Starting in less than two months, manufacturers of electronic goods will be held accountable for recovering and recycling products under the EU's WEEE (Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment) directive. Most multi-national companies engaged in manufacturing will feel its effect and will face considerable inventory issues.
If that wasn't enough, electronic and electrical manufacturers that supply products to the EU will have to comply with the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directive. RoHS requires that any product containing any of six hazardous substances will have to be redesigned or withdrawn from the market by July 2006.
"It is our belief that the RoHS and WEEE directives will lead to significant disruptions in the supply chain, leading to revenue shortfall, excess inventory assets, and higher costs for the unprepared," stated Bijan Dastmalchi, president of Symphony Consulting. Therefore Symphony, a Silicon Valley-based supply chain consulting firm, has joined forces with WCTbid, a Fremont, California-based provider of lifecycle inventory asset management solutions, to offer consulting services on these directives. Non-compliance with these directives can results in penalties or the removal of manufacturers' products from the market place.
To assist companies with WEEE compliance, last month, WCTbid unveiled a product recovery portal, (www.WEEEcycle.com), which handles mandated recycling requirements from collection request to final disposition to compliance reporting. They are also hosting September 21st workshops on RoHS and WEEE.
To register for the workshop visit http://www.symphonyconsult.com/workshops/workshop_rohs.php or register online. September 21, 2005
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