SIRAS Expands Product Returns Reduction Technology To Hardware And Lawn & Garden Equipment Markets

Responding to the hardware and lawn & garden equipment industries' needs to stop the practice of seasonal "free product rentals" and control against invalid and fraudulent product returns, SIRAS, the pioneer in POS Electronic Registration and return validation technology that has saved consumer electronics retailers and manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars, is expanding its product registration and tracking services to these high-volume, high-return industries.

"Retailers are progressively reviewing their return policies as they look for ways to prevent unwarranted returns from consumers buying products with the intention of returning them immediately after they have finished using them," said Peter Junger, SIRAS's president and co-developer of the company's patented technology. "SIRAS technology has proven to be the most effective tool available to reduce these 'free rentals' by tracking products and preventing these unwarranted returns, and we're looking forward to working with our existing retail partners to begin deploying it quickly. Moreover, we are looking to expanding our program to additional home improvement retailers who also feel this all-to-common painpoint."

According to Junger, SIRAS's POS registration technology helps retailers track any product that has a serial number through its point-of-sale systems. The company's technology is already used by many leading retailers and manufacturers throughout the consumer electronics industry, and it has been effective in reducing returns by as much as 30%. Through discussions with existing retailer partners, SIRAS has identified a number of products of particular interest: air conditioners, generators, air compressors, power washers, chainsaws, leaf blowers, lawn mowers and power tools.

SIRAS works with manufacturers and retailers by creating a unique identifier for each individual product at the point of sale based upon the product's UPC and serial number. When a product is returned, even if there is no receipt, this unique identifier allows the retailer to identify when and where the product was purchased and validates that it meets the retailers' and manufacturers' return guidelines.

The company also recommends that manufacturer clients provide SIRAS with the serial numbers of products at the time of shipment to retailers. This "pre-registration" service, available at no additional charge, allows law enforcement officials to identify products that are stolen in transit or from a retailer. These products often wind up being resold in pawnshops and on Internet auction sites, and through SIRAS product tracking, they can be irrefutably identified, and retailers can then reclaim them.

But Junger went on to point out that SIRAS does not track personal information, "We track products, not people. Protecting a consumer's personal information is of paramount importance to us, and, with our technology consumer information isn't needed to track products or to protect the retailer and the manufacturer from unwarranted returns."

About SIRAS.com
SIRAS.com is the pioneer in POS Electronic Registration and return validation technology, which allows retailers and manufacturers to track products, reduce returns and fraud, protect inventory, validate warranty eligibility, and improve both forward and reverse logistics operations. By tracking only products, not personal data, SIRAS respects and preserves consumer privacy. At the same time, it provides valuable tools for its manufacturing and retail clients to improve operations, visibility and the customer experience throughout the life of the products while realizing maximum profitability. The company has also implemented SIRAS P.I. (Product Information), the first ever, nationwide database initiative designed to help law enforcement officials throughout the country, report, track down, and recover stolen items.

SOURCE: SIRAS