Returns processing

When a customer sends something back, someone has to log it, check what condition it is in and decide what happens next: back on the shelf, repaired or refurbished, sent back to the supplier or thrown away. The stock count and the customer's refund both depend on that decision being made and recorded. This process is called returns processing. The wider field, which also covers collecting and transporting returns, is known as reverse logistics.

Speed matters more than it looks. A returned item that sits in a corner for two weeks is stock you could have sold; make the check, the decision and the booking a same-day routine, with a defined place for each outcome (resale, repair, write-off) so nothing waits in a pile.

Record the reason for each return as well as the outcome. A few reasons repeat, such as the wrong size or a damaged corner, and fixing the product page or the packaging stops the returns at their source.