Reverse Thinking

Test Technology Inc. (TestTech), Marlton, N.J., has been offering high-tech electronic equipment repair and reverse logistics services to OEMs since 1984. The company operates an 80,000-square-foot headquarters and primary repair facility in Marlton where it repairs and refurbishes more than 25,000 pieces of equipment per month, says Linda Austin, president and CEO of TestTech. The company also provides inventory management services for more than 100,000 pieces of customer equipment.

“In most cases we are providing repair and refurbishment services to the OEM of the equipment,” Austin says. “They generally provide us with an approved vendor list for components and fabricated parts.” /p>

The company may encounter challenges in the form of discontinued products for which parts are no longer available. In such cases, Austin says, TestTech’s engineering staff works with customers to source alternative parts and to facilitate manufacturing small runs of discontinued product. “We are experts at finding hard-to-find components and harvesting parts to maximize repair yeilds and extend a product’s life cycle.”

TestTech’s location also offers advantages. “We have found that our location, in the heart of the most densely populated region of the U.S., provides a strategic advantage,” Austin says. “Most of our customers have a heavy installed base of equipment on the East Coast. We can provide faster turnaround times, lower freight costs and a lower carbon footprint.”

Austin shares additional details about TestTech’s operations with Recycling Today below.

Q: What are some innovations your company has pioneered? What sets TestTech apart?

A: What sets TestTech apart is our focus on delivering the very highest possible value to our customers. At TestTech, we add value by helping our customers map out and execute a customer-specific reverse logistics supply chain plan that delivers results. The plan and execution strategy are focused on measurable performance metrics that are linked to our customers’ corporate goals and objectives. We guarantee results that will drive top-line and bottom-line benefits.

Q: What is your business philosophy?

A: My business philosophy is to look at everything we do through the eyes of the customer and to constantly look for ways to add value. We take a collaborative approach with our customers to determine where we can improve service and eliminate non-value-adding activity.

Q: Where do you go from here?

A: We have some new customers coming on board and we are branching out into some new markets we haven’t traditionally tapped. We’ve historically done a lot of work in the telecom and datacom arenas. We recently brought on some customers in the consumer electronics industry.