The food and FMCG industries face many problems. Margins
are tight, but there are constant pressures from customers, regulators
and consumers. Expectations for product
quality and safety are higher than ever before. Incidents and problems
can arise in many ways: sometimes not through the fault of the company
itself.
There are several hundred product recalls or withdrawals
each year in the UK alone. Most of these are not made public; many are
for 'trivial' reasons - et each one costs money. A serious product quality
problem can be disastrous to a company if it is not properly handled.
The direct costs are high; the indirect damage to brand values, and relationships
with major customers, can be even higher.
Yet this is still a 'grey area' for most companies. Few
have regular experience of handling major recalls. (Those who do tend
to go out of business....) Management may never have handled these problems
before: it can be difficult to assess a situation, or to realise when
action is advisable and when not.
Even companies who are well prepared are often operating
in the dark. Companies (understandably) do not publicise their
problems or the costs they have incurred. But it is difficult to assess
the risks, or to plan ahead, without any reliable industry-wide data.
How do you resource a risk that cannot be reliably quantified? How do
you know when to stop a recall? How do you estimate the costs?
Consultancy advice
can give you a third party view on your own vulnerability levels. Each
year a small number of companies are bankrupted by major recalls, or
driven to 'fire sale' disposals. We can help to reassure you and your
stakeholders that you have considered the full implications of product
quality responsibility. We can also help you to prepare, or audit, product
recall and incident management plans.We are currently conducting our third annual statistical
survey of UK companies, to help quantify risk managers' judgements about
this secretive area.
