Notes for owners · Industry-Specific Software Guides
How to Set Up Returns and RTO Handling in a Fulfilment Centre
Set up returns by scanning every returned parcel at the dock and recording its reason. Grade each item as sellable, damaged or for the seller, and put sellable stock back into a bin. Each step is logged against the seller’s order, so counts and COD settlement agree.
Ganesh HS, Strategy and Technology, GullySystem · · 3 min read
Separate the three kinds of return
A fulfilment centre sees returns from three routes. RTO parcels come back when the buyer refuses or cannot be reached. Customer returns come after delivery. Marketplace returns follow the channel’s own process.
Each route has different rules on who pays and what is checked. Name the route on the record at the dock. A parcel with no route cannot be settled with the seller later.
- RTO: refused, undelivered or buyer unreachable
- Customer return: after delivery, with a reason
- Marketplace return: under the channel’s own steps
Receive and scan at one place
Set aside a returns bench near the dock. Every parcel is opened there, scanned against the original order and checked for the item, size and condition. Nothing goes to a bin before this.
Photographs of damaged or wrong items protect you when a seller or courier disputes the count. Keep them on the order record.
Grade each item and decide where it goes
Use a short list of grades the whole team knows. Sellable items go back to a bin. Damaged items go to a held area. Items the seller wants back are packed for return to the seller.
Record the grade and the reason against the SKU. After a month, the reasons show which products, sizes or couriers cause the most returns. That list helps the seller too.
- Sellable: back to its bin, stock updated
- Damaged: held area with photograph
- Wrong or missing item: flagged to the seller
- Seller recall: packed and sent back
Match returns with COD and settlement
Couriers remit cash on delivery in batches. A returned parcel means no cash is due, and a delivered one means cash is owed to the seller. Both should be matched with the order behind them.
Show each seller what was delivered, returned, collected and payable. When bank credits are matched with orders, the seller’s question about money has an answer.
- Delivered and collected
- Returned and not collectible
- Remitted by courier, not yet matched
- Payable to the seller
Bill the handling and keep the rules written
Return handling is work: receiving, checking, regrading, relabelling and restocking. Each seller’s rate card should say what is charged and when. Record the event so the charge reaches the invoice.
Write the grading rules and the time sellers have to dispute a count on one page. GullySystem would build these steps into one record for a fulfilment centre, scoped to your sellers and channels.
Returns bench checklist
A checklist for the returns bench with the route, the scan, the item check, the grade, the bin and the photograph. Add a field for the seller’s handling rate. Use it on paper for a fortnight before moving the steps into software.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Can software decide whether a return is sellable?
No. A person checks the item and picks the grade. Software records the grade, moves the stock and keeps the photograph with the order.
Can returns from every marketplace be pulled in automatically?
In many cases, through a channel’s seller API or a file. Which channels work is confirmed in scoping, since each marketplace sets its own access rules.
Does this replace the courier’s own tracking?
No. The courier tracks the parcel. The centre records what arrived, in what state, and what was done with it.
How is the seller told about returned stock?
Each seller can have a login, or receive a statement by email or WhatsApp, showing returned items, grades and stock back in bins.