Reverse logistics is emerging as a key lever for value recovery, traceability and circular growth.

Key takeaways

• The growth of ecommerce has intensified returns volumes, making faster stock recapture and smarter routeing essential to protecting margins and inventory value.
• Reverse logistics enables brand-led resale and takeback models, giving businesses greater ownership of pricing, quality and brand presentation in the secondhand market.
• Regional trials and pilots, such as in the UK and Australia, highlight both the promise of scalable circular systems and the need for continued investment in consumer education, technology and infrastructure.

Reverse logistics has become increasingly important in recent years.

On one hand, the rise of ecommerce has seen with it an enormous returns burden. With free returns seen as a must-have by most consumers, the cost implications can be large for brands and retailers – many recently opting to introduce fees to buffer the impacts. As such, optimised returns and recapture have become essential in recovering product quickly and return to stock.

Alternatively, both industry-set targets and legislative pressures are pushing the industry towards circular practices and business models. Whether increasing the usage of textile recycled content, extending product use life through repair or engaging in resale channels, all intersect reverse logistics in some measure.

Therefore, rounded, engaged logistics can facilitate the industrial collaboration, consumer engagement and product traceability required to deliver profitable circular business ventures.

Here, WTiN runs through the basics of reverse logistics, examining the opportunities it affords and the operators seizing these prospects.

What is reverse logistics?

The strategies and processes engaged by stakeholders to recover products from end consumers, so they may re-enter the value chain via returns, recapture as stock, repair, reuse or recycling.

What are the opportunities?

First mover advantage
Regulatory pushes such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) are incentivising circular decision making from product conception to end-of-life management.