Nobody in business—from manufacturers and retailers to semi trailer leasing companies—will soon forget the supply chain issues spawned by the pandemic and worsened by various other issues. (Remember that massive barge jamming the Suez Canal?) The challenges companies faced kept logistics professionals up at night, frustrated consumers, and caused significant revenue drops for many organizations.
Companies and individual consumers have always returned products for reasons ranging from item defects to incorrect size or color to simply a change of heart about the purchase. And when those transactions took place in small numbers, the companies would handle the returns in whatever way made sense at the time. Often, there was no clearly defined process.
One of the frustrating things about business is that you work so hard to grow your company, and then, when your efforts start paying off, you find yourself with another challenge: “Where can we get the space needed to support our growth?”
Fast-growing companies can’t get new warehouse space built fast enough or may have revenues earmarked for other initiatives. Organizations with sales spikes don’t want more permanent warehouse space, as it becomes a financial burden when volumes drop.