Industry Spotlight

RMA Service in the Heart of Europe

Reverse Logistics Magazine, Fall 2006

During the June 2006 trip to Amsterdam, Gailen Vick, President of Reverse Logistics Association, had the opportunity to visit multi-event participant and long-time RLA supporter FRS. The company has been operating for almost 25 years as a leading provider of repair, logistic and distribution facilities for the ICT and Electronics industries. The Almere facility is located not far from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and situated in an area of Europe that is key to efficiently carrying out its many service activities.

Hosted by Hans Cohen Rodrigues, CEO, and Dick van der Vuurst, General Manager, Gailen was guided through the Amsterdam facility and was impressed by the process volume of more than 10,000 items every month.

Dick pointed out the sophisticated tracking system FRS uses for RMA handling and technical support. Upon arrival at the receiving area, each product is entered into the system and is bar-coded for internal tracking and tracing.

Dick also led Gailen through the various areas of the technical department where customer products are repaired.

First, they saw the Optical Repair line where for more than 15 years products such as CD, DVD and combination drives have been repaired. Next, Gailen was shown the station where Point of Sales terminals are refurbished and tested, followed by the station where FRS repairs and refurbishes laser printers and, finally, the station that handles LCD and Plasma Display repairs.

Concluding the tour, Dick showed Gailen around the shipping area.

FRS recognizes that reporting is a very important part of the whole process and Hans demonstrated how FRS has set up a wide range of web-based reporting options for its customer base. Customers can track the progress of their products and receive the current status of repair processing.

Quick Facts about FRS:

Service provider targeting OEMs, Computer Manufacturers, Distributors and Field Service/Depot Repair Centers.
Support includes assembly, repair, distribution and logistic services.
Provides advance exchange (next day delivery) throughout Europe.
Administers various forms of warranty claims of end users, dealers, service organisations and computer manufacturers (RMA-procedures).
Experienced with end-of-life support, including the transfer of non-profitable repair lines.
Experienced in Assembly, Rework and Engineering changes.
Repair/logistic services include, but are not limited to, the following products:
- Notebooks, PCs
- LCD TVs, Plasma Displays
- HDD, Storage Products
- Laser Beam Printers
- Optical Drives
- Modems
- Communication Products
- Electronic Boards
- POS systems