How the COO Can Own Returns in 2019

As the COO, you’re the second in command. Implementing strategy across the organization while optimizing resources is your mission. Aligning the day-to-day operations of the business with long-term goals falls to you. At the end of the day, it’s all about making the firm grow. You wear a lot of hats.

To make it all work, you are always looking for efficiencies. Systems and platforms that help people do their jobs better and make the organization as a whole better. At the same time, you are data-driven. Instinct and hunches are not how you make decisions. You demand empirical data to run your business.

For COOs in the retail arena, it’s no secret the growing tsunami of customer returns is the fastest growing drag on the bottom-line that everyone in the organization recognizes, but no one owns. The traditional methods of returns management are becoming overwhelmed and not delivering sufficient value to recoup margin.

Our Returns Reduction platform, Chief Returns Officer™, integrates sales and returns data from multiple sources and systems into one centralized repository, allowing internal brand stakeholders to recover the lost sales revenue attributed to spiking return rates. Analyzing your existing return data from multiple internal sources to identify Return Reduction opportunities is the key. Chief Returns Officer aggregates data from your systems into one dashboard that allows internal brand stakeholders across your value chain to interpret the data and take action. All it takes is a data feed to get up and running. Chief Returns Officer operates in the cloud. Its Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technology immediately begins isolating anomalies, flagging them, and providing the appropriate stakeholder with prescriptive actions. It’s like having a digital assistant without the headcount, freeing your staff for higher value tasks.

In 2019 and beyond, it’s all about the voice of the customer. Only the brands that listen to that voice and react quickly will thrive. Identifying the root cause of product issues can not only prevent on-going returns and customer disappointment but also provide priceless directional product feedback for the future. That’s a competitive advantage. That drives customer loyalty and retention. And that drives improved financial performance:

• Net Margin Gains – Identifying the root causes of returns which negatively impact sales and profitability and then reacting quickly.
• Improved EBITDA – A $1 M returns reduction delivers $0.5 M to the bottom line—money that can be invested back into your aggressive growth initiatives.
• Enhanced Customer Experience – Identifying, addressing, and mitigating negative customer feedback to drive retention and loyalty.
• Product Development Intelligence – Knowing what customers really want drives future product success.

KNOWING IN REAL-TIME, WHY CUSTOMERS WERE NOT SATISFIED WITH YOUR MERCHANDISE, YOU CAN DEVELOP AN IN-SEASON PLAN FOR IMPROVEMENT, COMMUNICATE TO YOUR CUSTOMER AND MAINTAIN THEIR LOYALTY WITH YOUR BRAND.

Key Takeaways from our Deployments of Chief Returns Officer

1.  A Returns Reduction platform is key to identifying the root cause of product issues, so they can be resolved.
2.  Adopting Chief Returns Officer’s cloud-based software is frictionless and fast.
3.  Engage our team to analyze and reduce your returns in 2019.

A $1 M reduction in returns contributes $0.5 M to EBITDA. And that is the bottom line.