Track: Supply Chain

Abstract

Reverse Logistics(RL), the process of returning goods from customer to a retail or manufacturing source is an increasingly important yet undermanaged business function. The advent of Internet and mobile technology and its rapid growth worldwide facilitates customers for online shopping. Research shows 54% of the customers are already buying goods online weekly or monthly. Online retail sales are expected to hit US$ 4.5 trillion by 2020.The shift in buying pattern is coming with a more worrying change in customer behaviour in the form of increasing return, the number of which is surging in alarming rate. In fact, statistics show 30% of all the products ordered online is returned. Returns represent a growing cost of doing business today and they represent unique challenges and that are separate from traditional forward moving distribution channel. This preliminary research paper summarises and analyses the challenges in reverse logistics (RL) and provides directional approach to solve /overcome these challenges.