Our beautiful planet is going through a complicated period. Natural resources are being rapidly depleted, and waste is accumulating at an alarming rate. With the global economy booming, sustainability is becoming an increasingly urgent issue. Companies today have to juggle two major challenges: meeting the expectations of consumers, who are increasingly concerned about the environment, and complying with increasingly stringent regulations. So how do you meet these challenges?
The ecological emergency: between resource depletion and pollution
The depletion of raw materials is a very real problem. Every year, millions of tonnes of materials are extracted, used and then thrown away, exacerbating an unprecedented environmental crisis. In 2019, for example, France produced over 324 million tonnes of waste, according to ADEME. Imagine if much of this waste could have been avoided through better resource management, particularly via repair.
Faced with this depletion of natural resources and accumulation of waste, legislators have taken matters into their own hands to encourage more sustainable practices. The AGEC (Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy) law, adopted in France in 2020, requires companies to repair products, combat programmed obsolescence and recycle materials. This law aims to transform our economic model into a circular one, where resources are better used and reused.
The CSRD directive and the ecological transparency of companies
Europe is going even further with the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), which will be progressively implemented by 2025. This directive will require companies to publish detailed reports on their environmental impact, including waste management and product sustainability. This meets a growing demand from consumers, who are increasingly looking to support responsible companies that care about their ecological footprint.
Repair: an economical & ecological solution in a circular approach
Repair really is a win-win solution. Not only is it good for the environment, it's also good for the bottom line. Extending the life of products reduces the need to extract new resources, while saving consumers money. According to ADEME, every kilo of product repaired avoids the emission of 2 to 5 kg of CO2. That's no mean feat! By encouraging repair, we directly reduce our carbon footprint.
Statistics : According to ADEME, 40%of electrical and electronic appliances discarded in France could be repaired or reused.
In addition to these immediate benefits, repair is part of a broader approach. With the depletion of natural resources, it's crucial to adopt circular business models, where products are repaired, reused, and recycled rather than thrown away. For this to become the norm, it's essential that companies simplify the customer journey and digitalize their after-sales service, making repair more accessible and attractive to everyone.
The benefits of digitizing your after-sales service
Digitizing your after-sales service is a real plus, on a number of levels. For example, it makes it possible to develop "self care" tools that improve the customer experience and encourage large-scale repairs. Self-care" refers to the tools made available to consumers to carry out online diagnostics and solve certain problems themselves, from their customer space, without the direct intervention of after-sales service teams. This reduces costs and repair times, by detecting usage problems upstream , which account for almost 15% of cases. Self-care tools also enable consumers, in the event of a proven breakdown, to order spare parts compatible with their product and access repair tutorials. Or they can simplify access to repair by shipping their product directly to a suitable repair center, whether or not the product is under warranty.
By digitizing their after-sales service, retailers can turn it into a profit center: they can sell services and spare parts, maximize their warranty refinancing rate with their suppliers, and enable their teams to save time in the administrative management of their after-sales service and in customer care by giving them the right everyday tools. A digitized after-sales service thus becomes a profitable service, increasing its visibility and making it a real differentiator for consumers.
Anecdote: A study carried out by ADEME revealed that 60% of French people are prepared to pay more for repairable products.
Encouraging repair
At Platana, we're convinced that consumer adoption of repair will require a reenchantment of the related customer experience: faster, simpler, more digital. Our SaaS solutions help companies to digitalize their after-sales service, making the repair process more accessible, efficient and profitable. We support major European retailers such as Leroy Merlin and Norauto in their transition to a circular economy, improving the efficiency of their after-sales services and promoting sustainable consumption.
Conclusion
Repair really is the key to meeting today's ecological challenges. By integrating repair practices, companies can not only contribute to sustainability, but also build customer loyalty by offering an efficient and responsible after-sales service.
If you'd like to find out more about our solutions and how we can help you integrate sustainability into your after-sales service, please don't hesitate to contact us!
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