Mattel: Getting a Toy Recall Right

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5755.html
Author: Quelch, John A.
Source: Harvard Working Knowledge
Year: 2007
Company Name: Mattel

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Abstract:

Mattel has been criticized heavily for having to recall not once but twice in as many weeks 20 million toys manufactured in China with lead paint and/or loose, potentially dangerous magnets. Clearly Mattel did not have sufficiently tight quality control procedures in its supply chain to compensate for the extra risks of outsourcing to relatively new Chinese subcontractors. Clearly there were design flaws in the toys with the magnets that could come loose. But Mattel deserves praise for now stepping up to its responsibilities as the leading brand in the toy industry. What has Mattel done right?