Reverse Logistics: How to Process Returns Quickly, Easily, and Efficiently 2024

As one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers, TATA relies on timely deliveries that demand on-time customs clearances. Watch Jayant Shreedhar Athawade, Head of SCM at TATA Motors International Business, talk about the value Maersk’s customs team brings to seamless delivery of their vehicles. Integrate your customs process with our Supply Chain Management (SCM) platform for export data management and downstream import benefits.

Used by major shipping companies like DHL and UPS, Locus Robotics makes autonomous mobile robots to optimize warehouse operations. Its Max bot, for example, can carry up to 3,000 pounds and is designed to transport pallets and other irregular loads. And its Origin bot uses LiDAR and computer vision technology to navigate, as well as eight cameras and sensors so it can maneuver alongside its human counterparts. Automation frees your logistics team from repetitive, time-consuming tasks like order picking or generating shipping labels. There’s a lower risk of a customer receiving the wrong item if you’ve asked an automation tool to generate a packing slip that contains each item’s exact location and enter a customer’s shipping address onto a prepaid label.

Use route optimization rules

The right supply chain design is critical to managing the changes brought about by rapid globalization. A well thought-out supply chain network design can optimize the supply chain network and the flow of materials through the network. In doing so, network design captures the costs of the supply chain with a «total landed cost» perspective and applies advanced mathematical technology to determine optimal answers to both strategic and tactical questions. A TMS also enables users to execute the major actions of freight management, including booking of shipments with carriers. Real-time visibility into the movement of freight throughout the transportation network makes it possible to track shipments and share that information with customers and suppliers. There are also communication mechanisms for contacting drivers in transit and Global Positioning System (GPS) features for measuring time and distance.

If you’re looking to outsource shipping, Shopify Fulfillment Network is a comprehensive solution. It offers real-time inventory tracking, dynamic routing technology and reliable processes for freight, drayage, and transloading. With customer expectations continuously on the rise and as interests shift towards product variety and personalized services, the logistics and supply chain sectors face mounting pressures. Further, advancements in emerging technologies such as IoT, automated mobile robots, and AI and blockchain solutions result in companies struggling to choose the most suitable technologies to invest in.

Taking a long view of your organizational strategy and grounding your decision-making in data. Too often, organizations make emotional or anecdotal decisions and respond reactively to short-term shifts in the supply chain, losing sight of their long-term goals. Depending on factors that include time of year and business climate, demand may ebb and flow. By becoming more attuned to this, we can do a better job of filling gaps and meeting customer needs. I also make sure my company is always listed as a “notify” party on all bills of lading (BOLs). Seeing and listening through the eyes and ears of your supply chain partners speeds the pace of negotiations, trust building, and handling crises.

Supply chain analytics

Maersk has been enhancing its product portfolio and service offerings to improve the experience of its customers. With the integration of ocean shipping and logistics services under one umbrella, Maersk’s end-to-end solutions have been customised to suit the customers’ supply chains. Readily deployable use cases include automating customer services, synthesizing and automating document creation (contracts, logistics and custom papers), demand forecasting, and predictive maintenance.

The capabilities of these systems are developing exponentially, with increasingly accurate practical use cases that could facilitate problem solving and improve overall customer experience. By leveraging Flexport’’s logistics expertise and Shopify’’s ecommerce know-how, SFN positions your brand for scalable, sustainable growth. The use of advanced technologies like machine learning means more efficient operations, lower costs, and happier customers.

There has been a lot of buzz around new technologies such as the internet of things (IoT), AI, and autonomous vehicles. It can be difficult to identify how to operationalize these technologies within the supply chain, especially AI. Additionally, with the adoption of any new technology comes the need for organizations to address cybersecurity to prevent disruptions caused by security breaches. This obstacle also reflects the increased need for strong change management as organizations sort out their process changes, new roles and responsibilities, and more. Changes in legal and regulatory requirements and pressure from other stakeholders (e.g., customers, and investors) are driving the impact of sustainability and environmental and social issues on supply chains.

• “Sometimes returns can be messy and that can make you frustrated,” says Erin LaCkore, founder of LaCkore Couture.
• Digital freight forwarders have not lived up to the initial hype around their potential.
• TMS users can search settlement data for clues to customer demand and capacity utilization and in order to negotiate special pricing for factors such as loading speed and time of day.
• With a high definition view, real-time actionable insights and process modeled solutions, process mining can provide the ability to drive continuous improvement into efficient reverse logistics solutions.
• It can help you manage supplier relationships, handle demand forecasting, and ensure inventory optimization.

The IBM® Maximo® Application Suite, for example, offers intelligent asset management, monitoring, predictive maintenance and reliability in a single platform. IBM Sterling® Supply Chain Intelligence Suite uses the power of AI to improve supply chain resilience and sustainability. And IBM offers a growing array of AI solutions to help businesses reimagine the future and build a competitive advantage. Effective cost optimization in supply chain logistics requires a holistic approach. It involves examining every aspect of the supply chain, from procurement to distribution, and identifying opportunities for improvement. However, it’s essential to balance cost reduction with service delivery and customer experience.

Especially if they are about the future.” And the last few years have not made the challenge any easier in the topsy turvy world of global supply chain trends. The typical TMS provides a complete set of sophisticated tools for planning, executing and optimizing shipments and has a repository of up-to-date shipping rates for carriers that can number in the tens of thousands. In fact, according to Gartner, most of the growth in the TMS market continues to result from cloud offerings that companies bought to replace on-premises TMS, a trend that is likely to persist. Meanwhile, TMS vendors continue to migrate their products to SaaS, in large part to fend off competition from fast-growing cloud-native vendors who started with SaaS-based TMS.

This can keep your merchandise within shipping zones, allowing you to provide same-day or two-day shipping. As of 2024, warehouse vacancy rates in the US have risen to 5.2%, marking the first time since the pandemic that vacancies have exceeded 5%. If you’re investing in your own warehouses and distribution centers, costs aren’t set to decrease any time soon. Expanding internationally requires a global fulfillment network, documentation, and accounting for customers and duties.

FedEx Weaknesses

During the 1960s, the supply chain was indelibly changed when IBM developed the world’s first computerized inventory management and forecasting system, which made it simpler to track orders, inventory and distribution. Since then, the industry has been propelled even further into the future, bringing with it an entirely new perspective on how we exchange goods across the globe. The recent Infosys Generative AI Radar study for North America revealed several insights for supply chain management. SCM is a board room topic, alongside chief information security officers and cyber security experts as senior decision makers. However, the champion for implementing generative AI in enterprise supply chains remains unclear.

The most basic version of a supply chain includes a company, its suppliers and its customers. An example would be a raw material producer, manufacturer, distributor, retailer and retail customer. Even so, supply chain management was largely a linear process, and one in which only a limited number of employees participated. Supply chain management is the larger network that connects global vendors, transportation companies, distributors and warehouses. “Generative AI has significant potential for value in the decision-focused areas of supply chain,” says Robert Winans, vice president, head of supply chain, Panasonic Energy North America. It’s inevitable that generative AI will greatly enhance areas like raw materials planning, sourcing, procurement, and logistics.

Costs are also reduced by the ability to use logistical systems to purchase goods based on supply forecasts and improved inventory management. Demand planners are responsible for forecasting market needs through research and data analysis. To become a demand planner, a bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain management, or marketing is typically required, along with experience as a professional buyer or customer service representative. Starting with an average salary of $60,000 per year, experienced demand planners have the potential to earn six-figure salaries. Fifty percent of research participants rated a lack of collaboration across functions and externally as an obstacle to improvement.

It can also export data and reports to the ERP system or a business intelligence (BI) platform for analysis. Like most enterprise software systems, TMSes started as on-premises systems but have increasingly been deployed in the cloud as software as a service (SaaS). It can also alert you when shipments reach your warehouse, especially when packages come with radio frequency identification tags, which can be scanned upon arrival. SCM software can compare multiple vendors within your supply network and make recommendations based on price, delivery times, and data from past orders.

• Increasingly, 3PLs are also investing in their own delivery vehicles, which can support shorter distances and more frequent deliveries, and avoid clogs in the entire supply chain.
• Supply chains are also becoming digitised in terms of how data is being created, stored, and analysed.
• A goal of supply chain management is to improve efficiency by coordinating the efforts of the various entities in the supply chain.
• A spike during the pandemic in high-end chips for consumer goods affected other industries that used low margin chips.
• Most organizations require that a strategic sourcing manager has, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree in a field such as business or finance.
• A degree in logistics or business administration will be helpful for many roles in logistics—including logistician, a career that is expected to grow much faster than average.

Products involved in your reverse supply chain have been returned for a reason—be it that the customer ordered the wrong size or the item was faulty. A poor return logistics process leaves room for unsellable inventory to make its way back onto the shelf. If a customer is returning a t-shirt they ordered from your ecommerce store, for example, reverse logistics would bring the unwanted inventory back to your store or warehouse to be resold, reused, recycled, or refurbished.

What are the benefits of supply chain management software?

Circumstances can turn on a dime and require not only quick, but also clear, thinking when it feels like all options are lost. Those with composure—who can collect themselves, stay calm, and rely on the processes and tools they’ve put into place to handle the unexpected—will excel in managing their supply chain. In today’s world, good customer experience matters, and integrated logistics has the potential to deliver.

Also, think about whether you want packages fully insured while in storage and during delivery and return. Understand if what you’re getting is insurance or simply a carrier-included liability. We asked a merchant success lead at Shopify Fulfillment Network what they would recommend when it comes to choosing a 3PL.

By submitting this form, I agree to receive logistics related news and marketing updates from A. Maersk has established an in-house women’s academy offering tailored training programmes to ensure stronger diversity and inclusion. Through this academy, women will be empowered to work in the logistics and supply chain sector through specialised training and career development.

Instead of managing your own warehouses and doing distribution in-house, you can store your stock in a 3PL vendor’s warehouse, with the stock shipped directly from your manufacturers. Those include empathy, clear communication, problem solving, patience, active listening, and adaptability, and allow people to excel in supply chain management. Managing stakeholder expectations is built around setting clear and realistic expectations for customers, partners, and internal teams. Metrics such as delivery times and cost-to-serve are valuable tools for demonstrating the trade-offs between cost reduction and service quality. By transparently communicating these trade-offs, companies can maintain trust while pursuing cost optimization initiatives. It is a testament to our commitment to be an enabler of global trade in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which sits strategically at the crossroads of three continents.

While some TMSes focus on a single mode of transportation, most systems support multimodal and intermodal transportation. In multimodal, a single carrier uses at least two modes of transportation — truck, rail, air or sea — and is legally liable for meeting the terms of the contract, though it might hire subcarriers. Intermodal transportation refers to shipments that require more than one carrier and contract. It gives shippers more control over carriers, dispatching, prices and modes of transportation but makes them more responsible for managing the process.

How does reverse logistics work and when is it used?

This course covers everything you need to know about the supply chain and how vital it is to organizations, especially as the supply chain grows more complex with new and emerging technology. You’ll learn about mapping and diagraming, integration, inventory, logistics, cycle time, sourcing, risk, information gathering, relationship management, demand management, continuous improvement, and supply chain optimization. Upon completing the course, you’ll need to pass a 100- question multiple choice exam, which can be completed online within a two-hour time frame.

International trade laws change frequently, and each country has its own regulations – keeping in touch with all of this can be challenging and time-consuming. At Maersk, we understand your supply chain needs and can guide you using our customs clearance expertise. On the other hand, it is important for you to handle customs clearance well and be aware of all the regulations because of it being such an important, mandatory process – legal issues even being possible if mistakes are made. What’s more, any hurdles are guaranteed to delay your shipment – and there is nothing more precious than the smooth progress of your supply chain. The S&OP activity enables information systems to connect the value chain participants around key demand information, such as customer forecasts, and around key supply information, such as supplier inventories and capacities. Owing to the complexity and unique demands made of TMS solutions, a few challenges can be identified and must be addressed during planning, deployment and maintenance.

Vietnam in particular is developing into one of the leading e-commerce markets, which offers potential for both local and foreign investors and service providers. U.S. media such as the Wall Street Journal reported that the company has accelerated its plans to relocate part of its production outside China. India and Vietnam are cited as alternative locations for assembling Apple products.

How to book Maersk Customs Services

Typically, a logistics manager needs a bachelor’s degree in a field such as supply chain management or finance. The flow of manufacturing costs is most relevant to businesses that produce products that require many parts from several vendors. A clothing manufacturer might need deliveries of fabric, zippers, trim, and thread that must all arrive at the same time. They must be stored at the business’ expense if some supplies arrive too early and the machines stand idle while they wait if some arrive late. Efficient supply chain systems can get each piece of the product to the location where it’s needed when it’s needed.

While most TMS features focus on execution, much of the power of the system comes from the tools it provides for planning and optimizing the shipping process. It provides data and analytics on critical factors, such as price, service level and transit time, to enable users to choose the carriers and routes most likely to transport goods the fastest and cheapest. Users can, for example, size loads or redirect orders to maximize the use of carrier resources in less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments. You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. They can also plan multileg trips to minimize fuel and labor costs by avoiding empty miles between stops. Many SCM solutions can analyze data from your business’s supply chain processes.

With a vast network of strategically located fulfillment centers nationwide, full-service 3PLs like ours make sure you have the right merchandise at the right location, so orders ship faster and more cheaply. Not only is knowing how much stock you have (and ChatGPT App where) a key component of improving operational efficiency, so too is shipping inventory from the location closest to the customer, which cuts shipping costs. Full-service 3PLs help cross-border ecommerce brands become more efficient during and after crises.

A supply chain manager typically holds at least a bachelor’s degree in supply chain management or business administration. Specializations for supply chain management jobs include areas such as procurement and production. Review the top supply chain management careers, according to Salary.com, to decide which one might be right for you.

For example, historically, many companies have brought in container shipments from Asia Pacific through the ports in southern California. As the volume of container shipments has increased, all of ChatGPT these ports have experienced capacity issues relating to customs clearance and transshipping. As a result some companies are contemplating rerouting these inbound shipments to alternate ports.

Staying ahead in this dynamic landscape requires continuous innovation, adaptability, and a commitment to embracing new technologies and sustainable practices. Its focus on customer-centricity, operational excellence, and continuous innovation has enabled FedEx to maintain a competitive advantage and adapt to changing market dynamics. In 1973, FedEx began its operations with a fleet of 14 planes, serving 25 cities across the United States.

The company provides real-time tracking, proactive notifications, and customizable delivery options, giving customers complete visibility and control over their shipments. Post COVID, we are in uncharted territories, making it more critical than ever to have a setup that allows market volatility and adaptability. how is customer service related to logistics management? Globalization, increased competition, evolving customer expectations, sustainability, disruptions, and regulatory changes contribute to the heightened complexity. Businesses must navigate these challenges to ensure efficient and resilient supply chain management in today’s dynamic environment.