Borders, in Ann Arbor, Mich., uses software from Brightware Inc. and E.piphany Inc. to track orders regardless of the channel or reason for the return. Because Borders' online unit doesn't operate separately, its stores don't have to worry about returns affecting their bottom line. BlueLight shares Kmart's reverse-logistics processing network, but the two units keep their data separate. There, sales are matched back to the original order data, and BlueLight issues credits or sends online checks the same day to customers who returned merchandise to the stores. BlueLight doesn't offer cash back to consumers at Kmart's cash registers, but Kmart customers are returning online purchases to the store instead of through the mail by a margin of about three to one.
Returns are so complicated that many E-retailers simply outsource the whole business to specialists.
This has led to a new breed of Internet sites that focus on taking in returns, paying the consumer and the merchant quickly, and disposing of the goods online through auction or discount Web sites and portals. It's actually generating more cents on the dollar for us, because returns are its core competency. We understand returns, but we'd rather focus our resources on selling computers and related equipment. If not, some online retailers may not be around long enough to get the process right next time.