What is a Visual Mechanical Inspection & the Importance for SDAs

Are you facing high costs as a result of unnecessary product returns? Accepting returns may keep your customers happy but can lead to inflated costs.

Ingram Micro Lifecycle works with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) globally on returns management programs. Our end-to-end solutions deliver a reduction in return volumes, quicker handling, and higher yields for secondary market sales.

This article will explain what a Visual Mechanical Inspection (VMI) is and how this positively impacts a returns management program for Small Domestic Appliances (SDAs).

Defining Visual Mechanical Inspection

Also known as a Visual Inspection, this process uses visual data to assess the quality and condition of a product. As such, using sensory information requires no specific equipment but intimate knowledge of the product.

A good returns management program for SDAs should put every return through a VMI.

The purpose of a VMI

The inspector, a technician, or a retail member of staff, will look for faulty components that require repair or refurbishment to restore hygiene standards, cosmetics, or functionality, and improve the value of the product. The process also identifies any missing parts or components.

Information gathered through the VMI will determine the condition grade and provide a value for the product's current state.

The technicians receiving and processing these returns must have a clear understanding of the product to identify a flaw. The returns management program will include VMI guidelines for each model with a checklist to follow. To produce this documentation, the returns management partner must learn the product inside and out for the guides to be effective and efficient.

Examples of flaws identified via VMI for SDA returns can include damage to power cables, water damage, and missing accessories.

After a VMI, product returns move onto model-specific functional testing which will further determine the outcome of the exchange or refund.

Why is a VMI important in SDA returns and lowering costs

Up to 30% of products bought online are returned every year. Handling these efficiently can become a burden. Reasons why a VMI is an essential part of a returns program include:

Safety

A visual check of a product determines whether a product is safe to use for functional tests. For example, identifying a damaged power cable averts the risks associated with its further use. The cable can be switched for safer testing.

Routing

Visually noting product damages influences what stages of repair and refurbishment the product requires to restore value and uplift the grade. Effective VMIs will increase the likelihood of recovered products passing quality checks the first time, maximizing potential value recovery for the secondary market. If a VMI determines that a product is beyond economical repair, then it would be routed to parts harvesting.

Warranty eligibility

VMIs assess whether a return meets the requirements for a customer exchange or refund. This has a big impact on the cost of returns as this will determine whether you fund a replacement product or provide money/credit back.

As this can lead to a dissatisfactory customer experience, the records must be able to justify this decision. For example, if you expect Model XYZ in the return, but the customer has sent Model ABC, you have the right to deny a refund or exchange, as the return conditions have not been met. Alternatively, they may have returned an incomplete product which may trigger a partial refund instead of a full refund.

An inefficient VMI can lead to the wrong outcome, impacting costs and customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction

The customer can have a negative experience if they believe the condition of the returned product is not as the VMI finds. It’s imperative that the process is efficient and all returns adhere to the same process for cohesion. These must be accurate as the decision can block refund or replacement outcomes for the customer.

As the VMI is an essential step in processing a returned product, the speed and timeliness of this step will impact customer satisfaction. The longer it takes to determine an outcome of the return for the customer, the less satisfied they will be. The product must move through the process as quickly as possible, minimizing the time the customer is without their product or money.

Accessories

A VMI will walk through a checklist of what accessories and components should be returned with the product. For example, for a vacuum cleaner, this may include different hose and cleaner attachments.

Missing accessories will impact the cost of the product recovery as replacement parts will have to be used. It’s vital to keep a record of what’s included in the product if you’re going to recover value on the secondary market. Including all the accessories will uplift the potential resale value of the product. Your resale customers will be dissatisfied with the product if components are missing that were not declared.

Parts harvesting

Where a product is determined to be beyond economical repair, an assessment of parts and accessories must still be conducted so these can be separated from unusable parts. Those that can be used again can be restored and placed into inventory.

For future repairs and refurbishments, these parts should be used instead of brand-new ones. This improves the sustainability of your returns management as fewer resources and raw materials are used to restore the condition of the used product. You’re instead utilizing used but working parts rather than adding to the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing parts.

Product development

Data harnessed from both VMIs and functional tests can be fed further up the supply chain to inform on common issues experienced with products and improve future models. It can also detect manufacturing flaws, enabling you to be proactive about recalls or forecasting return rates.

Ensure your returns process includes VMI

A Visual Mechanical Inspection is an important step in determining the faults and flaws with a product return, influential in warranty eligibility. It can impact the cost of the return and customer satisfaction in several ways.

Ingram Micro Lifecycle learns a product inside and out to fully educate and prepare our technicians for returns processing. This ensures our solutions are effective and efficient, providing critical insights for the manufacturing supply chain.

Reach out to our team today if you want to discuss how our returns management programs for Small Domestic Appliances can boost recovery yields, reduce turnaround times, and improve your sustainability efforts.