If you have been on a building site, at an installer’s place or in a workshop, you have probably seen it: the distinctive teal Makita tool. Behind the colour lies a global Japanese company with close to 125 years of history and a Danish sales operation that serves a broad range of customers – from professionals in construction and installation to forestry, horticulture and facility management.
With more than 650 different types of tools in its range and three battery platforms that make machines and batteries compatible across the board, the product catalogue is both a strength and a source of complexity.
Christian Asp Laursen, Supply Chain Controller at Makita Danmark, has experienced this first-hand since packaging was added as a third producer responsibility.
“It provides a good service to customers, but it also means increased complexity when you need to keep track of data across products, batteries and packaging.”
Three producer responsibilities in one organisation
When Christian Asp Laursen joined, Makita already held producer responsibility for electronics and batteries. Packaging was added shortly after, and it was here that he truly came to understand what this kind of task actually requires.
The challenge was not only to map cardboard and plastic. It involved wood, ceramics, oil, and everything else that can be found in and around packaging. It was also about understanding where the lines were drawn – what counted as transport packaging, and what was part of the product itself?
Makita Danmark does not design the products or the packaging itself. That happens centrally in Japan. This means Makita Danmark must navigate local producer responsibility requirements, even though both data and design decisions are made globally. So when they began digging into the data, gaps quickly emerged. Some products were documented. Others were not. In some cases, Christian had to obtain data from sister companies in other countries, only to find that they did not necessarily report things in the same way.
“There were quite a few products where we had to go back through the chain and find out: what do these things weigh, what are the dimensions, what are they made of?” says Christian.
From overwhelming task to established process
What started as a difficult task is today a regular part of Makita’s operations.
This has been achieved by extracting data from their own ERP system and building a setup that can be repeated year after year. By having Retur as an ongoing sparring partner rather than just a reporting tool.
“I have leaned heavily on Retur’s solution and used it as inspiration for building our own setup. Before, it was a bit overwhelming and cumbersome. Now it is all in the system,” explains Christian.
Response time in particular has made a practical difference, as questions arise when you are in the middle of the work, not necessarily during office hours.
“Half an hour would go by, and then I had an answer in my inbox,” says Christian.
The result is that the task associated with producer responsibilities today comes down to just a few clicks.
Better safe than perfect
Along the way, Makita has made several deliberate choices that reflect a pragmatic approach: when data is uncertain, it is better to pay a little more than to risk ending up on the wrong side of the rules.
Makita sells primarily to professionals. Experience suggests that the majority of products end up there. But that documentation does not exist, and without it, they cannot use the more favourable reporting method.
“We know that the vast majority of our products end up there, but we do not have the numbers to back that up. So we choose to report it as household and use the most conservative reporting method. And I am well aware that it comes out more expensive.”
The same logic applies to packaging grading. Without sufficient data, they register in the red category and pay accordingly.
“We would rather pay in the expensive category now and not take that chance,” says Christian.
An eye-opener for data and design
The impact of producer responsibility has not been limited to compliance. It has also made the organisation more aware of what it knows – and what it does not.
“It just means that we become more conscious of the fact that we simply need to do things in a properly structured way,” says Christian.
And even though Makita Danmark cannot change design and packaging decisions made centrally in Japan, signals are beginning to filter down through the chain. Products are increasingly arriving in simpler packaging without logos and without unnecessary print.
It is not a breakthrough. But it is a sign that demand from further down the chain does make a difference.
Makita Danmark’s advice to other companies
Christian’s advice is straightforward:
Get your data in order and make it a process, not a project.
Find someone who can help interpret the requirements. Questions like which categories need to be filled in and what belongs where are rarely obvious – and they do not need to be, if you have somewhere to turn.
On the question of whether he would recommend Retur to others, the answer is clear:
“Absolutely. I think it has been a really good collaboration.”
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