Returns Assessment

Returns are a natural part of the customer journey. Some can be prevented, all can be optimized.

Returns have a significant impact on customer satisfaction, profitability, and sustainability. However, knowledge of what should be optimized—and how—is often limited.

Returns affect several different parts of the organization but are rarely fully owned. A holistic view, clear accountability, and cross-functional coordination are often lacking.

Decisions regarding returns are therefore made based on fragmented information, where costs, customer behavior, and operational consequences are not linked. To prioritize correctly, a comprehensive review of several perspectives is required, for example:

• The customer’s purchasing journey
• The customer’s return experience before/during/after purchase
• The product’s return journey – processes, flows, system support, and organizational responsibility
• Return costs for handling, shipping, administration, and depreciation
• Return data per product, category, and customer

This makes it possible to:
Identify which returns can be prevented and how actual returns can be optimized. Understand the true cost of returns, beyond the return rate. Create a foundation for decisions regarding policy, technology, processes, and responsibility.

Omniarch Returns Assessment is for e-commerce companies that:

• Have a significant volume of returns.
• Experience increasing return costs or insufficient profitability.
• Lack a comprehensive overview of how returns affect the business.
• Want to make decisions regarding policy, systems, or organization based on fact-based evidence.
• Are considering establishing clearer ownership of returns, for example, through a dedicated role.