Driven by e-commerce, generous return policies and new consumer expectations, retailers and manufacturers are receiving more returned merchandise than ever. While returns have historically been a necessary cost of business, the growth in volume has encouraged more players in the supply chain to improve the speed, efficiency and cost of their reverse logistics.
“Everyone is feeling the pain of returns,” Joe Hsu, director of solutions at Optoro, told Supply Chain Dive. “If anything, suppliers have it the worst. They have all the stuff coming back through the retail and e-commerce channels, plus the goods coming back from the wholesale customers.”