Introduction: LifeCycle Management

The LifeCycle Management approach assists the development of your products from the very beginning on. You develop an idea; we perform initial market analysis to ensure that your product has a niche in the current market. In the design phase, we give advice to ensure optimal results, identify potential failures and provide all necessary safety, usability and functionality tests. We then support you with virtual testing in combination with Product Lifetime Simulation.

Our experts carry out risk and quality assessments for your manufacturers and suppliers to examine compliance to international security, quality or social accountability standards. Especially, social accountability standards have gained importance in the course of ethical responsibilities in a global business world. Our position as a third party without particular interests enables us to supervise production as well as shipment procedures and loading of goods.

Once the product reaches the end of its lifecycle, the recycler receives instructions for the recycling process from our database. All information will be stored and documented on our Internet platform TUVdotCOM, which authorized users are able to access.

Market Analysis:

Up to date market analysis is undertaken to ensure that a new product can be supported and thrive in its intended market. As a global company dealing with standards, certification and evaluation we have access to various market information and can provide cutting-edge data. Detailed analysis will be carried out to ensure that there is substantial evidence to support the market introdution of a new product.

Design:

Virtual testing supports a product already in the design phase. Usability, durability, recycling (e.g. quantification of harmful substances) and brand protection features have to be determined before production to achieve optimal results.

Conformity Assessment:

Our experts carry out safety and quality testing of products locally in order to check compliance to international standards. Through simulated aging in our laboratories, we provide all necessary safety, usability and functionality certificates and detect potential failures. These certificates are compliant to the European directive 1999/44/EC that stipulates a minimum warranty of 24 months on consumer goods. The newest Conformity Assessment Service of TÜV Rheinland is testing against the new European directives 2002/96/EC (WEEE) & 2002/95/EC (RoHS) and verifies electrical products on harmful and hazardous materials.

Sourcing:

As an accredited certification body, we carry out risk and quality assessments as well as second party audits for your manufacturers and suppliers to examine conformity with international quality and social accountability standards. While enterprises tend to become more and more globally involved, it is essential to affirm the trust of the customers, e.g. through denial of child labor. In addition, our experienced experts qualify your workforce with the latest technical know-how in our training seminars.

Production:

With our Quality Control Service we supervise the production processes of your manufacturers, check quality of goods, optimize internal processes and evaluate security management systems. In addition, the Brand Protection Service offers an overall quality assurance of the supply chain against counterfeited goods.

Shipment:

Before shipment, authenticity of goods can be verified via our Brand Protection System. We conduct a final quality check and supervise loading of products.

Customs:

Without particular product knowledge and technical devices, customs officials can easily distinguish between counterfeited and real products using our Brand Protection System.

Purchasing:

The brand owner has access to our Brand Protection System's Track and Trace functionality 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Via this functionality upon request you gain the ability to automatically receive reports about the status of your products. These reports include information about actions, locations and timeframes so that you can track a specific product throughout your whole supply chain.

Consumer:

The trust of a consumer will be affirmed due to our Brand Protection System as authenticity of all products can easily be checked via Internet at our online portal. The gained information about the consumer can later be used for marketing goals.

Recycling:

Once a product reaches the end of its lifecycle, the recycler can receive instructions for the recycling process from our database. All information will be stored at TUVdotCOM, our online platform for customers, and might be used as documented evidence of conformity for recycling processes. Authorized users can have permanent access to all information.