A product recall is a prospect dreaded by most small business owners. It carries with it the possibility of significant damage to the company’s reputation – and if it’s not handled properly, this reputational damage is almost certain.
But while we might not wish to ever have to recall a product, in the real world, where things sometimes don’t go accordingly to plan, the occasional recall is almost inevitable. For this reason, it’s important to make sure the mechanisms are in place to get a product off the market before it goes wrong. In most cases, this will mean hiring a specialist product recall company to handle the disaster before it actually strikes.
But doing this confers a heightened cost – and this cost might not be worthwhile if a product never actually needs to be recalled. Let’s examine some of the reasons we might outsource a product recall, rather than handling it in-house.
Reputational Damage
As we’ve mentioned, the greatest damage inflicted by a product going wrong will be to the company’s reputation. If you’re selling devices which are non-functional, or, even worse, outright dangerous, then a black mark will be put against your name in the minds of many of your customers. But worse than this will be the damage incurred if your company appears to be incompetent or dishonest when it comes to the recall.
Generally speaking, the best sorts of recalls are those which proceed quickly and smoothly. A specialist company will be at an advantage here, as they’ll be able to put out public relations that will communicate to the public how the recall is proceeding – thereby mitigating any reputation damage it might incur.
Experience
Recalling product demands that a number of different skills be brought together simultaneously. In order to get better at performing the recall, it’s necessary for the organisation responsible to examine and analyse their performance, and identify ways in which it might be improved the next time.
Cleary, an in-house recall team has a problem in this respect, as they’ll rarely have the chance to perform a recall, and therefore won’t be able to draw upon the same experience as a dedicated field marketing company which recalls products constantly.
Technology
Specialist companies not only have access to a greater pool of different skills, but to technology which will allow recalls and the like to be performed more easily. Since they specialise in recalls, they’ll be able to invest in developing the right tools – tools which would be beyond the means of non-specialist firms.
For example, a representative from a product recall specialist might be able to consult a central database, using specialised, bespoke software running on tablet computers. They might also use superior technology to keep you updated on the progress of the recall, via your communications medium of choice – whether that be email, SMS, or something entirely different.
No Diverted Resources
One of the most troublesome things about a product recall, which causes many companies to mishandle them, is that they create an enormous amount of work from almost thin air. This work needs to be completed urgently if the recall isn’t to spiral out of control.
If your staffs already have work that they’d like to be getting on with, then they’ll be forced to abandon this work temporarily in order to address the recall. This will cause an enormous slowdown in productivity and knock-on consequences in other parts of the business.
In order to handle this, a business might either hire a large number of temporary staff to address the problem in the short-term without pulling other staff away from their roles. But this might place those performing the audit out of their comfort zones – as they won’t, almost by definition, be as qualified as experienced workers for a dedicated product recall service.
On the other hand, you might set up a dedicated department solely to handle product recalls – but in order to justify such an extravagance, the company would have to be issuing recalls on a regular basis – which is clearly a situation that should ideally be avoided at all costs.
Risk-Mitigation
Finally, we should consider the benefits of making arrangements with a product recall specialist before the recall occurs. This will remove the need for stress and quick-decision making when something does go wrong, as all of the mechanisms to handle the problem will already be in place. Pre-emptive product recall arrangements might therefore be considered a form of insurance, designed to protect the business against short-term shocks.
Daryl Green