A distributor handles a product recall as a defined population action, not as a string of individual faults. The manufacturer directs it: the distributor stops and quarantines affected stock, builds the affected-unit list from its own serial-level sales records, notifies customers and installers on the instructed route, supports the field action, and closes the file with records. Most of that capability is built before any recall exists.
Key Takeaways
- A recall is a manufacturer-directed action over a defined population — including healthy units — not a run of warranty claims.
- The distributor’s five moves: quarantine by serial, build the affected list, notify on the instructed route, run the field action, close the file.
- Notification duties and channels are confirmed against the market’s current published route for each event — never assumed.
- The capability is contractual and built in advance: serials per shipment, notification duties, remedy cost route, approved wording.
A Recall Is a Population, Not a Fault
Routine support handles one faulty unit at a time, under warranty. A recall is different in kind:
| Dimension | Routine fault | Recall |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | One unit a customer reports | A defined population — a model, serial range or production period the manufacturer specifies |
| Directed by | The warranty and support process | The manufacturer, with the market’s product-safety authority route where it applies |
| The distributor’s job | Diagnose, then repair or replace under warranty | Stop, trace, notify, execute the field action, and document every step |
| Units affected | Units that have failed | Every unit in the population, including units working normally |
That last row drives everything else: a recall reaches owners whose chargers have never faulted, so it runs on the manufacturer’s instruction and approved wording — never on improvisation.
The Five Moves, in Order
- Stop and quarantine. Pull the affected serial range out of saleable stock immediately, marked in the stock system, not just on a shelf. Nothing in the range ships while the instruction is open.
- Build the affected list. Join the manufacturer’s serial range to your sales records: which serials went to which installers and end customers. This is your half of traceability, built from records kept since the stock arrived.
- Notify on the instructed route. Follow the manufacturer’s notification instruction, and confirm the market authority’s current published route at the time — duties differ by market and change, so confirm per event, never from memory. Use the manufacturer’s approved wording.
- Run the field action. Replacement, repair or return, exactly as the instruction specifies, with logistics support for installers. The remedy and its cost route follow the instruction and the supply agreement — the distributor invents neither.
- Close the file. A completion record per serial, the disposition of unsold stock, and the whole file kept for the retention period your agreements and your market require.
The Agreements Signed Before Anything Goes Wrong
None of the five moves can be negotiated during an incident. They rest on terms written in advance:
- A manufacturer duty to notify you of a defect or recall affecting your models, in time to act.
- Serial ranges listed per shipment on the packing documents, so your records start from factory data — the ordering discipline our factory audit checklist tests for.
- The remedy cost route: who carries field-action labour, freight and replacement stock, stated before it is needed.
- Who approves customer-facing wording, and how installer notification is sequenced.
Ordinary faults keep flowing through the spare parts and RMA process; our guide to common charger faults and supplier handling covers them. A recall is the escalation above that channel, not a busier version of it.
Recalls in an EVDANCE Supply Relationship
EVDANCE is a Shenzhen manufacturer founded in 2011, with its own factory, exports to more than 30 countries and a 3-year standard warranty. Buyers on the reseller and distributor or OEM and private-label programs can write the readiness items above — serials per shipment, test records by serial, notification duties, retention — into the order itself. The boundary matters: warranty covers units that fail in service; a recall, if a manufacturer ever issues one, is a separate directed action. Discuss your models via contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides the remedy — repair, replace or refund?
The manufacturer’s instruction, within the market’s rules and your supply agreement. You execute and document it — never promise a remedy ahead of the instruction.
What if my sales records do not reach every unit?
Then the notified population widens: notices go to every plausible owner, because an untraced unit cannot be excluded. Serial-level records, kept from the day stock arrives, are what keep a recall narrow and fast.
Is a recall the same as a warranty claim?
No. A warranty claim handles a unit that has failed; a recall is a directed action over a defined population — including units that have not failed — following the manufacturer’s instruction, not the claim process.
Related Reading
- EV Charger Factory Audit Checklist for Importers
- Common EV Charger Faults and How Suppliers Should Handle Them
- EV Charger Spare Parts and RMA Process for Distributors
- EV Charger Warranty and After-Sales Terms: A Distributor’s Checklist
