Reverse Logistics can be a Value Add

Plenty of customers will tell you that they won’t buy anything from an eCommerce store that doesn’t offer some form of free and fast returns. If your returns policy is confusing, that’s another big issue. Having clear, transparent reverse logistics, however, can influence the most discriminating customers. The bigger issue is how to make this additional expense work for both you and your customers at the same time.

You can be sure that returns work better by:

• Identifying customers likely to return items. It may feel awful, but many large eCommerce retailers are starting to invest in technology that can help them identify chronic returners.
  In some cases, these people have their account closed after a warning about their shopping habits, in others stores simply stop allowing free returns shipping to discourage chronic returners from sending so many packages back on the store’s dime.
• Including smart labels with every order. When you’re paying the shipping costs, you might as well make everything a little easier. Make sure every order comes with a smart label addressed to your reverse logistics facility. This way that team can be prepared for what’s coming each day. Flow control is challenging for returns management because products arrive in all kinds of conditions, even their potential volume is unpredictable. Smart labels speed up returns and credits, making everyone happier.
• Having disposal plans already in place. Even if you’ve never had to send products to be refurbished or recycled, it’s a good idea to have your returns management team cultivate those relationships now.
  Planning for disposal ahead of time will make sure that your products that can be sold bring top dollar, plus it’ll keep the mess in your facility to a minimum since you’re not waiting around for a contract before sending those unsellable items off.

Returns management is not only a big topic of discussion in the supply chain today, it’s also a way to build better relationships with your customers when it’s running well and includes a lot of transparency. After all, your customers are happiest when they know what’s going on with their orders, even if that order is on its way home to you.

The post 3 Ways To Make Return Management Services Work For You, Your Customers first appeared on Smart Returns.

Holiday sales tend to create a surge of product sales, followed by a tsunami of returns from gift recipients who would have preferred that shirt in orange or the higher powered flashlight that you also offer for sale.

The entire concept of holiday returns can be overwhelming, but you can navigate the reverse logistics it takes to survive.

Approach Returns Management with Care

Reverse logistics can be incredibly costly for companies that aren’t making it a priority.

Instead of being able to recover some amount of the cost of the product, it turns into a situation where it’s just cheaper to let returned items gather dust. Your next holiday return rush will be different, though, because you’re going to be more prepared and have a new approach, like the following, in place:

• Creating a dedicated returns team. It might seem like a big expense now, but when a holiday shopping season comes around again, a team that does nothing but reverse logistics can more than pay for itself.
  Instead of waiting until sales taper off to handle returns, your dedicated team can get those items back on the shelves while inventory is being sold rapid fire. That means more money for you and a higher return on products.
• Tracking returned items individually. Fraud is an unfortunate issue within the reverse logistics orbit. Although most consumers are honest, a few will try to game the overwhelmed system by sending low value items back in high value boxes or worse. Tracking can help you deal with these issues, but it’s also a great way to open up communication between you and an honest returner. They can see where their item is in the process, so they know when to expect a refund.
• Monitoring reasons for returns. The earlier you start monitoring the reasons given for returns on each item that comes back, the better off you’ll be. Since eRetail products are at a disadvantage because they can’t be tried on, held or generally examined in real life, customers have to make some assumptions to fill in their knowledge gap.
  If you give them the right information, they’ll do that successfully and love their orders. If not, you’ll see a lot of returns. Keep your eyes on the returns and audit any item that seems to be being returned more often than other products like it. This practice can help curb those expensive returns, so don’t wait any longer to get started!

Reverse logistics isn’t easy on a good day, there’s a lot to know and plenty of changing gears required to get the job done. Having a plan of attack in place before big holiday shopping seasons can help ease the pain, though. No matter how you intend to handle your next batch of holiday returns, the most important thing to remember is to keep your customers informed. This simple act can help create a customer relationship that lasts.

The post No Matter What The Holiday, Here Are 3 Approaches For Navigating Holiday Returns first appeared on Smart Returns.

Bricks and clicks clothing shops have equally troublesome challenges, causing many to close store after store in hopes of regaining profitability. Those retailers that maintain a presence in the eCommerce space are often working furiously to keep a foothold in their industry.

What’s an apparel company to do in these difficult days?

Turning Returners into Renters

The 30 to 40 percent return rate that many fashion eRetailers experience has been a serious problem for the entire industry.

Much of this is on customers who practice “bracketing,” a practice where the customer places an order for the same item in various sizes intending to try clothing on and send back what they don’t want. This is not an “if” kind of return, it’s a “when.” Coupling this practice with free return shipping has led to some serious cash flow problems in the industry.

But that may soon be changing.

Inspired by the success of Rent the Runway, a service that allows women to rent expensive clothing for events and return them when the party’s over, fashion retailers are testing the waters of clothing rental. Familiar names like New York & Co. and Express have started offering clothing rental for a monthly fee .

Turning Reverse Logistics into Rental Processing

New York & Co. has been forced to close 150 retail locations since 2012, according to reporting by Digital Commerce 360.

Clothing rental is one way that the chain can continue to engage their customers, even bracketers, on a regular basis without the additional financial pressure of dealing with return after return.

Instead, its reverse logistics team is busy repackaging those rented outfits for the next person. The same skillset and tools are needed, but because these items aren’t returned due to a defect, they can be moved more quickly from customer to customer.

If the customer happens to really like that pair of jeans or the kimono that they got in their rental package, they can then purchase it at a discount. Retailers can sell more clothing and handle fewer bracketed orders this way, making it a good solution to the cash hemorrhage that fashion eRetail can suffer.

Is Renting the Future of Fashion?

It may still be a while before renting an entire wardrobe is a common practice, but clothing rental does give the fashionistas among us a way to try the latest styles without having to commit to them right away.

Of course, if they love what was sent to them, it can stay as long as the subscription lasts, but in common situations where pants are cut funny or shirts aren’t the color expected, it’s no problem to swap them out for items that are much closer to perfect.

Being a cost that’s already anticipated, the eRetailer includes the shipping costs in the overall package price, potentially increasing cash flow that may have been sluggish in the past. Renting deals with the problem of chronic bracketing, too, which can be a big load off of eCommerce shops.

Like so many things in the Internet Age, clothing rental may not be the future of apparel, but it seems to be one future. Everything has a niche these days, even buying new jeans.

The post Why Renting May Be The Future Of Apparel eCommerce first appeared on Smart Returns.

The example cited was Burberry, the iconic British luxury brand, which destroyed $38 million worth of unsold and returned items in the last year, bringing its five year total loss due to destruction to $400 million. Burberry argues that this behavior protects the brand, but others would say that it’s an incredible waste of product and opportunity.

Burberry is far from the only retailer making decisions for its unsold merchandise that might be less than optimal. Maybe it’s time for you to re-evaluate your company’s returns policies to better identify where you’re missing chances to engage and re-engage your shoppers.

Your Returns Experience Optimizer

Reverse logistics is a difficult puzzle for most businesses.

You have to have a return policy of some sort, otherwise customers are less likely to take a chance on your products. But you also need to slow the backflow of goods because it’s costing you a fortune.

Don’t throw your hands up and despair, run down these checklists to ensure your returns experience is optimized:

My customers know that they:

• Can return their products within a window that’s neither too confining, nor too loose.
• Will get a refund quickly so they can then make another purchase, if so desired.
• Won’t be hassled, but will be asked why they don’t want to keep the item being returned.

My company always:

• Takes advantage of technology like smart label tracking to better anticipate returns volume day to day.
• Uses software solutions to determine what path of disposal is best for each returned item.
• Moves resellable items back to inventory swiftly and those sellable at a discount to a website for clearance of out-of-season merchandise that’s still like new.
• Analyzes data points to better understand reasons items are being returned in order to lower the overall return rates.

If any of the above items are big question marks in your ledger, you have work to do to make your returns experience all it can be. It might even help you to do a walk-through of the process so you can see it from your customers’ eyes. If you simply don’t have the time or staff to manage returns any faster, you should consider hiring a reverse logistics company. They can do all of this and more, helping your business grow by using returns as a loyalty builder while minimizing their financial impact.

The post Is It Time To Revisit Your Returns Experience? first appeared on Smart Returns.

The organization is looking at total sales of $717.5 to $720.9 billion, a 4.3 to 4.8 percent increase over last year, which itself was a 5.3 percent increase over 2016. Retailers everywhere, even those in cyberspace, are bracing for impact. They’re predicted to be hiring around 650,000 holiday workers, 11 percent more than last year.

But Are Retailers Investing Enough?

With all the preparation for the oncoming sales storm, it would seem that retailers are one step ahead. Unfortunately, they may not be. Many aren’t saying what they have planned for National Returns Day, the unofficial designation UPS has given the day it handles the most returns each year in early January.

Last season, January 3, 2018 meant 1.4 million return packages sent through UPS, with 1 million returns expected each day leading up to Christmas 2017. If that doesn’t scare you, then you’ve got a top reverse logistics team in place already. You are ready.

But for retailers who haven’t thought about what they’re going to do when up to 30 percent of their sales come back in early January, it’s not too late to invest more in returns.

Can Your Team Handle It?

It’s not a defeat to admit that your small company’s returns management team is going to be overwhelmed come National Returns Day.

Instead, today is the day to start planning for extra help. That might mean expanding into your empty warehouse so there’s more room for returns processing by more people, or it could mean working with a reverse logistics company.

This vital member of the supply chain doesn’t get the attention that forward-facing logistics does, but it’s just as important. Maybe more so. After all, reverse logistics is all that stands between you and chalking all those returns up to a complete loss.

Reverse logistics examines each and every product that comes through the warehouse, then optimizes its disposal or re-use. What can be sold for full price is rushed back to the sales floor or warehouse inventory. Those things that can be largely recouped will go to a secondary liquidator or auction platform. What can be recycled for the going rate is sent away for the procedure.

At the end of the process, the goal is to return as much money to your ledger as possible, while minimizing waste. It’s a fine line to walk, but one that can be a game changer for your retail company this year.

The post Are You Investing Enough In Returns, Returns, Returns? first appeared on Smart Returns.

Dealing with the nearly one-third of those sales when they come home to roost can be a cumbersome, expensive and time-consuming process. It’s an unfortunate reality that must be faced if an online retailer wants to succeed, however.

e-Commerce Returns Management Approaches

Your business has a unique relationship with its customers, but ultimately most shoppers with returns want transparency and speed out of your reverse logistics process. Your company, on the other hand, needs to cut costs as deeply as possible without damaging the customer experience.

Here are a few ways to make everybody happy:

• Ask the right questions. Have your customer print a custom shipping label from your website after answering a few questions.This way, your system can choose the right facility to receive the return, eliminating multiple trips (and added shipping costs) between your warehouses. Alternatively, this can also be used to direct the item to a order processing center that has a significant demand for it.
• Try smart labels. Smaller eCommerce companies may find themselves doing their own returns management.Taking advantage of tech like smart labels will keep your team informed as to how many packages they should expect to come in that day, allowing team leads to plan accordingly. If you only have a dozen or so returns one day, one or two people can probably handle them while the rest go work on the pick floor. If you have 100 returns the next day, though, it’s gonna be an “all hands on deck” situation.

  Either way, you don’t have to worry about any surprises from your reverse supply chain.

• Partner up. Even if you’re not working with a reverse logistics specialist, you can take advantage of some of the same tools these companies use to move products around the supply chain in bulk.For example, Happy Returns is a “returns bar” that allows shoppers to return items in person to participating virtual merchants. Happy Returns then packages your items, sorts them and sends them back to your company as a bundle to save on freight. From there, you could have a liquidation specialist like B-Stock break down the lots that you can’t resell as new and sort them so they’ll bring top dollar on the secondary market.

Although returns aren’t the most fun or profitable part of your business, it’s vital to stay on top of them or you put your operation at risk of serious financial trouble. These are just a few easy approaches for companies that want to handle their own reverse supply chain. Many choose instead to contract with a returns management company that does nothing but returns for a variety of companies.

The post 4 Important Approaches To Managing e-Commerce Returns first appeared on Smart Returns.

In fact, the Census didn’t bother to record their sales until 1999, when eCommerce represented just 0.6 percent of the retail sector. At the end of 2017, eCommerce controlled 9.1 percent of all retail sales, and now it’s a freight train out of control. With a compounded annual growth rate over the last five years of 14.7 percent, and similar projections through 2022, there’s no ignoring this sector any longer.

It should go without saying that eCommerce is here to stay.

eCommerce Logistics Costs Shattering U.S. Records

A new report by Armstrong & Associates, Inc. estimates that U.S. eCommerce logistics costs have hit a record-breaking $117.2 billion, a figure that’s equal to about seven percent of all U.S. logistics costs. These costs include things like domestic and international transportation, warehousing and fulfillment, last mile and reverse logistics.

This is, in part, due to the rapid growth of the sector, but it’s equally attributed to the ever-rising bar of shipment speed on both the customer-facing and reverse logistics ends. Two-day shipping isn’t a novelty anymore, and online shoppers expect to have their items in hand quickly and to just as quickly have them returned and credited.

Traditional retailers have tried to solve this conundrum in several ways, but seem to continue to seek less expensive options. Site-to-store delivery is popular because it gives customers fast, free shipping and only asks that they come to the store, where they’re likely to buy something additional while they’re waiting for their order to be located.

Still, the reverse logistics side of this, returns to store, is costly and can be confusing for both customer and retailer because of returns processes that are built on the old models, designed without eCommerce in mind.

Is it Sink or Swim in The Age of eCommerce?

Traditional retailers still command a huge portion of the retail sector, but more are being forced to figure out how to integrate some type of eCommerce into their legacy systems.

They’re at a distinct disadvantage in some ways simply because they’re having to work a whole new way of doing things into a system that they thought was perfected long ago. Slow, steady reverse logistics isn’t enough anymore. Today it’s all about no-questions asked returns, fast credits and significant numbers of returns that have to be managed.

Even though traditional retail continues to be the mainstay of the sector, there’s plenty of evidence that eCommerce is increasingly becoming the avenue of choice of shoppers across the board. In order to remain competitive in this market, traditional retailers have to find a way to absorb the additional costs of an eCommerce division or risk being overwhelmed by retailers who will.

The post eCommerce Logistics Costs Hit Record Highs In U.S. first appeared on Smart Returns.

Real life and the virtual one are slowly becoming indistinguishable, especially when it comes to shopping.

The digital sea isn’t what it used to be, now there are ferries crossing it constantly to make connections between online-first companies and their brick and mortar shops, as well as joining the traditional brick-and-mortar retailers with their shiny new eCommerce sites. In the midst of all of this, everyone still has to keep omnichannel in mind.

Omnichannel, the New Consumer Constant

It wasn’t that long ago that you’d go to the store and buy what you needed, or you’d check your email from home.

The first iPhone, released just a decade ago, started the world down the rabbit hole that has become omnichannel shopping. You can shop from your home PC, then add something to the same cart with your tablet on your commute, pay for it all on your smartphone and then pick it up in person at a nearby store.

The logistics of all of this are incredible, and only getting more interesting. Some experts are predicting a future with a high level of engagement with autonomous vehicles that might act as delivery drones, as well as mobile fulfillment hubs that keep both stores and warehouses stocked with the right merchandise at the right times. The retail supply chain has forever been altered by the expansion of omnichannel practices.

Retailers in the 21st Century

Staying ahead of the eCommerce wave can be terrifying for anyone with a brick-and-mortar store, but you don’t have to fear death by returns management or sheer progress and evolution. Your brand is still relevant in an omnichannel world, provided you make it one that people care about. More in-store engagement can keep customers coming in the doors, especially if you marry the in-store experience with well-branded eCommerce.

Start with easy changes like accepting returns in your store rather than forcing customers to mail them back to your reverse logistics facility. While they’re in your shop, they might feel like browsing a bit and then pick up a few items they weren’t expecting to find. Or maybe your branded app will generate an alert about a flash sale that you’re having while they happen to be in the parking lot.

There are lots of ways to do retail and omnichannel, but the most successful retailers make sure to add something extra to the in-store and online experiences. Omnichannel isn’t just about moving between devices anymore, it’s about staying inside the branded experience as you do.

The post Retail and The Continuing Growth of Omnichannel first appeared on Smart Returns.

The fact is that many retailers are still feeling their way into new niches and configurations that will serve them well in the decades to come. Not only is it important for retailers to have an online presence like the digital shops that are trying to outcompete them, it’s even more important that they reach back to their roots to find the branding message that’s central to their core being.

It might sound a little overly dramatic, but unless retailers set themselves apart, people will stop shopping in physical stores.

Branding a Retail Shop Through and Through

Branding can be literally anything.

It could be the way all the retail employees wear blue shirts and carry around tablets hoping to help someone buy an electronic device or the decor, music and energy that a store creates. The one thing that “real-life” retailers have over eCommerce shops is that they have physical, tangible spaces. Within these, the retailer can create a unique experience that can’t be had online, or anywhere else, for that matter.

But that means that branding has to get serious for retailers. Your shop needs to take every opportunity to reinforce the image you hope to impress on your customers. In this increasingly niched world, it’s important to identify your people and what it takes to attract them to the store again and again. Otherwise, you’re just another stop in the supply chain.

Advantages Retailers Have Over eCommerce

There’s no question that retailers have some specific advantages over eCommerce shops when it comes to customers.

Beyond the customer experience detailed above, there are certain things you can do in a physical shop that you can’t in an eShop, including:

• Trying on clothing for a proper fit. Online clothing shops suffer some of the highest levels of returns, often due to poor fit or descriptions that fall short of the item in the mind of the buyer. Being able to try on those items in real life can ensure customers are buying the right size and colors, eliminating the hassle of returns for retailers and shoppers alike.
• Examining items with your own senses. Just like the clothing conundrum, buying almost anything in a store gives a shopper a more accurate feel for what it will be like in their space. Whether it’s a table or a bottle of dish soap, there’s a lot of sensory loss when things are bought online.
• Choosing your own items for purchase. Grocery and other food deliveries are becoming hugely popular with customers who are already accustomed to buying things online. However, many still refuse to skip the grocery store because they want the opportunity to choose items that have natural variances, like meat and produce, by their own standards.

People are absolutely still shopping in physical stores, but many are using technology to help them navigate the aisles. Your best bet to keep them coming back is to provide them with the information they want, the branding they love and the experience they deserve.

The post Are People Still Shopping In Physical Stores? first appeared on Smart Returns.

These days, it’s fine to wait a week for shipping, tomorrow more than four days is just too many. As customer needs and wants evolve, so must your supply chain, as well as your entire eCommerce operation.

Agility is Everything in the Modern Ecommerce Supply Chain

There are so many buzzwords flying around the world of logistics that it’s easy to get lost.

Last year’s “omnichannel” turns into this year’s “lean” or “agile” with almost no pause for breath. That’s why it’s so important to keep up with industry news on both forward-facing and reverse logistics fronts, because they’re going to have enormous impacts on your bottom line.

Lagging behind can hurt you in ways like these:

• Causing you to miss out on new opportunities. For eCommerce operations, new opportunities to get products into different markets and channels actually could appear every day.But if you’re not working with a supply chain that can flex and move at will, you may miss the narrow window you have to take advantage of these opportunities. Your team has to be willing to change to survive in the highly competitive world of eCommerce.
• Costing you more money. Big Data has made it possible to determine exactly how many steps it takes for a warehouse worker to move a specific product from the pick floor to the pack floor, but some eCommerce companies are still struggling with basics like knowing just how many items they have in stock in a location and when to reorder inventory.Your data needs to be looking at the whole picture, as well as informing your supply chain about what’s needed where. Agile supply chains can move inventory where it’s needed fast, even if you’re more brick-and-mortar than eCommerce.
• Losing customers. When you’re not agile enough, your customers will notice. As their patience for backorders and slower-than-the-competition deliveries wears out, you’ll see how you really rank. For most eCommerce shoppers, loyalty is a fleeting notion, and for good reason. There are plenty of shops like yours that can provide them with the same level of service, so you have to always be striving to add something extra to the package.

Your retail eCommerce operation relies on your staying ahead of the evolving supply chain, no matter where it leads. Ultimately, your customers are going to vote with their pocketbooks and if you want to remain a viable operation, being prepared for changes in retail logistics is everything.

The post Retail, The Supply Chain And Your Evolving eCommerce Operation first appeared on Smart Returns.