End of Product Life Cycle Management:
Products reach the end of their Product Life Cycle for a number of reasons. These reasons may be due to market demands, technology innovation and development driving changes in the products or the products simply mature over time and are replaced by functionally richer offerings. While this is an established part of the overall Product Life Cycle, Elica PB Whirlpool Kitchen Appliances Private Limited (Formerly known as - Elica PB India Private Limited) recognizes that end-of-life milestones often prompt companies to review the way in which such end-of-sale and end-of-life milestones impact the products in their operating environments. With that in mind, we have set out below end-of-life policy to help customers better manage the end of life for Elica products.
This End of Life Policy (the “Policy”) only applies to End of Life and End of Sale announcements made on or after October 31, 2016 for Elica PB Whirlpool Kitchen Appliances Private Limited (Formerly known as - Elica PB India Private Limited) products. This policy does not apply to accessories or consumables such as filters, grids etc. Unless defined herein, definitions of many of the terms used in this Policy are available on the attached page.
The general policy guidelines are:
- As a general rule, EPBIL will provide 3 month notice of the affected product's End-of-Sale Date and/or the last day when the affected product can be ordered.
- Access to technical assistance on products that are at End of Life will be available through Area Service Providers during normal business hours for a period of two (2) years from the End-of-Sale Date.
- Spares or replacement parts will be available for a period of two (2) years from the End-of- Sale Date.
- You will need to ensure that you have a current and fully paid Annual Maintenance contract or valid warranty with EPBIL. Please contact us on customercare@elica.in for charges payable during the end- of-life period so that we can support you right through the end-of-life transition period.
- Below are guidelines that should be followed to ensure that you receive effective support for the affected products within your environment:
- For Products that are not covered under an AMC or valid warranty, customers will avail spares covered under warranty on chargeable basis until last date of support.
- Service contracts that have not been renewed or have lapsed are not renewable.
- Renewal of your service contract will generally be available until the last year of support, but will not extend beyond the last date of support.
- After the End of support date customer can opt to upgrade product thru VBB program.
- Discontinued models are listed in the pdf file : DiscontinuedModels
- If the product reaches obsolescence it is customer’s responsibility to dispose the product as per local governing laws.
Following Policy to be followed at the time of design, production, line rejections and products received under VBB or if customer willing submits the Obsolete product to company.
- Reduce : Decreasing the generation of waste makes sense, and has proven highly effective for consumer goods.
- Reduction in Packaging sizes: making the packing sizes compact ensures that lesser packaging material is required.
- Suppliers to be asked to use re-useable packaging wherever possible for raw material, this will ensure reduction in packaging material waste.
- Reduce usage of non-biodegradable packaging material.
- Reuse. Shifting a culture from the disposable to the reusable has also worked well in general.In the case of durable goods, the issue of reuse proves a bit more complex. In fact, academics in the field use the terms refurbishment and remanufacturing to clarify the extent of work needed to make a used product serviceable again. Consumer electronics are often refurbished simply by having their software tested and upgraded. But the reuse of products such as Kitchenhoods, Hobs, Cooktops, ovens, MWO requires extensive remanufacturing labor, including such tasks as disassembly, cleaning, and parts replacement.
- Electronics: PCB’s from Kitchenhoods can be re-used by refurbishing.
- Rotors: if not damaged can be cleaned with soap water and re-used.
- Glasses: Glasses can be cleaned and reused for service. Assembly line rejections can be send for scratch removal process and re-used in production.
But reuse can also have drawbacks. From a broad environmental perspective it is better, for example, to recycle than to reuse energy-inefficient appliances. Value back benefit program should be well communicated to customer. Cash Incentives on purchase of new products is offered to customers. Product packaging (received under RCP ) can be reused to pack new products. RCP is well communicated to customer thru APP, Myelica, website & call centre. Customers get one free service for returning packaging.
- Recycle. Recycling comes last in the hierarchy of waste management techniques for decreasing landfill disposals, but has generally had the greatest environmental impact to date. Elica products mainly constitute of Metal & plastic parts. All Metal parts can be recycled by sending to authorised collectors who further send for smelting. Plastic parts can be segregated from the product and can be sent for reprocessing into useful products. Batteries are used in auto ignition cooktops which need replacement every one year and customer is advised to dispose the same as per local government laws, this instruction has been mentioned in Manual to every customer.
- Rethinking
Sustainability for consumer durables demands deeper thinking than the simple “reduce, reuse, recycle” framework. And unlike consumables, where the responsibility for rethinking falls on consumers, for durables, the primary rethinking job belongs to business executives and environmental regulators.
A rethinking of the problem should start with an examination of the ecological impact and economics across the full product life cycle — from manufacture through use, reuse, recycling, and disposal.
The economic incentives for the various players like customers, service providers,and waste management companies are given to encourage thinking towards reducing environmental impact.
Value back benefit program is communicated to every customer at the time of installation. In VBB program customer can buy other Elica products and give back the old product and get discount on his new purchase. This encourages the customer to return back the old product to company or else these are simply discarded and merged invisibly into the municipal waste stream.
Waste management companies are given transportation charges to collect the waste and are also paid collection charges. This ensures waste management companies are regularly collecting the waste.
The first opportunity to encourage rethinking is in design, innovative design can reduce the energy consumption of the product, therefore reducing the cost to the consumer and increasing demand. In some cases, new technology can save up to 40% percent of the energy consumption in the usage phase. Halogen & Incandescent lamps being replaced with LED lamps, Motors being replaced with ETB motors with lesser wattage, Kitchenhoods with sensors, efficient burners with precise controls and optimum grid height to avoid heat dissipation.
The second opportunity is increasing the life of product by maintaining it. Cheap Annual maintenance contracts are made available to customers which can be purchased online.
For more details call us on toll free number 18002330007 or send mail to customercare@elica.in .