Articles
Reverse Logistics
15 Down & Dirty Ways to Get Green Now
Ready to reduce your company’s carbon footprint and cut waste in the supply chain? These steps will help you plant the seeds.
Read MoreMitigating the Flood of Post-Holiday Returns
Businesses across the country spend months gearing up for the holiday season. And while they survived this year’s frenzy, many are now bracing for a flood of post-holiday returns.
Read MoreThe Logistics of Liquidation
When a customer returns a product, or a company clears unsold merchandise off the shelves, that’s the start of an uphill climb in search of maximum value recovery.
Read MoreThe Top 3 Logistics Challenges for the Rest of 2019
Amazon’s network, increasing reverse logistics volumes, and tariffs are the issues that will define the supply chain for the remainder of 2019.
Read MoreRetail Combats a $351-Billion Problem
The next time you think about returning an item to Amazon, be forewarned: Return too many items in one year, and you might just be exiled for good. Amazon’s controversial decision to ban return-happy customers in an effort to reduce returns costs shows the lengths retailers are willing to go. Last year, total merchandise returns […]
Read MoreMinimize Returns While Improving Sales
The popularity of free shipping has led to a growth of online sales. It has also created a problem: a large number of online returns. The shipping world defines the returns process as reverse logistics. Minimizing costs and even making a profit in reverse logistics is critical to an e-commerce company’s health. Here are some […]
Read MoreSend It Back! How to Manage E-Commerce Returns
Up to 30 percent of e-commerce orders shipped to customers wind up coming back. Here’s how smart retailers box up their reverse logistics strategies.
Read MoreRecall Logistics: The Value of Information
Massive recalls—such as the contaminated romaine lettuce in summer 2018 that led to the deaths of five people—provide some lessons helpful to anyone facing a future recall. With any recall, the first step is alerting the public and removing any harmful product from store shelves and customers’ homes. Unlike the romaine lettuce recall, the majority […]
Read MoreReverse Logistics Discussion Highlights Upcoming Conference – SMC³
As a consumer, I realize the incredible value online retail sales brings to my family. The ability to order everything—from clothing to food—with one simple click and experience lightning-fast delivery to nearly anywhere in the country is incredibly beneficial. But as the head of a supply chain technology company, I know the online retail supply […]
Read MoreSeamless Returns Start With Serial Numbers
Although serial numbers were initially created to track production, they are invaluable tools for reverse logistics. Here’s how they can streamline supply chains. Serialized products are easier to manage during the returns process. If retailers capture a serial number at the point of sale (PoS), they know an item was purchased from them, because they […]
Read MoreSolved: Creating an Omnichannel Approach for a Sporting Goods Maker – Crane Worldwide Logistics
The Challenge The client is a leading global designer, manufacturer, and marketer of consumer products in the global outdoor and sporting goods market with distribution through wholesale and e-commerce retail chains. The client faced: Dependence on a primary wholesale business model for the majority of its revenue. Increasing global demand for its products (9.8% CAGR […]
Read MoreEngaging Customers Through AI
Retailers will rely heavily on technologies such as live chat, Facebook Messenger, and Amazon Alexa for customer service, according to a new research study from Linc and Brand Garage. How AI Technology Will Transform Customer Engagement highlights the overwhelming emphasis retail executives are placing on automated platforms to improve customer communication, with 87 percent of […]
Read MoreReverse Logistics: Earning a High Rate of Return
Are you ready to pay attention to the benefits a reverse logistics program can bring to your enterprise? Here are two expert perspectives on the opportunities that will make a difference in reverse logistics programs and how to establish goals to optimize those benefits.
Read More5 Steps to Preventing Brand Damage When Your Product Fails
A poorly handled product recall can devastate your company’s reputation, market share, and bottom line. With proper planning and systems in place, however, companies can effectively manage recalls to mitigate risk, as well as prevent brand damage. The key is not to think of a product recall as a singular event, but rather as a […]
Read MoreThe Back & Forth of Reverse Logistics
Companies that have reverse logistics processes and systems in place to capture all the value possible can beat competitors coming and going.
Read MoreRethinking Reverse Logistics for Online Apparel Returns
As virtual shopping bags replace physical ones, it’s important for retailers to update their policies and logistics strategies to align with consumer behavior and expectations. This is particularly the case when deciding how to handle apparel returns, which boast one of the highest return rates: One in three purchases are sent back. This trend, and […]
Read MoreThree Returns Strategies for Improving Omni-channel Retail
Omni-channel retail involves much more than efficient order fulfillment. An easy returns policy is just as important—so much so that it can be the deciding factor for a purchase. That said, it’s one thing to enact a favorable returns policy, and quite another to execute it efficiently. Thanks to omni-channel expectations, shoppers want the ability […]
Read MoreDialing In to the Secondhand Smartphone Market
More than any other mobile device, our gadget-centric society loves smartphones. The next big thing is always right around the corner. And that’s the phone we want. This compelling trend has spawned a budding market for secondhand smartphones. Many consumers are content to chase the next product generation one or two years behind if it […]
Read MoreRetailers Get Help With New DOT “Reverse Logistics” Rules
The U.S. Department of Transportation has finalized new shipping requirements aimed at retail stores that return hazmat products to a supplier or manufacturer for a refund. Because the hazmat products found in retail stores typically pose little risk to the public in small amounts, U.S. DOT has created a streamlined, simplified version of the hazmat […]
Read MoreSaving Green While Going Green
While good for the environment, supply chain sustainability can also be good for the bottom line if incorporated into a company’s supply chain strategy. In the past, most companies were concerned primarily with forward logistics processes, and, to some degree, returning product to suppliers. Today, companies also focus on reverse logistics processes, not only from […]
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