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As return rates continue to rise, the cost associated with processing returned merchandise—whether back on the shelf or returned to the vendor—is becoming a major pain point.
Consider this: it costs twice the amount to process an online return for resale as it does to sell it the first time around. What’s more, by the time an item is returned, a newer product (that can be sold at full price) may now be on the shelf. This is often the case for specialty retailers with quickly rotating inventory.
Sustained inflation has compressed consumer spending across categories, resulting in softened sell-through rates and climbing aged inventory ratios. For retailers, brands, and manufacturers, the downstream effects are distinct, but the core problem is the same: the excess inventory is there,…
This well-known athletic retailer had large volumes of aged overstock held at various distribution centers (DCs) around the country. A small group of jobbers purchased the inventory on informal terms, managed by each DC, leading to inconsistent processes and outcomes…