Parcel - November 2008 - (Page 25) The Smart Way PRS begins with a pre-paid postal consumer return label that easily improves the customer’s returns experience while lowering the retailer’s operating costs. Included on the customer’s packing slip, a label can be peeled and placed on the original box for immediate and simple returns. Additionally, the barcode on the label contains as much or as little information as the retailer requires — from customer name, product and order number, to customer email address and other unique information. Once the Postal Service picks up the package, the provider takes that package and scans it into its returns management system. At this point, the retailer receives advanced return notification, and the customer can be informed that their return was received and will soon be credited. The return products are then palletized and delivered to the retailer’s processing center when it’s optimal, based on timing and workforce required to handle the restocking. The benefits immediately compound: convenient returns save customer time, convincing them to buy again. A recent Harris Interactive survey found 90% of customers say it encourages them to shop again. Those retailers can obviously profit from those return customers. The retailer also saves on increased visibility that reduces call center costs and aggregates containers for processing centers. The retailer incurs no additional cost because the customer is charged the delivery cost for the return, which is deducted from the customer credit their customers to get warranty items authorized for return. They can track that return, as well as increase the retailer’s own visibility throughout the reverse supply chain. It’s all an extra level of convenience for the consumer, which can only increase loyalty. The Postal Service has a long-standing advantage in its first and last mile delivery from the home or business to the post office. With the passage of the Postal Act of 2006, retailers now have the option to utilize that advantage end-to-end and to great effect. Where retailers had once been able to use just the last mile for deliveries, with Parcel Returns Service and other new offerings based on PRS, they can now take that first mile as well. This creates convenient returns solutions that bring customers back, knocking away the unpredictable costs of the sophisticated retail and returns system. Bill Razzouk is the CEO of Newgistics, Inc., an Intelligent Logistics Management (ILM) firm that simplifies the shipping and returns process by optimizing the first and last mile of USPSbased packages. New Returns Offerings Because the Postal Service has worked to improve through the Postal Act of 2006, it is continually adding services to fill out its offerings. The Refused and Undeliverable Package Service using PRS significantly reduces costs when a package is refused or there is an incorrect address. Instead of automatically returning the package to the shipper at the full Parcel Post fee, it will re-enter the private network with address correction, where it can be resolved based on the retailer’s preferences. Consumers can also now schedule free nextday carrier pickup, where pickup is arranged via the web. A carrier -based Returns Center portal also gives retailers the ability to allow www.PARCELindustry.com November 2008 25 http://www.PARCELindustry.com
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