When you’re in the business of selling products, it might seem odd that you must give so much thought to taking them back. However, your returns process can be either a bridge or a chasm when it comes to sales into your eCommerce store, depending on how straightforward it is.
Customers expect simple returns
Even before the global pandemic, with all its non-essential retail closures and diversion of shoppers online, easy returns have been a key characteristic of a frictionless eCommerce journey.
Having to print off returns labels themselves, queue up at the post office, pay for the cost of returning an item, and then wait ages for a refund are just some of the pain points that repel customers.
They expect pre-printed labels, free returns, a variety of accessible parcel drop-off options, and speedy refunds.
Time consuming and complicated for business owners
As a warehousing and fulfilment service for SMEs, we’ve heard about the agony returns can cause the business owner, too. If you don’t outsource your fulfilment, or only part of it, you’re left dealing with all the tracking, receipt, checking, cleaning, restocking, correspondence and refunding by yourself.
Unsurprisingly, as online sales rise, returned items increase. Dealing with all that in-house can really distract you from other important elements of running a growing business.
What’s more, there’s no room for error because negative customer reviews about arduous returns and slow refunds and are bad news for your bottom line.
Here are 3 returns challenges you might be facing and our solutions…
“My customers keep asking for updates on their returns. I can’t keep up with their queries.”
Fullers’ warehouse management system (WMS) can be synced with all major eCommerce platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and others. Using the order number, the WMS tracks the parcel and automatically tells the customer when it has been received from your chosen courier at one of our warehouses. We work with all major couriers and process returns same day.
You can check exactly what’s been returned (and why) using the system, and then follow your desired protocol for issuing refunds in a timely way.
Our team will include information to help you identify trends in returns, should you need to take up any product quality issues with your suppliers and manufacturers.
If there’s room for improvement in your returns process, your Fullers account manager can implement those changes. For example, including pre-paid returns labels and suitable return packaging with items when they’re sent out.
“It takes so long to check the condition of returned items properly.”
Chances are, your returns policy states that items must be returned in a resaleable condition, unless faulty. In either case, checks will need to be made. If you have a fashion eCommerce business, particular care will need to be paid to whether tags have been removed or the item has been worn (other than for trying on). For health and beauty products, safety seals will need to be studied closely before a product is restocked.
When you work with Fullers, we’ll take care of all those quality checks for you. From the outset, we’ll agree with your what you would like your returns criteria to be and apply those rules to every item that comes back.
Either leave it all in our capable hands or, if you would like more visibility of return, we can send you a photo of returned/damaged goods and discuss the best course of action with you e.g. return to stock, disposal, recycling, or return to you for further investigation. If you would like to donate items to charity, we can arrange that for you too.
“COVID-19 means items now need specialist cleaning and quarantine. I don’t have the know-how, storage space, or equipment to manage this.”
Every Fullers warehouse is subject to the strictest hygiene and COVID safety standards and we have ample space to store items large and small in an appropriate setting and within safe proximity to other goods.
Our scrupulous experts have the latest training on how to rigorously clean, quarantine, and restock a wide range of items so that they can be resold without risk to your customers. We have dry cleaning facilities for clothing, if necessary.
You‘ll be made aware of how and why all measures taken and kept updated on the status of each item via our warehouse management system. Rest assured you can trust Fullers take the right action for the safety or your customers and the health of your business, too.
Ready to wake up tomorrow without a returns headache, just loads of headspace for the rest of your business?
Fullers Logistics is an end-to-end fulfilment service based in Hampshire and Berkshire and we have the knowledge and experience to deal with your returns swiftly and without stress. Contact us today via our contact form to discuss your requirements for storage, picking, packaging and returns options.
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