RLA Conference 2023

Welcome to RLA’s annual conference! We're in Las Vegas this week, sharing reverse logistics ideas, challenges, and successes among retailers, manufacturers, and third-party service providers.

This year’s record event officially kicked off with a welcome from Tony Sciarrotta and, along with OnProcess Technology , a raffle of a number of goodies.

But, prior to the official welcome, the Women in Reverse Logistics luncheon was held in which Ingrid Sinclair, Global President at Sims Lifecycle Services, was the guest speaker.?

Three years ago, Women Leading @Sims was created to provide women a safe place to come together to talk about work/life balance, training, advancement, the market and more. “Knowing that there were peers out there” was among the feedback the program has received over the years.

Ingrid highlighted the book, How Women Rise, (copies were handed out via a drawing), in which it notes 12 habits holding women back - One of these habits, “The Disease to Please” was discussed in great detail.

Roundtables

The industry roundtable highlighted a number of research projects underway within RLA and from NTT Data. Glenn Richey of Auburn University also joined us and provided a great overview of the university’s supply chain program. Big thanks to Glenn and Auburn for the great interns helping out RLA during the conference!

Within the RLA, we’re working on market sizing, ranking reverse logistics service providers, and collecting market data.?

Our Standards Committee, led by Ron Lembke and Ken Jacobsen, is working on standardized serial numbers to track electronics and other items, benchmarking and education/training programs. Maria Eisenberg, Director at the Circular Economy Federation, a part of RLA, provided an overview of the education/training program that RLA plans to offer soon.

Sylvie Thompson, Consulting Vice President, Supply Chain Practice Leader at NTT Data, provided an overview of the annual 3PL study and its special section on reverse logistics.

The Retail and Manufacturer roundtable discussed such concerns as the economic environment and challenges, including recycling, remanufacturing, and transport and handling of lithium-ion batteries.

In addition, drivers of returns, establishing KPIs, 3PL evaluation and technology were also covered.

The Reception

Our first raffle winner, Syed Fahad Hashmi, won rayband wayfairer sunglasses sponsored by BacTrac. Congratulations!

One of the start-ups, Newmine who will be competing in RLA's startup pitch contest on Thursday along with our Jan Hawthorne.

And finally, the best giveaway award goes to Beumer Group. What's not to love about kangaroos!

The day ended with a sold-out Cell Phones for Soldiers Charity Top Golf event. Thank you all for participating!

Today is a full day of sessions and networking - look for a summary tomorrow morning, but in the meantime, check back on our LinkedIn page and on Twitter for updates throughout the day.

-Cathy