Returns and Reverse Logistics
Returns logged on arrival, inspected against your rules, and restocked, returned, donated or destroyed, processed in predictable weekly batches.
Returns handled on your rules
Yes, we process returns for brands in both facilities. Returns are logged on arrival, inspected against your disposition rules, and either restocked, returned to you, donated or destroyed. Processing runs in weekly batches, usually Thursday and Friday, so you know what's coming back and when.
What is reverse logistics?
Reverse logistics is everything that happens after a customer sends a product back: receiving the return, inspecting it, deciding what happens to it, and getting resellable units back into available inventory.
Most brands underestimate the labor. Forward fulfillment is repetitive and fast. Returns are one-at-a-time decisions made by a person holding the product.
What return rates actually look like
Return rate varies more by category than by anything a brand controls.
- Hard goods: under 2 percent is achievable. One current account runs below that.
- Footwear: roughly 15 percent, same account, same brand, different product line.
- Apparel sold in Europe: 20 percent in Germany, 12 percent in France on one account.
Clothing is the hard case. People buy, try on, and send back. At volume that's a full-time person doing nothing but returns. These are real numbers from current accounts, not industry averages. Your rate depends on category, fit consistency and channel mix.
How returns are processed
- Return arrives and is logged. Every unit is recorded on receipt, so the return exists in the system before anyone decides what to do with it.
- Inspection against your rules. Unopened and still in the original box goes back on the shelf. Opened products go to a separate bin for evaluation. Worn or damaged is pulled from sellable stock.
- QC decision. If it passes as resellable, a receipt is created and the unit goes back into stock, where it becomes available to be reordered.
- Disposition on everything else. Restock, return to brand, donate, or destroy, depending on what you've told us.
- Weekly batch and reporting. Returns are processed in batches, typically Thursday and Friday, and you see receipts and inventory movement in the client portal.
We don't repackage. Opened or damaged returns are evaluated and dispositioned on your rules rather than re-wrapped for sale.
Your disposition options
- Restock. Unit passes QC and goes back into sellable inventory, with lot and expiration data carried back into the record.
- Return to brand. You want eyes on it, or it's going to a repair or refurb process you run.
- Donate. One current account donates unsellable product to athletes as a seeding pile rather than sending it to landfill.
- Destroy. For product that can't be resold or donated.
- Custom inspection rules. Some products can't be resold in any condition without the right details. A luggage client can't put a unit back on the shelf without its original tags, so tag presence is part of that inspection rule set.
- Retail and marketplace returns. Nordstrom and Amazon returns route back into the same logging and inspection process, including product arriving in mixed condition or without original packaging.
Who this is for
- Apparel and footwear brands, where return rates run highest.
- Hard goods brands with lower volume but higher unit value.
- Brands selling through Amazon, Nordstrom and other retail channels that push returns back upstream.
- Any brand at the point where one person is spending most of a day on returns.
There's no universal right answer for what happens to a returned unit, so the rules are yours and we follow them.
Why brands send returns to TCB Global
A predictable weekly picture
Batching returns weekly is more manageable on the floor and gives you a clear read each week on what came back, what went back into stock, and what didn't survive inspection. If your category needs faster turnaround, we set the cadence accordingly during onboarding.
Lot integrity carried through the return
For anything with a lot code or expiration date, a restocked unit has to come back with its lot and expiration intact, or your traceability has a hole exactly where you'd need it in a recall. Lot and batch tracking and expiration-date capture carry through every return.
One process for every channel
Returns from your store, Amazon and retail partners all route into the same logging and inspection rules, so a retailer return in mixed condition gets the same treatment as a DTC one.
Shorter inbound legs
Returns are processed in both Nevada and Florida. Routing returns to the facility closest to your customers shortens the inbound leg, which is the part of reverse logistics most brands pay for and never look at.
Frequently Asked Questions
Returns are logged on arrival and processed in weekly batches, usually Thursday and Friday. Resellable units are back in available inventory the same week. If your category needs a faster cycle, cadence can be set differently during onboarding.
You do. Disposition rules are set per client at onboarding and our team inspects against those rules. The common default is unopened back to stock, opened to a review bin, worn or damaged out of sellable inventory.
They're returned to you, donated, or destroyed, depending on the rule you set. One account donates unsellable products to athletes as a seeding pile rather than discarding them.
Yes. Retail and marketplace returns route back into the same logging and inspection process as direct-to-consumer returns, including product arriving without original packaging.
Yes. Lot and batch tracking and expiration-date capture carry through the return, so a restocked unit stays traceable and full lot-level traceability holds for recall readiness.
It depends on the category. Hard goods can run under 2 percent. Footwear commonly lands near 15 percent. Apparel runs higher, and European markets higher still, with 20 percent in Germany on one current account.
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