Cover Story
W
hen BuySeasons Inc., an online
Here are five other ways your returns
specialty retailer of costumes,
strategy can benefit your bottom line:
accessories and seasonal party
supplies, signed up for a UPS Returns®
Improve customer service. It’s true;
Flexible Access trial program, company
a good returns program brings back
leaders weren’t sure what to expect.
more than packages. It also brings back
Would customers notice and apprecicustomers. If your customers are happy
ate the additional return access points –
with their overall experience, including
including their local post office? Would
returns, they’ll be back. With three
the ultra-convenience lead to an undesirdifferent returns options (see sidebar at
able increase in returns? What they disright), UPS has a program that’s right for
Terry Rowinski of
BuySeasons
says
covered was that customers didn’t return
your business.
making returns
products more often – a good thing –
Returns are a critical part of PHH
more convenient
didn’t increase his
and they had fewer questions, which
Mortgage’s service strategy. The New
return rate.
saved customer service reps time.
Jersey-based residential mortgage com“We’ve seen fewer [phone inquiries]
pany provides a UPS return label and
with our customers,” says Terry Rowinski, vice president
envelope in every mortgage package, making it simple for
of operations for BuySeasons (buyseasons.com).
clients to send back essential documents.
1
Returns
redefined
A strong strategy will keep
your customers coming back
and revenues rising.
“They can track it themselves, which is kind of cool.”
Your returns policy is one of the most visible elements of
your company’s customer service record. In a 2008 Forrester
Research study of online returns, 81 percent of customers
agreed with this statement: “If an online retailer makes it
easier for me to return a product, I am more likely to buy
from that retailer.” While a crucial differentiator for retailers,
returns can be a key to growing nearly any business in any
industry, allowing you to save time and money and outshine
your competition.
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COMPASS S U M M E R 2 0 1 0
Photograph: James Schnepf; Illustration: C.J. Burton
“Purchasing a home is one of the big decisions that
someone makes in their lifetime, and we work hard to make
it as smooth and as easy as possible,” says Ed Hickson,
PHH’s director of distribution and fulfillment. “All they
have to do is stick the label on the package we provide them
and drop it in a UPS Drop Box, and it’s back to us.”
2
Maximize your inventory. An efficient returns process
means faster turnaround, so your inventory spends
less time in no-man’s land and more time working for you.
And with UPS technology, packages are tracked every step
of the way, so you’ll always know the location of your
restockable products.
eCardio, a leading provider of heart monitoring devices,
was experiencing a 50 percent loss of inventory. “Patients
would claim they returned the device, but we would never
receive it,” says Heidi Tomberlin, operations manager for
the Houston-based company.
But with UPS Returns Flexible Access, eCardio is
seeing a nearly 100 percent return rate, which means the
company doesn’t have to replace expensive inventory,
and the devices spend more time helping the company
serve clients and patients.
3
Increase sales. More and more people are used to
shopping online, but familiarity does not breed total
trust. That’s why a good returns policy, including a prepaid return label, often results in higher sales. Confident
customers are more likely to make that purchase, while
not increasing your return rate. They simply like the
extra security.
4
Streamline routing. Within large businesses, the
person who sends out a package is rarely the same
person who processes the return. Clients’ completed
PHH Mortgage packages are returned directly to a vendor in Maryland, which converts the documents to electronic images for fast, secure access by PHH employees.
“For somebody who is looking to increase timeliness with
a customer transaction, and needs the flexibility to work in
this global market, it gives you an excellent
tool,” Hickson says of UPS Returns.
3 returns options from UPS
UPS offers a robust portfolio of returns options, making
returns easier for you and your customers and helping
you turn returns into revenue.
UPS Returns® Flexible Access is brand new. Using
a unique return label, your customers can now drop
off their return packages at thousands of UPS and
U.S. Postal Service locations – including their personal
mailboxes. Packages given to the USPS are then picked
up by UPS drivers and put into the UPS delivery system.
Both you and your customers can track the packages’
progress online.
UPS Returns® allows you to process and track return
shipments with ease, not just within the United States
but in 98 countries and territories. You can print a UPS
Returns label to include in your outbound package,
send the return label separately,
To learn more
or request UPS mail or e-mail a
about UPS
Returns solutions, return label to your customer. You
visit ups.com/returns or
also can provide your customers
flexibleaccess.ups.com.
with the ability to initiate returns
from your website, track their merchandise and receive a
quick return of goods through UPS.
UPS Returns® Plus provides you the most assurance.
You can arrange for UPS to pick up a package being
returned directly from your customer, with two choices:
n 1 UPS Pickup Attempt: UPS will make one attempt
to pick up your package. If the package cannot be
collected, UPS will leave the return label at the
pickup location.
n 3 UPS Pickup Attempts: UPS will attempt to
pick up your package for three consecutive
business days.
5
Anticipate staffing needs. BuySeasons uses UPS’s
tracking technology not only to keep an eye on its merchandise but also to plan its staffing needs. “Even with our
low retail apparel return rates, when you ship out 40,000 to
50,000 packages a day, 6 percent coming back is still a lot,”
Rowinski says. Employees carefully inspect all returned
merchandise to determine what can go back on the shelves.
UPS tracking technology enables supervisors to anticipate
high returns traffic and adjust work schedules accordingly.
Whatever your company’s returns needs, UPS has a
returns strategy that’s right for you – and your customers.
SUMMER 2010
COMPASS
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