Dealing with Returns After the Holidays?

Are you ready for all of those holiday returns? Most Consumer Products companies already have the software applications in place to track returns, determine the best method of shipping product back and eventually figuring out what to do with it. These applications are sophisticated, and they typically have the functionality and capability to streamline returns and save money. But, as is the case with all technologies, it’s not the system itself, but the process and the way you use the system that delivers the best results.

The key to saving time—and thus money —in the returns process is making the decision of what to do with the return sooner, rather than later, before the product even starts making its way back from the customer.

Working with leading CP companies, we have learned that by using the knowledge you have within your tracking systems:

• You know the history
• You know the likely outcome for each return

The RADAR methodology says you will pre-define the process and eventual outcome for that return prior to it ever leaving your building for the initial sale. Within the master data elements of your inventory, you will pre-assign a return disposition to that item.