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Ships-a-LotShips-a-Lot
  • Fulfillment Services
    • E-Commerce Fulfillment
    • Warehouse Management
    • Kitting & Assembly
    • Returns Management
    • Order Management
    • Transportation Management
  • Shopify
    • Shopify Consulting
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Get A Quote
Returns Management

Returns Management Services

Returns Management for Your Successful Business

From our central location in the United States (Memphis, Tennessee), Ships-a-Lot offers high volume, e-commerce brands centralized returns management as a stand alone service, or as part of a holistic fulfillment relationship.

Trying to do everything your business needs in-house can be an exercise in frustration, and it’s natural to start looking for returns management service alternatives. For most growing businesses, the best option is to outsource returns management services. Ships-a-Lot can supply you with hands-on service in this arena, acting as an extension of your team and being your one-stop shop for returns management solutions.

What is Returns Management Services?

Ships-a-Lot returns management services is simply the act of receiving the shipment from your customer, judging the condition of the return–-and if satisfactory—returning the unit(s) to your inventory.

Returns Management Services offered include the following:

  • Goods-specific processes
  • Ensuring return integrity – manually and/or using high-performance diagnostic tools
  • Enacting recall campaigns if needed
  • Transparent returns processes with tracking available
  • Client-tailored reprocessing of returned items for return to market: e.g. performing functional tests or item preparation
  • Stocking inventory for standard replacement or preferred replacement products

Why Use Returns Management Services from Ships-a-Lot?

There are several reasons high volume brands choose Ships-a-Lot to handle their returns management, including:

Location

If you are a high volume, e-commerce brand, chances are your customer is distributed across the U.S. As such, choosing one location in the middle of the Country (like Memphis, Tennessee) to handle all returns in one central location makes the most sense.

Scalability

Most online sellers tend to have a cap for their returns at a certain percentage depending on their product and market. But you want to grow your sales–so that means that percentage of returns will also grow. This can quickly become unwieldy, even for industrious and dedicated business-owners. Outsourcing these responsibilities to Ships-a-Lot ensures that the resources you’ve cultivated already–such as competent and enthusiastic employees and basic business infrastructure–are not overloaded by new tasks that they aren’t equipped to handle.

Customer Service

When it comes to customer service, your business is in competition with pretty much every other retail outlet on the market–including the giants who can afford to have entire divisions of professionals devoted solely to returns management. Customers will want the same seamless returns from you that they want from Amazon or Wal-Mart. How do you compete? Ships-a-Lot Returns Management Service is the solution you need. We’re in this business to provide your customers with the support they want whenever they need a problem resolved.

Return Costs

Part of the issue with cost-effective returns management is just that–costs. Vendors, routes, refunds, and returning products to market all require tracking and inventory, each with dozens of options that can overwhelm even the most savvy entrepreneur. Rather than become an expert in an entirely new line of business, partner with Ships-a-Lot. We know the best returns management software for your business because that’s our business. After we sit down with you and learn about your business goals and needs, we research the logistics of the most effective way to deliver and manage your returns.

Fraud Protection

Returns Management Services doesn’t just include covering customers who need resolutions; it also covers you. Returns fraud is a real concern, and predatory scam artists often target smaller businesses because they’re attracted by the smaller amount of protection these businesses have. But Ships-a-Lot Returns Management Services includes expertly surveilling your inventory and quickly ensuring that every return request that comes in is from a legitimate customer. We consider ourselves an extension of the businesses of all our partners, and so we are invested in protecting your profits from fraud.

Ships-a-Lot is the Returns Management Service of Choice

Ships-a-Lot prides itself on building up businesses to be better, enabling entrepreneurs and content creators to grow. At Ship-A-Lot, we know that easy returns build your reputation for customer service and encourage your shoppers to buy with impunity.

Our Returns Management Service is part of an All-In-One Service Package that includes warehouse management, inventory management, kitting and assembly services, and much more.

Kitting & Assembly
  • Great company to work with!!

    It is very hard to find a good fulfillment company at a reasonable price that is reliable and has good customer service and actually passes on shipping discounts as well. These guys do it all!! Highly recommended.

    — Progressive Health Nutraceuticals Inc.

  • Very helpful

    John is excellent. He was very helpful, answered all my questions, and provided a lot of insight. I was also very impressed with their high touch vetting process.

    — Jake

  • Ships-a-Lot is quick, reliable and professional

    The SHIPS-a-Lot staff has always been professional, quick to respond and act with all of our orders and shipping needs. Their quick shipping times keeps our customers happy, our company growing, and gives us peace of mind!
    Leona is AMAZING! Her customer service is immeasurable!

    — Heather deRijke

  • Simply the best!

    One of the best decisions we ever made was to scale our operations with Zach and the Ships-a-lot team. We picked them and never looked back. Do not hesitate! Pick these guys for your 3PL needs today.

    — JR

FAQ

FAQs

How do I onboard with a third-party fulfillment company?

When vetting fulfillment partners, learning about the onboarding process is critical!  It is a great test for “fit”– that is the “fit” between your company and the fulfillment partner.  

Run away if the onboarding process is unclear, long, complicated, or disorganized!  Oftentimes, this means that the fulfillment partner’s focus differs from your company’s focus.  

For example, a third-party logistics company might do a lot of pallet shipments to large physical retailers, then get an inbound lead from a Shopify, direct-to-consumer brand.  Working with Carts and Marketplaces, picking and packing individual orders, and shipping small parcels is very different from pallet shipments to retailers.  

Assuming fit is right, the onboarding process should look as follows: 

Step #1 – Day 1.  Initial Call (basic facts about your company, etc.).  

Step #2 – Day 2.  Materials from the fulfillment company are sent to you (qualitative attributes, pricing, etc.).  

Step #3 – Day 3.  A follow-up call to talk through details. 

Step #4 – Day 4.  Decision made to a partner. 

Step #5 – Day 5.  Brand/s grant access to their stores and marketplaces so the software can speak to each other (i.e. warehouse management software).  Initial inbound instructions were sent. The brand/s are given an overview of the Client portal and introduced to anyone they will be working with on a daily/weekly basis. 

Step #6 – Day 12.  Initial inbound receiving and put away.  Orders are flowing from Stores/Marketplaces to the fulfillment partner.  The first shipment is sent.

Contact us today to talk about your unique onboarding needs (i.e. existing lease in your facility, moving from another fulfillment partner, etc.).

How do I ship my product internationally?

Approximately 30% of our shipments are international (tens of thousands a month), so we have a lot of experience here! 

First, we only recommend shipping internationally unless you’re dedicated to growing your brand in a given country.  Passively allowing your product to be purchased from any country is not a good strategy.  The U.S. is a big place–exhaust this market first!  

Second, when you are ready to ship internationally, we recommend restricting sales to large, developed international economies (at least initially). For example, Canada, EU, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc.

Third, when you’re ready to start, there are two broad approaches to shipping internationally.  1) ship product Delivered Duties Paid (DDP), meaning the customer pays for the Duties and Taxes (if relevant) at check-out on your store, or ship Delivered Duties Unpaid (DDU), meaning the customer just pays for the product and shipping cost when they check-out and then pays for any Duties and Taxes at the time of delivery.  Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages.  We have some clients who only ship DDP, some only DDU, and some a combination.  

Regardless of the method, you’ll need to ensure you accurately charge your customer for the true cost to ship the product to them.  

If you ship DDP (duties and taxes are collected at the time of checkout), you’ll need to set up your store to auto-calculate the duties and taxes due.  There are many good Apps out there that we can direct you to.

This topic sounds complicated, but it’s very simple. Contact us today to strategize with our team on how to ship outside the U.S effectively.

How should my product be packaged?

There are two broad considerations when determining how to package your product: a) protection, and b) cost.   

Protection.  When determining how to protect your product with packaging, imagine you’re a fly (an insect).  You “land” on your package inside the fulfillment center, stay on during the truck ride to the local UPS/FedEx/USPS terminal, witness it get unloaded from the truck, and enter a massive maze of high-speed conveyors where is routed onto yet another truck for a cross-state/country ride, then enters another final mile terminal before getting on another truck before ending up on someone’s front porch. Phew!  Along the way, your dear package is thrown, stepped on, caught in high-speed sortation equipment, and exposed to 120-degree heat (or below freezing cold) in the back of a truck traveling across the country. Would your product and package survive 9 times out of 10?  If not, you need to rethink your packaging.  

This could include moving from a poly mailer to a box, inserting a small dry ice cube (if temperature sensitive), filling the void in a box with sturdy packaging material (if glass), or getting a custom box made so your product fits perfectly inside and is fully protected. 

Cost.  However, these precautions all come at a cost (cost of materials and cost in increased postage due to weight or dimensions, etc.).  So you will need to determine the cost/benefit of any choice.  For example, if 1% of your packages are getting destroyed in transit, it’s probably not worth the increased cost to pursue more protective packaging.  

Have a specific product in mind?  Contact us today to strategize with our team on how to package your products most effectively.

What are my shipping options and how much will they cost?

For purposes of this discussion let’s assume it’s a shipment from a U.S. address to a U.S. address.  (International shipments are determined differently.)  It’s very simple…

  • How much does your product and packaging material weigh together?  For example, if you ship a small bottle weighing 6oz inside a corrugated box weighing 2.5oz, your shipment would be 8.5oz–which would be rounded up to 9oz.
  • If the answer is less than 16 ounces (1 pound / 454 grams), your shipment is eligible for USPS First Class (approximately $3.50 – $6.50 at the time of this writing). (Other “consolidated” services effectively service these lightweight shipments; however, we’ll just use USPS First Class as an example for simplicity.)   

Speed for USPS First Class shipments is usually 3 to 5 days (depending on the time of year and distance traveled).  In our experience, while the “consolidated” services might be a few cents cheaper, they are much slower and not worth the headache and increased customer service costs (“Where is my package!?”).

The exact cost of the shipment will be determined by: a) the exact weight of the shipment (1 – 16 oz), and b) the “Zone” of the destination zip code from the shipper’s zip code.  (For example, a shipment from New York to California will be a Zone 8 shipment and cost more than a Shipment from New York to Washington D.C., a Zone 3 shipment.)  We advise clients to assume a “Zone 5” shipment on average.  

  • If the answer is equal to or more than 16 ounces (1 pound / 454 grams), your shipment should be “rate shopped” between UPS, FedEx, and USPS Priority Mail. (Any fulfillment center worth talking to will have software that can “rate shop” different carriers on every shipment to get the best rate on a given shipment.)   

Generally speaking, USPS Priority Mail will “beat” UPS Ground and FedEx Ground in the “rate shop” on lighter weight, closer “Zone” shipments.  As the distance and weight increase, it becomes more likely that UPS and FedEx will “win” the “rate shop.” 

As of this writing (2022), shipments that weigh 1 to 10 pounds will cost anywhere from $8.00 to $18.00 (roughly!) – depending on exact weight (which is rounded up to the nearest pound) and Zone of end destination.  

Importantly, this price includes the Base Rate + Residential Delivery Surcharge that FedEx and UPS apply + the Fuel Surcharge that FedEx and UPS apply.  USPS only has a Base Rate.  The Fuel Surcharge changes weekly, and the Base Rate and Residential Delivery Surcharge are reset (increased) annually.

Shipments above 1 pound also have to consider “Dimensional Weight.”  Shipments will be priced at the greater of real weight (on a scale) and their dimensional weight (L x W x H in inches / 139 = Dimensional Weight in LBs).  (So a massive box of feathers will cost more to ship than a small brick.)

Lastly, this discussion only considered the most efficient method (balancing cost and speed).  If speed is the only concern, there are “Express Options” (i.e. Overnight, 2-day, etc. from both UPS and FedEx).  If cost is the only concern, there are numerous cheap “consolidated” services.  However, in our opinion, the above discussion should cover ~90%+ of your needs, with maybe the occasional expedited shipment. The slow/cheap consolidated services (in our opinion!) are not worth the headache. 

Additional shipping cost questions: Contact us today to strategize with our team on how to effectively ship your products. 

How should I set up my shipping options on Shopify?

There is no right answer here.  Generally speaking, there are six methods in setting up shipping options on Shopify.  The choice between the three has to do more with psychology than finance! 

Option #1 – Fixed Rate Shipping Cost, regardless of Order (for example, $9.99 regardless of what the customer purchases) 

Option #2 – Fixed Rate Shipping Cost, depending on the Order (for example, $9.99 if the customer purchases XYZ and $5.99 if the customer purchases ABC).  (You can get as fancy as you want—change based on weights, cart total, etc.).  

Option #3 – Free Shipping 

Option #4 – Different Speeds. For example, $9.99 for 3-4 day Ground and $14.99 for 2-day Air. 

Option #5 – Combination of two or more of the above.  (For example, flat $9.99 on all orders unless X is true, then Free Shipping.)

Option #6 – Carrier Calculated Shipping Cost (for example, the customer is charged an estimate of what the shipment will actually cost based on their address and order details). 

Regardless of which option one chooses, we find that the most successful and sustainable privately owned e-commerce brands get compensated for their true postage costs.  This can be accomplished by: a) charging the customer equal to or more than the actual postage costs, or b) increasing the retail price of the products to include some average postage costs. Brands that truly subsidize postage mean two things: a) they will burn through a lot of cash (and won’t be around long), and b) they have weak brands, as their customers aren’t loyal enough to pay a few extra dollars for delivery. 

The above discussion ignores International Shipments.  There are creative ways to set up International Shipping options, whether shipping Delivered Duties Paid (DDP) or Delivered Duties Unpaid (DDU).   

Additional shipping set-up questions?  Contact us today to strategize with our team on how to set up your shipping options effectively.  We can even do it for you!

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Fulfillment Services

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