Returns
A return reads against the identity the outbound label created, so the warehouse and finance know the item and the credit due before the box is opened, and good stock goes back on sale.
Much of the cost of a return is the time the item spends unidentified: a box at the dock with a name on it, a refund waiting on someone to confirm the item, a jacket in good condition sitting in a bin until someone checks it. On Next Horizon a return is the same item making the trip in reverse, which removes most of that waiting.
The outbound identity
When the outbound label was created, it carried the identity of the exact item inside, and the return reads against that identity. So before the box is opened, the warehouse knows which item is on its way and finance knows the credit due. No new record is created at the door, and no one has to work out which of three black medium jumpers this is or match the parcel to an order by hand.
Return labels from a scan
When a customer scans the item's QR, you already know the exact item, its batch and its order, and a return label is one tap away. The customer does not have to find the order number in an email from three weeks ago, and you do not have to type anything to issue the label. The return is tracked with the same statuses as the outbound parcel, on the page your customer already used.
A return should cost you a label, with the item known before the box is opened.
Cost and stock
Return labels count against the same plan allowance as outbound ones. They are not priced separately, and on our rates the label is rebilled at the carrier price with zero markup, like any other label. Returns in good condition go back into sellable stock, and the refund in your store moves stock according to its restock flag: a refund flagged as restock puts the units back on sale, a refund with no restock records the money only. Your storefront, your warehouse and your accountant read the same stock figures, so a returned jacket is back on the site the day it is checked.
The item's history
The record is attached to the item, so a return is one more event in its history. A repair, a resale or a recall is written the same way, so the passport keeps its value after the sale. The fields that record lives in are described in Passport contents.
Questions we get asked.
Do return labels cost extra?
No. They count against the same monthly allowance as outbound labels, and past the allowance they are billed per unit at your plan's unit rate like any other label. On our rates the label is rebilled at the carrier price with zero markup.
What if the customer returns the wrong item?
The scan at the door reads against the item that was sent out, so a different item shows up as a different identity. Your team sees which item arrived and decides the next step.
Does the refund wait for the warehouse to check the item?
That is your policy to set, and both orders work. A refund flagged as restock puts the units back into sellable stock, so if you refund on receipt before checking, the restock flag decides at that moment whether the units go back on sale. If you check first, the refund follows it.
Can a return go to a different warehouse from the one that shipped it?
Yes. The return reads against the item, so whichever site receives it knows the item, and the stock figure updates at the location that holds it.
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