In this digital world, purchases are increasingly taking place online. E-commerce has developed rapidly and the extent to which consumers and businesses do business online seems to be on the increase for the time being. This creates new issues for organizations, such as maintaining an attractive web shop, delivering all e-commerce orders from distribution centers across the Netherlands and finding the right business model for this new way of doing business. Another important aspect of online shopping is the possibility for consumers to return a purchase received at home. Certainly for consumers of fashion items (clothing, shoes and accessories) this is an option that is widely used. The average return percentage is speculated, but it is known that this is more than fifty percent for some clothing organizations. If an organization does not manage well with this return flow, this can have a major impact on the profitability of the organization. Moreover, the ambitions in the area of sustainability can be a blow if many products have to be destroyed when they are taken back.

What influences this is the return policy that organizations offer their customers. The return policy contains the conditions under which a customer may return an item. Almost every clothing organization has published a return policy on its website, but how does an organization choose which conditions they want to set in this? Where does an organization base its return policy and how can you, as an organization, design your own return policy that fits the focus you have already chosen? This article presents a step-by-step plan in which you, as an organization, can choose the return policy that can form a good basis for dealing with the returns that you will have to deal with as an e-commerce organization.

If you want to know more about the roadmap, download the article below. Do you want to get started with the implementation of the steps and finding the right return policy for your organization? Please contact Jeroen Blankestijn, Consultant Purchasing & Supply Chain Management via +31 (0) 6 15 26 62 41 or j.blankestijn@supplyvalue.nl.