Look forward in reverse

Business changes in the area of reverse logistics are slowly working their way upstream to the manufacturer. While it is still necessary for someone to physically handle returned merchandise, there are greatly expanded choices when it comes to disposition. Auctions such as eBay are creating a giant...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Logistics today 2006-07, Vol.47 (7), p.20-22
Main Author: Richardson, Helen L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Automation
Customer services
Logistics
Product returns
Radio frequency identification
Retail stores
Reverse logistics
Supply chain management
Supply chains
Third party
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Summary:Business changes in the area of reverse logistics are slowly working their way upstream to the manufacturer. While it is still necessary for someone to physically handle returned merchandise, there are greatly expanded choices when it comes to disposition. Auctions such as eBay are creating a giant new secondary market. There also are private auctions between wholesalers and returns brokers to expand the market for returned or unsold merchandise. Service providers bring specialized services such as private auctions, offerings to the general public, or repackaging, re-labelling, and transporting. Perhaps the best thing to come out of increased 3PL participation is an increase in available information. While disposition options are expanding, the companies that actually do the physical handling are getting much more efficient and manufacturers can exercise more control if they can receive information on what is being returned and its condition. The more advanced operations are bar-coding and presorting returns and taking steps to control costs.
ISSN:1547-1438