JSC Provides Insight About Reverse Logistics - Johnson Stephens Consulting

Sandy Stephens, Managing Principal of Johnson Stephens Consulting, has been featured in the latest issue of PARCEL Magazine. Sandy shares expertise about today’s Reverse Logistics and how it can be a revenue center for shippers by using best practices. 

Excerpts from the full article are as published in September/October 2019 PARCEL Magazine – Reverse Logistics: Cost Center or Revenue Center?

“Like much of supply chain operations, returns (or reverse logistics) have historically been viewed as a necessary evil and a cost center. Sellers have always been required to accept and process returns. But in the last decade, the demands and objectives of reverse logistics have evolved. In the past, customer expectations for returns consisted of credit for the item returned (within a week to 10 days, of course) or replacement of the item (a different size, color, etc.) within two weeks. Today’s customer expectations have changed to include immediate credit or replacement from whatever location the customer chooses – home, store, hotel, wherever – with complete visibility of each step of the process and notification upon completion of each step.

Recently, the seller’s perspective has changed in the wake of differing customer expectations and the emergence of supply chain visibility systems and technology. Sellers have responded with investment in improved systems and focus on enhanced processes. The goal of the seller is to satisfy the customer, return the product to a salable condition (whether that means repackaging, restocking, or refurbishing), and resell the item to another customer as soon as possible. While these stated goals have not changed for sellers, the reality of the expectations and the commitment to achieving these goals by sellers has evolved. Sellers now see reverse logistics as a revenue driver instead of a cost center. Expeditious processing of returns leads to increased sales, improved sell-through, and increased inventory efficiency."

The full article can be found on page 24 by clicking the image or link below.