A great number of businesses assume returns as a terrible process. But considering it as a key factor in customer experience can have better results.
The worth of returned merchandise rises every year, up 26% in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to United Parcel Service (UPS)for a total of $428 billion in returned merchandise. The surge in eCommerce sales intensifies the problem: the mean rate of return is about 10%, but it can increase to 40% for online shopping. In several industries, it is even greater as 62% of customers ‘bracket’ their purchases, meaning they shop numerous items (sizes for example) planning to return the ones they do not require, according to an eCommerce news site, DigitalCommerce360. Returns are an inherent element of customer experience. As per UPS, 73% of buyers think the return experience directly impacts the probability of making another purchase.
Managing returned products might appear as a difficult task, especially when fraud is included in-as per the National Retail Federation there were approximately $7.7 billion fraudulent eCommerce returns in 2020. As their return handling systems are improper, most business firms prefer to forget their losses and discard returns, with the faulty assumption that the time and struggle taken to restock them outweighs the item’s loss. According to Optoro, a company that specializes in logistics, this notion significantly reduces business margins and leads to the wastage of 5 billion pounds of brand-new products each year.
The usual challenges a business confronts while handling returned products are:
• Unable to trace and handle returns
• Unable to recognize and avoid fraud
• Too many returns affect profits
Implementing a return handling system will help businesses make reverse logistics easier and improve profits. But it demands a substantial base of technology and processes.
Inventory visibility
Inventory control and visibility are key to reducing the expense of returns. Once an item is returned, it is essential to confirm that it is instantly added to the inventory over every selling channel in order to maximize the probability of reselling it at the greatest possible rate. This is particularly the case for products that are seasonal or have a short expiry.
Flexible fulfilment
Regardless of where the item was originally bought, modern customers expect to return it to the retailer. However, without proper procedures in place, this can impose a significant strain on the store personnel and raise the cost of goods sold (COGS). The facility to receive returns at the store itself and utilize them for future orders without enduring the extra expense associated with returning those products back to the warehouse or fulfilment centers is important to reduce the cost of returns.
Returns Policy
Having a well–defined return policy ensures customers with a greater purchasing experience through a buy anywhere, fulfil anywhere, return anywhere purchasing experience. A return policy assures both buyers and sales associates to identify what products can be returned. Adopting an order management system highly simplifies the process of validating returns and avoiding fraud, as customer purchases are stored in the system and are accessible to the associates.
Returned merchandise authorization (RMA) process
An RMA process assures that, once a customer’s return is accepted, it will be thoroughly inspected and processed. A well-organized process helps employees understand how to examine a returned product and decide whether it should be resold or not.
NetSuite ensures that products are instantaneously moved to inventory when returned, this improves the overall profitability and facilitates the possibility of reselling products at the highest price possible. Using NetSuite, businesses can receive returns from all channels
• Complete exchanges
• Efficiently manage returned items
• Lay rules for return processes
NetSuite eliminates the possibility of point failures in multiple systems and assures the returned items are managed efficiently. saleable products are moved into available-to-promise (ATP) without any lag. NetSuite aids in ensuring a greater customer experience through a buy anywhere, fulfil anywhere, and return anywhere purchasing experience.
Troubled with managing product returns? Implement NetSuite to resolve the challenges with the return processes. Meet the experts from Jobin & Jismi for the best assistance.