(1) Establish a recall management organization and clarify the responsibilities of each department.
To implement recall management, enterprises must set up a recall committee (or recall management team) to be fully responsible for the whole process of recall. Members of the committee should include the persons in charge of logistics, production, quality, customer service, finance, law, public relations, product research and development, marketing and information systems, and sometimes senior leaders of the company should also attend. The recall committee shall designate a recall coordinator as the person in charge. Large enterprises must also determine the centralized content of the recall Committee to decide the organizational form of centralization, decentralization or the combination of centralization and decentralization. The recall committee must clarify the tasks and responsibilities of all employees in the recall).
(2) Strengthen safety management.
Safety management and quality management are both related and different. Safety management is not to set higher quality standards, but to take all measures to foresee and reduce the risk of potential product defects in the process of designing, manufacturing and selling new products. One of the measures to strengthen safety management is to formulate effective safety inspection procedures, such as HACCP used in food industry, which can help enterprises find the key points where biological, physical and chemical hazards may occur in the process of food manufacturing and sales, and then take preventive measures at each key point to reduce the probability of hazards. Strict factory inspection of products is another important measure to strengthen safety management, which provides enterprises with the first time to find the defects in actual use of products. At this stage, because the products have not been widely circulated, the cost of correcting defects is relatively low.
(3) Develop and maintain effective communication channels with consumers and middlemen.
Enterprises need to establish and maintain effective communication channels with end consumers, middlemen, maintenance stations and customer service departments, on the one hand, they can get in touch with them in time when needed; On the other hand, information such as product use, product maintenance, product return and consumer comments can be obtained through communication. Ford Motor Company regards this information as an important part of its recall warning system to help it find safety problems.
(4) Establish product and customer database.
An effective product database can track products in batches, so that we can determine which products should be recalled and whether they have been sold in time by product model, production batch, serial number and production date. A good customer database can enable enterprises to quickly find the current users of defective products. Product defect information of enterprises is mainly obtained through the following channels: enterprise quality management records, consumer complaints, media reports, announcements of government management departments, maintenance records of maintenance stations, etc. When the enterprise thinks that there may be product defects, it must make a decision whether to recall them.
A key procedure in the decision-making process of recall is to evaluate the hazard risk of product defects, which is the basis for determining the recall speed and method (labeling products with warning, repair, replacement or refund). In countries where the management system of defective products is relatively perfect, the government management departments have classified the related hazard risks, such as the hazard classification standard of the Consumer Product Safety Management Committee (CPSC) in the United States, which divides the possible hazards of products into three levels: A-level hazards-that is, the products may cause death or serious injury or disease; Class B hazard-refers to the fact that the product is unlikely to cause death or serious injury or disease, but it may still cause death or serious injury or disease; C-level hazard-refers to the possibility that the product causes death or serious injury or disease is very small, and the possibility of causing poisoning injury or disease is also very small, but this possibility is not completely non-existent. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) divides the recall into three similar levels. These hazard risk classification methods provide reference for enterprises to carry out product defect hazard risk. When enterprises decide to recall defective products, they should follow the established recall plan. The recall plan shall explain how to implement the recall from the following aspects.
(1) recall budget.
Enterprises must budget the expenses caused by the recall, which are divided into direct expenses and indirect expenses.
(2) notify the recall.
The recalled enterprise needs to inform wholesalers, retailers, service centers and consumers of the recall. The information to be informed includes: the recall procedure adopted, how to identify the defective product, the nature of the defect, the severity of the hazard, the quantity of the defective product, the contact information between the user of the defective product and the enterprise, the time and place of the recall, etc. In addition to publishing the recall notice on newspapers and websites stipulated by the government management department, the notification method can also be used by letters and telegrams.
(3) Take back the defective products.
When enterprises recycle defective products, the difficulty of product recycling in different links is different. In-process, manufacturer's products, finished goods inventory, products in transit to middlemen (wholesalers and retailers), inventory products of middlemen (wholesalers and retailers) and products sold by manufacturers through direct sales are easier to recover; Products sold in recent years and recorded by manufacturers are relatively difficult to recycle; Products sold in recent years but not recorded by manufacturers or products sold for more than five years, products sold to wholesalers and retailers of other enterprises, products resold and products exported abroad are the most difficult to recover.
(4) Ensure timely maintenance or replacement.
The recalled enterprise shall establish clear maintenance or replacement procedures for the recalled products. Consumers can choose to mail the product directly to the maintenance department or send it to the seller of the product. If the product is modular or easy to assemble, enterprises can attach detailed installation instructions to the parts that need to be replaced before sending the product to consumers. No matter what procedures are adopted, enterprises should improve the ability of their service and maintenance teams to deal with defective products. When a large number of defective products need to be handled, enterprises can outsource this work or temporarily transfer employees from other departments. Enterprises should realize that the end of product maintenance does not mean the end of recall. Restoring the company's reputation and evaluating the recall effect are two important tasks of recall result management.
(1) Restore the corporate reputation.
In order to restore reputation, enterprises should do the following: analyze the causes of defects and take measures to ensure that the same defects will not lead to new recalls; Assign new serial numbers, product models, style packages and colors to new products to prevent confusion between products that need to be recalled, maintenance products and new products that meet safety standards; Increase advertising and tell consumers that product defects have been corrected.
(2) Evaluate the recall effect.
The effect of product recall can be measured by recall completion rate and customer satisfaction.
The recall completion rate is the most commonly used index to evaluate the recall effect, which refers to the percentage of the number of defective products recovered to the number of defective products still in use. Relevant foreign data show that the recall completion rate in most recall events is very low. For example, CPSC claims that the recall completion rate is usually 2% ~ 50%, and the average completion rate of 1 1% of the 76 recalls that CPSC participated in. The recall completion rate can be decomposed into two indicators: the seller's recall completion rate and the final consumer's recall completion rate, which are collectively called the sales channel recall completion rate. The relationship between the above indicators is: recall completion rate: seller recall completion rate × final consumer recall completion rate.
Customer satisfaction is also one of the indicators to measure the recall effect. The factors that need to be considered in investigating this index are: hotline waiting time, parts replacement time, customer satisfaction with recall procedures, customer satisfaction with finished products, etc.
Finally, enterprises can evaluate their recall procedures through the recall list. The list lists the problems related to the recall procedure. By answering these questions, we can find the links that need to be improved, evaluate the work of recall participants and evaluate the recall ability of enterprises. The recall review can be completed by the recall coordinator, the recall committee or an independent consulting organization. China recall system
Since the birth of the first product recall system in China in 2004, many enterprises have recalled a large number of defective products from the market and consumers every year. This move is conducive to protecting the legitimate interests of consumers.
The current consumer rights protection system in China is mainly the product quality law of People's Republic of China (PRC), the consumer rights protection law, the civil compensation system in the Civil Law and the product "three guarantees" system implemented by administrative means in 1988.
Although the above-mentioned laws and regulations in China provide consumers with weapons to protect their rights, the relevant contents of defective product recall are general, too general and lack of operability. For example, Article 26 of People's Republic of China (PRC) Product Quality Law clearly stipulates: "Producers should be responsible for the quality of the products they produce." Article 18 of the Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests clearly stipulates: "If an operator finds that the goods or services provided by him are seriously defective, even if the goods or services are used correctly, it may still cause harm to personal and property safety, he shall immediately report to the relevant administrative department and inform the consumers, and take measures to prevent the occurrence of harm."
Although these laws and regulations in China, like the product recall system, are designed to protect consumers' personal and property interests, there are obvious differences between them. According to China's laws and regulations, a product will only be treated if it causes harm. In China, the treatment of defective products, such as quality problems or unqualified products, mainly takes the injured consumers to claim compensation from sellers or producers through judicial procedures on the grounds of breach of contract or infringement. For mass-produced defective products, which have caused a lot of personal and property damage to consumers, how the administrative organs manage and punish them to promote enterprises to improve and make up for product defects is still a weak link. After the implementation of the defective product recall system, as long as a batch of products are found to have quality problems, which may cause harm to consumers, enterprises have the obligation to recall or destroy the products. Obviously, the product recall system has the function of "nip in the bud" and has obvious advantages compared with the passive protection of the Consumer Protection Law. There are at least a dozen bills related to the "product recall system" in the United States, which have strict regulations on the details of product recall. However, there is no national bill in China, and only Shanghai passed the Regulations on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests in Shanghai in June 2002. Article 33 of the third chapter of the Regulations clearly stipulates: "If an operator finds that the goods or services provided by him are seriously defective, even if the goods or services are used correctly, it may still cause harm to the personal and property safety of consumers, and shall immediately stop selling the goods or providing the services; If the goods have been sold, emergency measures should be taken to inform consumers, recall the goods for repair, replacement or destruction, and report to the relevant administrative departments and industry associations. " The regulation also stipulates: "The relevant administrative departments shall require business operators to immediately stop selling goods or services that have serious defects and may cause harm to consumers' personal and property safety, and take recall measures for the sold goods. "This is an extremely useful attempt to fill the gap in domestic legislation in this regard.
In 2003, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine decided to take back the plugs and sockets with serious quality problems in the second quarter of the national supervision and spot check. According to the requirements, consumers who have purchased relevant unqualified plugs and sockets can return them to shopping malls or manufacturers. This is the first time that a product has been forcibly recalled in the name of our country, which indicates that the relevant administrative departments of our country have strengthened market supervision over products involving personal and property safety, especially inferior products. State supervision is very necessary, but due to the limitations of human and material resources, the scope of such supervision will be affected to some extent.
After four years and ten discussions, the Regulations on the Management of Defective Automobile Product Recall jointly formulated by AQSIQ, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs finally surfaced on March, 2004 15 Consumer Rights Day. This is the first product recall system in China with defective cars as the pilot, marking the further standardization and maturity of the automobile consumption market in China.
However, there are still many problems in this provision, which need to be improved, such as; The subject of law enforcement is unknown, there are too few supporting laws and regulations, and the punishment is not heavy enough. In addition, in some countries with mature automobile industry, the automobile recall system often appears in the form of national laws, which are very authoritative and binding, such as the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Law of the United States and the Road Transport Vehicle Law of Japan. However, China's Regulations on the Management of Defective Automobile Product Recall, as the rules and regulations of state organs and departments, is not a strict law and cannot have legal effect on other departments, which also makes the relevant certification system lack of legal basis.
American recall system
The United States is the first country to implement product recall in the world and has established a relatively mature product recall system.
The product recall in the United States began at 1966. At that time, according to the national traffic and motor vehicle safety law, the American automobile industry clearly stipulated that automobile manufacturers were obliged to recall defective cars. 1972, the United States promulgated the Consumer Product Safety Act, which authorized the Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall defective products, marking the formal establishment of the defective product recall system. Since then, the United States has introduced the defective product recall system in a number of product safety and public health legislation, and the scope of recall has also expanded to almost all products that may cause harm to consumers. Defective product recall system has become a common means of product quality management and government economic regulation in the United States.
There are six government agencies responsible for product recalls in the United States, which are responsible for products in different fields. They are: (1) American Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is mainly responsible for the recall of general consumer goods; (2) The US Food and Drug Administration is mainly responsible for recalling foods, medicines, cosmetics and medical devices other than meat, poultry and eggs; (3) The Food Safety Inspection Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture is mainly responsible for the recall of meat, poultry and eggs; (4) The US Environmental Protection Agency is mainly responsible for recalling products that may cause damage or pollution to the environment, such as motor vehicles and pesticides; (5) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is mainly responsible for supervising the recall of automobiles, child safety seats, motorcycles and related equipment, tires and other products; (6) The US Coast Guard is mainly responsible for supervising the recall of recreational boats, boats and their supporting products.
Overview of the recall of the consumer product safety commission in the United States
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent government agency authorized by law and directly responsible to Congress. Mainly responsible for the monitoring and recall of general consumer goods to protect consumers and their families from fire, electricity, chemical and mechanical dangers caused by consumer goods and possible dangers to children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States monitors more than 15000 products, which roughly includes six categories: toys, children's products (excluding toys) (these two categories are often combined into one category), household products, outdoor products, sports and entertainment products, and professional products. The key monitoring objects include toys, cribs, clothing, household appliances, power tools, lamps, lighting, furniture and other daily necessities. Up to now, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued more than 4,000 recalled products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States directly faces enterprises and consumers, accepts consumer complaints, and advises manufacturers and distributors to recall defective products and provide assistance according to the complaints.
The main legal basis for the recall by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission is the Consumer Product Safety Act and the Child Safety Protection Act. In addition, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission often cites the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Toxic Substances Protection and Packaging Act (PPPA), the Flammable Fabric Act and the Refrigerator Safety Act. According to the estimation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States, the casualties and property losses caused by consumer product accidents in the United States cost the country more than 700 billion dollars every year, and such accidents can be reduced by more than 30% every year through measures such as the recall of the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States.
Consumer Product Safety Commission recall procedure?
The general steps of American consumer product recall include: defect report or complaint, preliminary hazard assessment, product defect identification, recall confirmation and recall plan formulation, recall information release, recall implementation, acceptance and termination. In addition, in the case of voluntary declaration by enterprises, summary procedures can also be initiated.
1. Reports or complaints about product defects
In most cases, the company's report or consumer's complaint is the first step to start the recall procedure. Of course, only some reports or complaints can enter the next step. According to part 15(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Law, when manufacturers, importers, distributors or retailers find that the consumer products they produce or operate do not meet the requirements of consumer product safety regulations or mandatory standards, or have defects that may cause unreasonable risks to consumers, and do not meet the voluntary standards listed in some consumer product safety laws, they should submit a problem report to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission within 24 hours of mastering the situation. If the enterprise is still investigating the potential hazards or product defects of the product, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission also encourages the enterprise to report to the local agency of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission as soon as possible. In addition, if the enterprise is involved in the lawsuit because of the product quality, the enterprise is also obliged to make a written explanation to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission before the lawsuit ends. When consumers complain about products, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission may also require enterprises to explain and submit a written report. The Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States provides consumers with various channels to complain about products, such as internet, letters, telephone and fax. In addition, the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States will conduct random market inspections from time to time, and when unqualified products are detected, it can also enter the next procedure.
2. Preliminary risk assessment
After receiving the report or complaint, the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States will preliminarily evaluate whether the product has "substantial product hazards" as the basis for whether it needs to enter the next appraisal procedure.
3. Product defect identification
The identification of product defects is the key to determine whether the product needs to be recalled. The product defect identification experts of the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States should not only identify whether the product meets the requirements of relevant laws and standards, but also weigh the following factors:
(1) defect type. Product defects may exist in product design, manufacturing, materials, product structure, contents, coating, packaging, warning signs, product description and other links. Experts should first determine the types of product defects to analyze whether they may cause substantial damage to consumers;
(2) Sales volume of defective products. The more products in circulation, the greater the probability of injury accidents; But if the number of defective products is small, the possibility of injury will be reduced;
(3) the severity of the danger;
(4) The probability of injury and others. Including the analysis of accidents that have happened and the prediction of possible accidents.
According to the degree of product hazards, the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States classifies the hazards into A, B and C 3 levels. No matter what degree of damage, it is considered that there is "substantial product damage", and corrective measures and certain remedial measures are needed.
4. Confirmation of recall and formulation of recall plan
Once the recall is confirmed, the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States will immediately notify the relevant enterprises and ask them to quickly formulate a comprehensive, detailed and feasible written recall plan. Its staff will directly guide the enterprise to complete every detail of the recall plan, such as how to release the recall information and what remedial measures to take.
5. Release of recall information
There are many ways to release recall information, and the most commonly used is online announcement. In addition, TV news, posters, radio and newspaper announcements and direct notices from dealers/retailers/consumers are often used. The Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States also has certain requirements on the content and format of the recall notice, such as product name, quantity, description and possible hazards, and posters also require eye-catching "recall" or "safety warning" and product pictures. Under normal circumstances, enterprises should first submit the information release draft to the staff of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission for review. The notice posted on the website of the Consumer Product Safety Commission is generally written by its staff and published in the name of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the enterprise.
6. Implement a recall
The specific contents of implementing the recall include product recovery, correction and remedial measures. The recall is implemented by the enterprise and supervised by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Detailed recall records of enterprises in the implementation process are an important basis for the acceptance of recalls.
7. Acceptance and termination of recall
Generally speaking, recall does not mean that all products can be recycled. When the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States believes that the enterprise has taken active and effective measures to minimize the risk of harm caused by defective consumer goods to the public, it can confirm the end of the recall.
In addition to the normal recall procedure, the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States has also introduced a fast-track recall, that is, if an enterprise actively reports the potential defects of its products to the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States and actively cooperates with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to submit and implement a recall plan that meets the requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States within the next 20 working days, the staff of the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States shall not draw the conclusion of "substantial product hazards". Directly confirming the recall, releasing information and implementing remedial measures greatly simplifies the recall procedure, and enables enterprises and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to start the "corrective measures" plan earlier and reduce possible damage. Recall fast track is a way for the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States to encourage enterprises to be honest and self-disciplined and improve work efficiency.
Characteristics of the recall by the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States
1. The recall is "voluntary" in form, but actually mandatory. In the recall announcement, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and the manufacturer are the main bodies of the recall, * announcing a "voluntary" recall. In fact, "voluntary certification and mandatory recall" is the principle, that is, products are tested and certified by independent non-governmental organizations before entering the market, and the responsibility is entirely borne by enterprises. The entry threshold is not too high, but the control after entry is extremely strict. Once it is confirmed that the products on the market do not meet the relevant laws or standards, they will be banned and recalled immediately. This is just "loosening first and then tightening".
2. Product recall is not based on the occurrence of damage accidents. The Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States relies on its own technicians and third-party laboratories to test and identify various products, conduct market sampling, or test designated commodities due to consumer complaints. Products from enterprises or places of origin that have had problems before are easy to become the focus of spot checks. As long as it is detected that the product quality does not conform to the relevant laws and regulations, it is possible to notify the product recall to "prevent the occurrence of injury accidents". The relevant safety technical regulations and standards in the United States are meticulous and strict, such as the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, the Flammable Fabric Act, the Refrigerator Safety Act and the standards on lighter safety that are still being formulated. For China enterprises that want to firmly occupy the American market, they should not be negligent just because their products have been certified by the United States. It is a safe policy to ensure that the product quality meets the requirements of these technical regulations and standards. Many recalled China products were notified before any damage accidents occurred. In other words, these products are only considered to have the possibility of damage/injury, and whether these American laws and standards are fair or not is another matter. For example, the child lock regulation of lighters in China is discriminatory. The Consumer Product Safety Commission of the United States has to admit that it is not the fundamental solution to install child locks on lighters, but it is the safe solution to keep children away from lighters.
3. Once the product is recalled, it will be traced back to the time when the defective product was sold, and all the circulating defective products will be included in the recall scope. When making a recall plan, an important task is to confirm the market distribution and consumer groups (including quantity, group and geographical distribution) of defective products, so as to determine the release method of recall information, ensure that all consumers can get recall information as soon as possible, and thus recover defective products as soon as possible.
The recall means that some remedial measures must be taken. Generally speaking, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission requires consumers to stop using the product in the recall notice to prevent damage. At the same time, consumers are required to take the initiative to contact the seller or the local agency of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission in order to get a refund, fulfill the exchange procedures or carry out appropriate maintenance on the products. For enterprises, recall means great losses.
summary
The product recall system in the United States focuses on ensuring product quality and safeguarding consumers' rights and interests, and is regulated by a large number of legislation and related technical standards. The system is complex and the procedures are rigorous, which can be seen from the recall of general consumer goods. In order to ensure the operation of the recall system (such as a large number of reviews, frequent market sampling, etc.). ), the US government has also invested a lot of manpower and material resources. In addition, the strong self-protection consciousness of American consumers and the mutual promotion of quality consciousness of manufacturers and the recall mechanism are also one of the reasons for the efficient operation of the system.
At least several aspects of the recall system in the United States are worth learning: (1) The legal system is perfect and the product coverage is comprehensive; (2) The management institutions are diversified, connected with the existing administrative institutions, and have special management institutions to facilitate management according to product categories; (3) Detailed and practical regulations, especially the provision of fast access, can simplify procedures and improve efficiency; (4) The recall system supplements consumers' awareness of quality and rights protection, which is conducive to building the quality awareness of the whole society and the environment for consumers to protect rights; (5) The recall system is an "after-the-fact" remedy, and the United States is also aware of its own shortcomings, so it advocates enterprise self-discipline and nip in the bud.
It is imperative to fully implement the recall system, maintain China's market order and protect consumers' rights and interests. It has been more than two years since China promulgated the Regulations on Automobile Recall in March 2004, but the recall system has not been fully established, the coverage of recalled products needs to be broadened, and the efficiency of the system needs to be improved.
It is worth noting that because the relevant standards in the United States are stricter than those in China (such as the safety requirements for toys), the recall system has also created obstacles for products from developing countries such as China to be exported to the United States. In 2004, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 1 18 products involving China, accounting for about 1/3 of the total number of recalls. For us, studying the recall system in the United States has a strong reference function on the one hand, and a strong guiding significance for us to deal with trade barriers and ensure the smooth export of products on the other hand.