Third party logistics services are shifting focus to reverse logistics, which is the practice of organizing and refining the process of product returns. For a large business to succeed, they must make their returns department efficient in their duty in pleasing the customer at an acceptable cost.
The amount of people returning items is higher than ever. With money tight with most United States citizens, and the Internet providing a common barrier between buyer and seller, there have been high returns all across the board. This means that there must be a system in place to handle excess returns, but also a system to solve the problem of why returns are occurring.
If a customer doesn't receive a product, the business that shipped it just lost money on shipping and handling. That's why the process of obtaining the address and organizing the business back end is important. Customers should always verify their address before placing an order, and the database of information should be well laid out, and able to flawlessly print out address labels onto packages. Outsourcing is a good option here for most businesses.
Some products are better off being fixed than replaced- such as what Microsoft does with its gaming consoles. With the gaming console fiasco Microsoft went through, it was apparent that fixing consoles for the price of shipping and low labor costs was much more effective than missing out on lost profits and enduring new restocking costs.
Some of the most successful repair operations in reverse logistics work based on fixing products, and then shipping out refurbished products as new products arrive. This works best when there are few products that a manufacturer offers. An example would be with a router manufacturer: if a router comes in needing a repair, an already refurbished router of the same type can be sent immediately while the old one is fixed. Waiting times are drastically reduced.
Handbooks that are well laid out can work wonders for returns. Furniture companies can sometimes be notorious for including instructions that don't make sense, or missing out on parts that should have been shipped. A manual will let the buyer know what they need and how they need to operate or assemble the product. If they become lost in the process, they are more likely to return the product and buy a different brand from a competitor rather than work it out.
Closing Comments
Third party logistics companies have operations, software, and the man power ready to take on any reverse logistics operation. Medium and large businesses are better off outsourcing their operations, rather than attempt to do an in house logistics operation and cause a clear cut disaster instead.
The amount of people returning items is higher than ever. With money tight with most United States citizens, and the Internet providing a common barrier between buyer and seller, there have been high returns all across the board. This means that there must be a system in place to handle excess returns, but also a system to solve the problem of why returns are occurring.
If a customer doesn't receive a product, the business that shipped it just lost money on shipping and handling. That's why the process of obtaining the address and organizing the business back end is important. Customers should always verify their address before placing an order, and the database of information should be well laid out, and able to flawlessly print out address labels onto packages. Outsourcing is a good option here for most businesses.
Some products are better off being fixed than replaced- such as what Microsoft does with its gaming consoles. With the gaming console fiasco Microsoft went through, it was apparent that fixing consoles for the price of shipping and low labor costs was much more effective than missing out on lost profits and enduring new restocking costs.
Some of the most successful repair operations in reverse logistics work based on fixing products, and then shipping out refurbished products as new products arrive. This works best when there are few products that a manufacturer offers. An example would be with a router manufacturer: if a router comes in needing a repair, an already refurbished router of the same type can be sent immediately while the old one is fixed. Waiting times are drastically reduced.
Handbooks that are well laid out can work wonders for returns. Furniture companies can sometimes be notorious for including instructions that don't make sense, or missing out on parts that should have been shipped. A manual will let the buyer know what they need and how they need to operate or assemble the product. If they become lost in the process, they are more likely to return the product and buy a different brand from a competitor rather than work it out.
Closing Comments
Third party logistics companies have operations, software, and the man power ready to take on any reverse logistics operation. Medium and large businesses are better off outsourcing their operations, rather than attempt to do an in house logistics operation and cause a clear cut disaster instead.
