management: Survival of the Fittest
Though it’s impossible to entirely negate the risk of
recall, companies that practice strict compliance with
regulatory guidance can best reduce the chance of
experiencing a crisis. From a company’s CEO to staff
members, constant adherence to established rules
and standards lessens the risk of something going
wrong in the first place.
7
Mapping Out a Strategy
No matter the size of a company
or the popularity of its products,
recalls are a very real, very
commonplace risk.
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
It is for this reason every business should have
a strategy in place that lays out the action plan
should a crisis occur. In addition, every business
must ensure its employees are well-versed in this
recall protocol and fully comprehend the role
they play in mitigating the potential for disaster.
Despite best efforts, however, mistakes do happen. And odds are a recall will eventually occur.
When it strikes, the preparation and training
executed now will help alleviate the need for
hurried, stress-influenced decision making and
needless errors – paving the way for not only
recall survival, but recall success.
Prepare for the inevitability of
a recall
Train employees for their recall
managment roles
Have a recall plan in place
Consult a recall expert
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