Retail Returns Management and Liquidation Solutions

Did you know that the value of Online Returns is more than the US Defense Budget? CNBC reported that in 2021 the US online returns were estimated to be at $761 Billion, while the US Defense budget was $741 Billion. Now that you know the scale of this problem or opportunity, it would be surprising to note that few platforms serve this industry. The returns and the used market has been able to soften the supply chain constraints in the recent past in categories like electronics. Today about two-thirds of the returns are processed through reselling, liquidation and donations. About a third ends up in landfills, or its better-sounding alternative of “Energy Recovery,” which sadly means incineration! Given the focus on sustainability, it becomes more critical to ensure that returns are processed through the circular economy more efficiently. This is the idea that we should be reusing and recycling existing materials rather than creating new ones, so that we don't consume our natural resources faster than they can replenish themselves. One important place to implement this concept is in online returns management. The e-commerce industry has grown steadily over the past two decades, and it's projected to keep growing by leaps and bounds over the next few years. As these companies become more efficient at scaling their processes, online shopping will increasingly become the norm—and that means we will have a lot more waste from packaging and discarded returns. In addition, as consumers become more sophisticated in their understanding of sustainable practices, they are becoming less tolerant of wasteful packaging and discarded returns. In fact, many return customers have said that they would not shop with a brand again if it used too much packaging for their order. It's important for companies with big e-commerce operations to find ways to reduce this waste and optimize returns. There are opportunities across the value chain such as better product discovery to minimize incorrect purchases and returns, better demand planning to optimize overstock, fraud management in returns, liquidation marketplaces, and becoming a YouTube influencer unboxing mystery return pallets! For more information on the CNBC report, visit: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/02/19/inside-liquidity-services-and-the-644-billion-liquidation-market.html For ideas and libraries to get you jumpstarted on the circular economy use cases use the below libraries.

Supply Chain Optimization Libraries

These libraries help you avoid waste through planning, tracking and optimization solutions.

Simple Retail Storefronts and Auctions

These libraries help you build storefronts and auctions for return, used products returning them to the circular economy.