E-commerce returns are on the rise: what’s your reverse logistics plan?

There has been a lot of talk lately in the logistics community about the surge in e-commerce returns: a recent report from CBRE noted that they are growing at a 15-percent annual rate and in 2015 around 30 percent of online purchases were returned. Those are some pretty big numbers that can’t be ignored. What’s more they mark the growing importance for retailers to have an efficient reverse logistics process in place that captures the most value for the merchandise; that includes the inventory that can’t go back on virtual shelves and is slated for close out/liquidation.

When it comes to merchandise marked for the secondary market, it’s important for retailers to understand the true value of it and potentially reassess whatever liquidation program they have in place. Often there is an opportunity to recoup more simply by ditching traditional, manual methods (like selling to one or two liquidators) and applying technology in the form of a web-based B2B marketplace. Consider this:

• A web-based solution makes it just as easy to have thousands of buyers compete for the inventory, pushing prices up versus having a single liquidator negotiate them down.

• In every major city around the world there are businesses that purchase customer-returned inventory for resale; most likely a robust secondary market and buyer base exists for the returned products.

Six of the top 10 U.S. retailers and the world’s largest e-retailers are leveraging B-Stock’s award-winning, technology-based, and data-driven solutions to achieve a 30-80% higher recovery rate for their returned and excess inventory. This includes B2B and B2C Enterprise Solutions for large organizations and our SMB Solution: B-Stock Supply.

For more information on the clients we serve, please visit our B-Stock Sourcing Network. If you’re interested in learning more about how B-Stock can build a customized web-based solution for returned, overstock or excess inventory, please contact us.