There is a common issue where many shops focus solely on pushing products out without paying enough attention to handling returns. This can create difficulties in managing profit and loss, leading to ineffective business performance, and leaving sellers unsure of how to handle losses. So how can returns and cancellations be effectively controlled? Let's explore this in the article below with UpBase.
The reason for orders being returned due to unsuccessful delivery.
There are many reasons leading to unsuccessful delivery of orders, which can be subjective from the buyer's end or due to mishaps in the shipping process. Below are some of the most common reasons that sellers often encounter when orders are returned:
- Buyer not present at the delivery address (no recipient available)
- Buyer providing incorrect delivery address
- Inaccurate delivery address
- Buyer requesting order cancellation
- Lost, damaged, or missing shipments
- Delivery personnel canceling without delivery
- Your area being under lockdown due to pandemic
- Order exceeding storage time
- Order showing signs of violating Shopee's policies
- Buyer not receiving the item after 3 delivery attempts
- Refusal to accept the delivery (incorrect item, unwillingness to receive, damaged item, etc.)
- Delivery personnel unable to contact the buyer (unreachable)
- Unable to receive the item for various reasons
- Buyer rescheduling delivery multiple times
Ways to handle orders returned due to unsuccessful delivery
For buyers
Sometimes, orders are returned because buyers actively choose not to receive the item or due to buyer errors during the ordering process. In the case of a returned order, buyers should:
- Double-check their shipping address information.
- Contact the e-commerce platform's staff or the shipping carrier for assistance.
- Inquire about the location of the storage facility where their package is held if the delivery attempt was missed (in case they cannot receive the package at the delivery address).
- Schedule a redelivery with the shipping carrier if possible.
For sellers
A high volume of returns can negatively impact the operational efficiency of your store and directly affect your sales profitability. Therefore, sellers need to pay special attention to monitoring and handling their return orders while doing business.
- Keep track of order statuses to promptly address them.
- Contact buyers to confirm information such as address and phone number.
- Reach out to customers to finalize the handling plan (continue delivery or cancel).
- Process refunds for customers.
- You may consider requesting customers to make a deposit for the products or shipping costs before delivery.
Utilize sales management software to control return orders.
For small shops, sellers can manually control the number of orders and return orders. However, for shops with a large volume of orders, it is advisable for sellers to use sales management software to easily manage operations while saving time and human resources.
Order Management
The order management feature in UpBase SMEs software allows sellers to track the status of orders and process orders from multiple stores on a single software interface.
Return Management on E-commerce Platforms
The return management feature helps sellers to handle returned orders, as well as abnormal cancellations. It enables tracking the reasons for returns and automatically updating inventory after returns are received.
Read more: Most effective ways to handle excessive inventory in 2021
Learn more about UpBase SMEs multi-channel management software.
Order reconciliation
- Inventory reconciliation: Essentially, it's about monitoring the flow of orders to keep track of their status. This includes orders in transit and returns to prevent losses.
- Cash flow reconciliation: Similar to inventory reconciliation, it involves checking whether the order has been paid for. How much was refunded? And what is the timeframe for refunds?
- Profit and loss reconciliation: Sellers deduct the cost of goods sold and service fees to determine the profit. One crucial aspect of the profit and loss reconciliation file is the cost analysis. Sellers examine which expenses account for the highest percentage to identify and reduce those costs.
UpBase SMEs software also assists sellers in detailed cost reconciliation for each order, controlling the quantity of goods, and assessing the profit and loss status of the store.
Scenario: Lost returned goods
This is one of the cases shared by sellers in the UpBase community.
Issue Raised: 'I really hope you can provide insight into why if an order is being shipped and the customer cancels the order, J&T [shipping company] takes the package from the shop, no matter how much we beg, they don't return it. I hope you can advise me on how to overcome this. My shop has hundreds of orders with J&T but I dare not deliver them.'
Resolution:
In this case, the seller should address it by: listing all the tracking numbers that have been reported as successfully returned but have not actually been received, then send an email to J&T. Additionally, call the J&T hotline to file a complaint. The seller should continue to visit the post office to demand the goods back. If the post office still claims that the goods have been returned, the seller should request a signature comparison. You can sign the template and send it to J&T, requesting a comparison.
Commitment:
In this article, UpBase has provided sellers with ways to control returned orders. We hope you find this article helpful.
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