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The maker of any product bears the responsibility for its development and design, manufacture and production, maintenance and repair, and for adherence to the state of the art. But it is also responsible for averting damage or loss from consumers and, if the worst comes to the worst, for withdrawing a defective product from the market.

A product must be inherently safe to use. However, it is not only to meet statutory requirements that a manufacturer must reckon with unforeseeable events and be prepared for them.

Specifically in view of tougher liability laws, a manufacturer can now be faced with costly recall schemes that may reach the limits of its financial viability - and sometimes go beyond this. For both sides - manufacturer and consumer a recall is an expensive and traumatic event.

Consumers are entitled to protection for their lives, health and possessions. This vested right may be decades old, but consumers' attitudes to claims have changed in recent times, not least thanks to increasingly consumer-friendly laws and court rulings. With growing frequency, public opinion is being mobilized to put pressure on industry.

Only the structured organization of a recall that is fully integrated into the corporate philosophy will produce the desired results in case of a crisis. Before a recall is planned, all risk-determining factors in the company concerned should be recorded and analysed. Generally, the firm's plant and organization should be inspected and assessed using a risk matrix.

With the aid of a catalogue of measures, any weak spots must be eliminated and residual risks reduced or accepted by the company. Besides the basics for planning product recalls, this overview describes the methods of risk management, on the one hand, and the elements of preventive planning work, on the other. Its aim is to provide support for companies taking their first steps toward drawing up recall plans.

The successful execution of a product recall crucially depends on the plan's scope and content. A recall can be described as "uccessful" if buyers have sustained no damage at all, i.e. the recall was made in good time, or if it was possible to keep the number of losses low, but preferably at the level prior to the recall.