Author Warehouse |

A logistics operation wouldn’t be complete without reverse logistics. This is the fine art and science of saving money in the process of handling returned products, fixing them, and hopefully pleasing customers with a speedy service. While it sounds easy, it’s actually a hard task to accomplish.

There are several ways to save money in reverse logistics. The first rule is to never assume that you won’t need to handle returns. If you sell any kind of physical product, there will always be at least one instance of where the product was either defective, or the consumer was not happy with the product. As such, every business should have a plan of attack for handling returns in reverse logistics operations.

When you can consolidate something, it becomes easily managed. This holds true for reverse logistics as well. Knowing your bounds in returning items to the manufacturer is key at this stage, as you can try to consolidate returns in one single shipment. Otherwise you will find yourself paying invoices for several different shipments, and losing money in the process.

Instead of replacing a product completely, most business operations will instead refurbish a product and then send it back to the consumer. A refurbished product does take time to fix, but with the right team of developers, most fixes should be fairly quick and easy to conduct. After the warranty for the product is up, the business can also recover costs by charging for the fixes.

The most important part of the reverse logistics business is analyzing what you have repaired, received, and sent on a monthly basis. That way you can decide how to order spare parts in order to fix the products sent back. Since you often get discounts for ordering in bulk, after a month or two you should have a good enough idea to make a large purchase on spare parts for the distant future.

A broker or third party logistics service will be able to further help you consolidate your efforts, save time, and ultimately save money in the process. A third party logistics service already has experience building a business and maximizing efficiency. Even if you are already doing well, a reverse logistics service could save time by allowing you to outsource the entire operation. You may even find they charge less of a price than the costs you incurred.

Closing Comments

Reverse logistics is a science. You won’t be able to tackle the problem in as little as a few months- it’s an ongoing operation that will take much testing and patience. Ask for help when you need it, for there are many businesses out there ready to lend a hand.

Learn more about St. Louis fulfillment and Saint Louis fulfillment.