Maximise eCommerce with DTC returns, made easy
Improve eCommerce operations with up to 90% increase in speed of handling returns to the DC / DTC.
eCommerce / DTC sales are increasing due to COVID-19
This causes an over proportional increase in returns which normally would require a ramp up of staff and equipment to handle the process – Detego’s new RFID enabled return process provides an approx 90% productivity increase.
Fast shifting focus to e-commerce in the wake of COVID-19 is a wise strategy for all retailers with the ability to do so. However, new challenges present themselves with increasing pressure on the operations and handling of returns in their DCs and DTC operations. Detego offers a new solution for RFID-enabled retailers which drastically improves the accuracy and the speed of returns in DCs, helping combat the lost sales from physical stores whilst ensuring their DC operations can meet the increased online demand and the subsequent number of returns.
Change in consumer purchasing behaviours and temporary closure of physical retail stores during & post COVID-19 will result in a large increase in online shopping through retailer’s ecommerce channels. This puts operational pressures on the DC/ DTC operations for outbound shipments and handling of returns from both consumers (up to 50% of all online orders are returned) and wholesalers.
Key challenges facing retailers
- Increased number of returns coming to the DTC/ DC creating large bottlenecks
- Manual returns processes lacking efficiency
- Outbound picking and shipping errors to wholesalers and consumers
- Lack of available stock in the fulfilment center to be displayed on the webshop with 100% focus on eCommerce during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Fraudulent/illegitimate returns not being recognised
Important statstics for why you must act now
- While shoppers return only 10% of what they buy in stores, they send back up to 50% of what they buy online.
- e-commerce purchases are likely to increase to 40% of all retail sales at its peak of the COVID-19 pandemic
- CNBC reports that the average return represents 30 per cent of the purchase price.
- According to Ipsos MORI, 50% of Chinese and 31% of Italian consumers say they’re shopping online ‘more frequently’ to purchase products they’d usually buy in-store.
- Unpresecendeted amounts of retailers in the US, Europe and UK have been forced to temporarily close physical stores
How do we solve the problem?
Detego delivers a SaaS enabled warehouse solution integrated with RFID hardware to count, verify, track and manage inventory moving from the DC to consumer/wholesaler as well as a new module to handle all returns back to the DC. This is done using automated processes and item-level verification to improve efficiency, speed and accuracy whilst integrating with the necessary Warehouse Management System (WMS).
Detego's new returns module - powered by RFID
For retailers with existing RFID tagging on merchandise, Detego offers the only RFID-enabled solution to ensure the increased demands on your DC operations can be managed efficiently with automated outbound verification, tracking of products on item-level and a newly developed returns process using RFID systems.
This solution is tested and proven in existing deployments and new features added to optimise the processing time spent on return handling reduces the need for additional staff and equipment to handle the increased return volume at the DC/ DTC caused by the increased demand in online shopping. Additional features such as product imagery and or ‘quality grading’ of the return can be implemented to further improve processes.
FAQ's
Detego integrates directly with the WMS (Warehouse Management System) to fetch the target list of all incoming returns (SKU or EPC level) so that every return can be legitimately verified and processed back into the DC / DTC
All RFID-enabled fashion, apparel and sports retailers with e-commerce operations, DC’ and DTC’s. These retailers will be shifting their focus to online orders due to the temporary closure of stores and changing consumer behaviours. They need help with managing the influx of orders and subsequent increase in returns.
Detego integrates with all forms of hardware in the warehouse to enable efficient and automated processes. These include handheld readers, fixed readers (High-density RFID chambers, Overhead RFID readers, RFID tables, RFID tunnels) and RFID printers.
- Improve speed and accuracy of outbound order shipments to DTC or store with automated RFID reads
- Utilise item-level verification of all inbound returns and outbound shipments for clearer inventory visibility
- Seamlessly integrate with existing WMS to ensure real-time accurate information is made available at all times
- New innovative process handling of returns to improve efficiencies in DC/ DTC operations
- ‘Quality grading’ and ‘image recognition’ for handling returns