Recent food, children’s products, and automotive-related equipment recalls are evidence that product safety issues are widespread. Product safety has become more complicated in the age of global supply chains and increased government regulation, media scrutiny, and public awareness, putting it among a company’s most critical areas of risk. When a product does fail, the management of the event is critical to mitigating resulting recalls or liability claims that can be devastating to a company’s reputation and profitability. Marsh Risk Consulting’s (MRC’s) Product Risk Practice has the expertise to help an organization produce safer products, reduce the likelihood and severity of a major product risk event, evaluate and support risk transfer opportunities, ensure regulatory compliance, conduct effective recalls, and protect its brand.

Service Highlights

MRC’s Product Risk Practice provides solutions across the entire product lifecycle, throughout phases such as research and development, product sourcing, supplier identification and management, product risk assessment, product recall prevention, product recall infrastructure and deployment, risk management, crisis communications, and product liability management. With a team that includes some of the industry’s top professionals with legal, regulatory, and commercial backgrounds, we offer product safety, recall, and liability services covering everything from food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals, to consumer products, children’s products, and automotive equipment.

Product Recall and Liability Prevention

MRC provides customized product development risk management solutions to help an organization decrease product defects and the possibility of product tampering as well as comply with national and international regulatory requirements. This includes a tailored product risk assessment that:

•  Benchmarks the product development process against best practices using performance scoring
• Targets areas for improvement
• Provides a roadmap designed to assist in better product liability performance

Comprehensive Product Recall Preparedness

We can assess an organization’s recall preparedness to help avoid recalls and limit damage in the event of a recall. We evaluate and assist with:

•  supplier relationships and contracts with upstream and downstream customers;
• procedures for identifying, investigating, and escalating a safety-related issue;
• crisis management preparedness, recall procedures, and communications plans;
• testing procedures, end-to-end product traceability, and recalled product disposal planning; and
• regulatory compliance, including bioterrorism and container security compliance.

Rapid Product Recall Deployment

In the event of a product failure, we provide a broad range of product recall services, which include:

•  issue identification (assessing recall scope, identifying the affected product(s), and investigating the cause);
• review of relevant insurance policies;
• assessment of company and supplier compliance with government regulations;
• quantification of lost sales and total cost of the recall;
• development of information management systems, timely management of recall and replacement efforts, and establishment of a claims management process.

 

State-of-the-Art Product Recall Infrastructure

The scope and complexity of product recalls requires powerful tools for managing all aspects of the recall. We provide proven systems to help an organization smoothly administer the recall, limit the recall’s affect on business operations, and protect and preserve its brand. This includes:

•  logistics center—coordinating the fulfillment aspects of the recall and, depending on the product, receiving the recalled product and shipping of a replacement product;
• webmaster—creating a consumer-facing website for recall information and registration;
• phone center—tracking and responding to customers’ questions and processed orders;
• process mapping—outlining protocols and procedures for the recall and educating responsible employees on them; and
• traceability and supply chain software—creating systems for identifying, locating, and tracking affected product as well as shipment of replacement product.

Recall Recovery Services

Once the recall has been conducted, MRC can help an organization complete regulatory reporting, monitor product reintroduction, notify all stakeholders when the recall is complete, and review “lessons learned” to help limit future problems.

Product Liability Management

MRC provides a full suite of services to assist a company’s general counsel as well as national and international coordinating counsel, with product liability matters, including:

• assistance in connection with litigation documents;
• advice and assistance regarding schedule delays, defective work, and financial impacts;
• damage assessment/quantification; and
• computer forensics.