Hoping to simplify the handling and processing of returns for e-commerce sites in time for the busy holiday shopping season, United Parcel Service of America on Wednesday unveiled its new UPS Returns on the Web service.
Targeted at B2B and B2C sites, Returns on the Web will allow customers using a Web browser to print a return-mailing label on standard paper directly from their PCs. The labels, which include tracking, reference order and RMA (Returns Merchandise Authorisation) numbers, will allow e-commerce customers to return items via UPS. That, said UPS officials, will allow e-commerce sites to cut costs by reducing customer service calls and streamlining the returns processes.
"Simple, hassle-free returns have been one of the greatest challenges facing the Internet revolution for B2B and B2C services," said Ross McCullough, vice president of e-commerce at UPS. "This is a perfect example of how UPS is using technology to develop and capture a growing business that's being fueled by e-commerce."
While UPS already provides such services to larger e-businesses through its Service Parts Logistics division, Returns on the Web is targeted at small to midsize companies. UPS expects e-commerce sites to use the service to enable the return of consumer products on the B2C side, and the return of MRO (maintenance and repair operating) supplies and recyclable products such as printer cartridges on the B2B side. Merchants are billed a transaction fee for each return in addition to shipping charges. UPS officials said fees will be negotiated separately with each Returns on the Web customer.
The service is being deployed to a limited number of customers in the US through the end of the year. It will be made more broadly available in the US next year, UPS official said. There are plans to eventually expand the service outside the US.
Saving on service calls
By enabling e-tailers to provide self-service for their customers, McCullough said B2B and B2C companies will save on customer service calls. Since buy.com, of Aliso Viejo, began piloting the service in June, it has reduced return-related calls to its call centers by 40 percent, said Travis Fagan, buy.com's vice president of customer support.
While reducing call center contact is a selling point of the UPS service, Fagan said even more important has been buy.com's ability to reduce manual processes internally. Before implementing Returns on the Web, buy.com employees had to manually produce return shipping labels and mail them to customers, a process that took up to two weeks. Today, because customers can generate their own shipping labels, that lag time has been reduced to a matter of seconds, he said.
The UPS application is hosted by third-party ASP Peregrine Connectivity, of San Diego. The ASP integrates each merchant's back-end databases with the UPS online returns process via XML documents. Andy Tibbs, director of e-commerce at UPS, said an ASP solution was chosen because UPS customers wanted to be able to implement the service as quickly as possible. buy.com's Fagan said the ASP approach was one of the reasons his company chose to go with Returns on the Web.
"We certainly feel like technology is one of our competencies, but as this industry continues to develop, it did not make sense for us to build the systems ourselves," he said. When customers request a return on a merchant's Web site, they fill out a form detailing what is being returned and for what reason. An XML document containing details of the transaction is then sent from the merchant to UPS via the ASP, which then generates a return-shipping label.
Depending on their existing systems, merchants can choose how they want to view customer data, either using an extranet or a Web portal. That information is used to route returns back to multiple suppliers, manage their returns, and analyse data for customer behavior and logistics trends. For customers like buy.com without existing XML capabilities, UPS has a deployment group that will assist them with the technology.
The service will also provide:
Inbound Package Information: UPS provides information on who is returning the product, what is being returned, when it will arrive and where it is going. UPS Smart Label: Package information contained on the shipping label is linked with the tracking number to facilitate internal returns automation.
Customizable e-mail: The merchant can send a customised message to consumers, vendors, manufacturers or a returns depot to alert them that a package has been received. Delivery triggers charges: Shipping chargers occur only after returned goods are received and can be set up to automatically trigger customer credit.
Multiple Destination Routing: Companies using multiple suppliers can route certain products to specific stocking locations or even to manufacturers. UPS Service Locator: Users receive a URL that provides lists, directions and maps to the nearest UPS drop-off locator. ENDS
