White Paper:

Returned Goods Processing Overview

  - by Reid Biberstine, Xdata solutions, inc.

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A Returned Goods Authorization (RGA) system can provide a structured format for authorizing, issuing, tracking, analyzing, and managing the entire RGA / RMA process.  This type of system complexity cannot be handled very well by spreadsheet applications or worse yet ...hand-written information.  To be cost effective, it requires the design and programming of a robust relational database. 

The timeliness, fairness, and professionalism that your company projects into each customer's experience will greatly affect your company's image ... and your company's bottom lime.  Plan your system (or purchase a system) with the functionality to meet today's needs and include the features you feel may be needed in the future.

Your companies ability to remediate problems in an efficient and cost-effective way requires walking through the steps.  Each step is important:

Will you know:

1. The status of every customer's claim.

   1. When it was received

   2. Where it is in the RGA dispositioning process

   3. What will be the next step in dispositioning the request

   4. Provides automatic notification (fax, email, letter) automatically to customers filing claims.

2. The RGA / RMA process should be easy for everyone, fast accurate, flexible within company guidelines and should cover:

   1. The route/steps of responding to customer claims

   2. Tracking the claim, the customer, the original order, the cost and retail value of the original materials/merchandise for which the claim is made, and at all times the physical location of the materials or merchandise involved, beginning when the claim is known

   3. Who has the authority to disposition certain products, credit, or accept returns up to a certain dollar value

   4. Whether the material is to be returned or scrapped at it's present location

   5. Who has authorized or rejected the claim and if the claim is accepted ..by whom, when, and what disposition plan they have obligated the company to fulfill

3. Return Process Reporting.  The system needs to produce the following type of information:

   1. Customers who file more requests (or larger value) than the average request

   2. The number of return requests over a period of time and the effects of their dispositioning

   3. Company procedures causing quality problems in the field

   4. Individuals in the company who are responsible for problems in the field

   5. People or departments not processing RMA /RGA requests in a timely fashion

   6. Problems by time period or product to help pinpoint areas requiring remediation

A poor RGA systems plan produces unrealized losses from mismanagement, misdirection, and failures to analyze claims.

Here are classic returned material pitfalls that affect the company's bottom line:

1. Systems that Fail to disposition each customer's claim in a timely fashion quickly create a poor image of your company.

2. Systems that can't supply valuable information about causes of claims or costs of claims.

3. Systems that don't validate customer's claims.

4. Systems that don't provide a method of spotting abuse.

5. Systems that allow claims to remain unresolved for unreasonable lengths of time

Returned Goods management solutions are a key element to running a popular and profitable business.  Factors such as: size of the company, types of products, product weight and size, freight/transportation costs, product margins, and the value (cost) of the products/merchandise affect the RGA / RMA procedures.  It is important to understand the goals of the company and the capabilities of the RGA/ RMA solution and database.

Xdata offers economical software packages.  Xdata can get you running quickly and reliably ...so why re-invent the wheel? 

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