Our special guests, Helen Scurfield, CEO, Asendia Global Returns and Ari Aloni, e-PAQ Returns Manager, Asendia USA, speak with John Walsh and Nick Agnetti about positioning a returns solution, decreasing costs, returns restrictions, and fast refunds for shoppers and more!

About Helen Scurfield - LinkedIn

Helen has over 20 years’ of experience in international logistics. At Asendia Global Returns, her role managing Asendia’s newest subsidiary encompasses both digital and logistics aspects of the e-PAQ Returns offer. This ranges from overseeing expansion of the first mile partner network and accompanying returns centers, to offering a platform supporting retailers and consumers alike, which continues to evolve to meet the needs of an ever more demanding market.

About Ari Aloni - LinkedIn

Ari Aloni is Asendia North America’s product manager for the e-PAQ returns solution. He has over six years of experience dedicated in the e-commerce space across strategy, innovation, and product development. He comes to us with previous engagements in Fortune 1000 companies executing cross-border e-commerce initiatives.

Learn more about this topic:

• Asendia USA: Contact us - How can we help you today?
• Returns Report 2024
• How much are returns costing fashion, health and beauty e-tailers?
• Returns opportunities for retailers
• e-PAQ Returns by Asendia

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Welcome to Outside the Box with Asendia USA, a podcast educating US based e tailers on international shipping topics and how they can expand their global e commerce footprint.

Hey, welcome back everybody. Today we're going to continue with the second part of our discussion on returns. Let's move on to convenience. Right, Helen and Ari.

Right, so looking at the map, the global map. Right, Helen? I think I'm right. We have 200 return origins, right? Correct.

Right, yeah.

And we have 22 returns consolidation center globally. Right? Correct. So can you tie that back to. Obviously, you know, I'm familiar with. I know UPS says happy returns.

I know all the other carriers have some form of returns process. Can you expand on that and how we're making it so much easier for clients to use our returns program.

Okay, so in terms of the partners, we've picked the first mile. We're very much using the local heroes. So the ones that the consumers would be used to receiving and handling their current domestic returns.

We've looked at carriers who can support both only printing label at home, but also the QR code. So kind of driving towards sustainability and so on. So you can just have that QR code on your phone.

You can go down to the drop off point or a locker and print off the label. So it's really, we've been trying to look at giving consumers choice.

We want to offer at least two carriers in every country where we can and there's an active program and roadmap to expand the coverage we've got. So yeah, you have got that choice making it more convenient.

You know, you can then pick a drop off location that's the closest to your house just to make that process as easy as possible.

Yeah, I was impressed with the portal that we showed the demo. It's very easy to use, it's very localized. Right. Which is important. Correct.

So I throws a home run, quite frankly, and I think people would really benefit from it. I know, Nick, you were talking about. One of the other questions was related to that. Right. I'm trying to look for it here.

So, Nick, I think we could tie in about the convenience of the size of the client here. This is for any kind of client.

Right.

So I know that was an important question you had.

Right, yeah.

So we were talking, you know, just kind of in prep, thinking about, you know, in terms of positioning is we look at this and oftentimes we think of somebody that has a seamless global returns process in place.

We might be left only to the enterprise level brands, some of these huge names that we think of that are shipping tons of volume online, but really whether it's prep call or just communicating in general, that's not necessarily the case for our EPAC returns program.

How do we position it in terms of positioning towards mid market level clients in terms of more of their profile and also enterprise level customers as well? If you guys could speak on that for a minute, that would be I think very important.

I don't mind taking this on Helen, if you want or whatever.

Yeah, go ahead.

No, yeah, I think that is a very big pain point, Nick.

Specifically, I think a lot of smaller retailers don't want to deal with it just because of the fact that they may not have enough volume or there's a lot of solutions that are kind of like plug and play essentially which may not be fit their needs. But I think the way that we can combat that is to have more of a discovery process for each retailer.

And we kind of go to the retailer and we understand their needs and what they do today for return, if they do any returns before we come to them with what we offer fully.

So to understand the end to end process, see what their pain points are, see what they would like to improve on and then we can take that information internally, look against what our end to end solution offers and what capabilities we have and that can give us the confidence to go back to the retailer and offer them a viable return solution that works for them.

And going back to my point, with the destruction and donation opportunities that we do have in country without clearing the other customs headache that a lot of retailers don't want to deal with, we can lower some aspects of cost there and that could probably be very beneficial for those smaller accounts, smaller clients.

Excellent.

Okay, no, I appreciate.

And then even let's expand just a moment further on this too is if we look at, and again I know that our listening audience is primarily us based when we look at profiles we just talked a little bit about in terms of size. But outside, is there a top market?

I know top is apparel, but outside of apparel or anything specific that sticks out in terms of returns, that works really well with our solution. Or just cross border returns in general?

Yeah, I mean I would say like you know, to your point, apparel is definitely the strongest and you know, to the statistic you said in the beginning of the podcast, you know that is the most important one.

But if we would also go beyond that, I would also say like you know, small electronic goods or just general like lightweight traditional E commerce shipments. So unless, unless you know, I think for the most case, most of you like restricting to like specific types of restrictive commodities that U.S.

customs that require special permits across back.

So if you think about items like you know, coats with special type of furs or special type of, you know, other restricted commodities that require some type of licensing for re importation besides those type of goods, you could probably have, you have much more, you have a lot of open leeway and you know, for the majority of the outbound clients that we have, you know, we.

Part of the discovery process I mentioned would allow us to understand like, you know, what are the limitations we have to cross things back for the good.

So even if we do come across a client that maybe doesn't fit the mold ideally as we wanted to like, it's still an opportunity to evaluate and see how we can support them.

Excellent.

Okay, so along those lines and Helen, the question that we had talked about previously.

Do you suggest like I use the term tip on your tongue, putting your toe in the water, would you, because we're US based obviously, would you think it would be beneficial to start with like a Canada as an opportunity because that's our largest trading partner. I mean how would you approach that? I guess is the question.

No, I think when you're starting to move into the whole world of cross border returns, it is complex and actually if you've got big markets, you already sell to outbound and I guess Canada being a prime example out of the US it's probably the first place to start with returns because you know your consumers, you know what their expectations are and it becomes an add on to your outbounds. So for a retailer it's then completes your offer and allows you to move into that market.

Trying to tackle the whole world at once is clearly a big undertaking. They're very, very different markets there.

I mean even just looking within Europe, you've got return rates in Germany that are 40% upwards and they've got legislation around free returns. Whereas Spain, completely different and that's just within Europe. So you start to take on the whole world, it becomes probably far too daunting.

So focusing on particular countries is probably the best way to start.

As you were going through the process of building this fantastic product, I would say if you were a shipper, what would be the first thing you would focus on.

For cross border returns? I think my biggest concern would be, I think it would be price and customs, particularly if I'm dealing with borders.

How do I get it back quickly and how do I get it back quickly and cheaply?

Okay, fair Enough. I guess the third part of it was the fast refund part. I know that is what become.

I don't know what you all think, but working with some customers in my past that was their biggest bone of contention was their shoppers didn't get a fast return. Is that in the way that, can you explain how that process works here and how it helps to helps both parties, the shipper and the consumer.

Okay, so in terms of how we set up the solution, it's the shopper will mail the parcel within the country. It gets to our return center in country, which could take me, I don't know, two or three days.

It's then we will then scan and process the parcel in country so before it's even been sent back to the retailer.

But that scan and maybe the opening checking, making sure it's not worn, whatever service the retailer requires, but it means then that product can be validated. At that point the retailer doesn't have to wait until it's all the way back in their warehouse.

You can do it within two to three days of the shopper having actually sent it back.

Gotcha. Gotcha. Was any of your questions on that, Nick? I think you did or you didn't have something else on that?

No, it was close. Yeah, I mean I just have a couple left.

So I mean, John, I know you've got something that, you know, there was something I think you know, four part you mentioned.

No, no, no, we're, we're, we're cruising through it. We're good, go ahead.

Okay. So I mean one thing I have and Ari, I think you touched on it a little bit. But Helen or Ari could speak on this too.

But when we're talking to the audience right now, somebody that might say, you know, this conversation might really pique their interest, say, you know what, maybe it is time to explore a returns options.

But it's also important I think to understand, you know, are there any, whether it's a product or just clear cut limitations in terms of when it comes to cross border returns, something that might be prohibited or limited in terms of what's able to be actually returned. Anything that you could speak of on that?

Yeah.

So I think getting obviously to your point, as I said earlier, the whole discovery process is super important and trying to get as much detail as you can about their needs. But there is of course always the idea.

So like if for example, if there is a client that maybe wants to only provide like you know, under 100 parcels per week, overturns on average, but they Want to have such a super bespoke, you know, solution such as maybe they want, you know, they don't want to, they want to, they don't want to use our retailer portal, but they want to use their own portal and they want.

It requires a special type of integration and they also want like, you know, a specialized type of, you know, level two content check that requires a lot more than just, you know, checking if the commodity is the right commodity that's being returned if it was not warrant. But maybe they want photos or they want something more specific but they don't provide enough volume for us to do that.

Some type of solutions that may not be a good fit. So I think that kind of would be more pertain to a more small to middle market client that requests all that.

But to my experience, I don't believe that will be a issue for those type of clients though.

Okay.

Wow.

And for anybody listening, if anybody heard all that, there's quite a lot that our team does when it comes to this returns product.

So Ari just listed out a number of things and you know, whether, you know, value adds, but also I think just, you know, part of this product, not part, I mean there's just a lot of intricacies and details in terms of, you know, what we're able to do with content checks and everything else that Ari just described that I think is very impressive as well.

And kind of going back, I think my last, you know, question I have is for the listeners again is, and I know we're talking about the returns market, but also we are here to focus on what this, you know, our returns product, the EPAC returns offer.

So when we're, we're talking to listeners, do we have or is there maybe some type of ideal customer profile, you know, to really better understand, you know, the fit for who qualifies or who would be a good fit for, you know, this product. Anybody, any, anybody that wants to go. Go ahead, Ellen, go ahead.

Okay. Well, I think, I think actually the way we, we've designed the product and to a degree it's modular so we do have the flexibility within the product.

It's not a here it is off the shelf necessarily, you know, with all its bells and whistles, there's a degree of flexibility in there. So be it just wanting a label or a portal or the full end to end or just, you know, the first mile and back country.

So there is a, is a mix I think and it's back to Ari's point around really understanding actually what it is that's being shipped, how often it needs to come back, what countries, and then working with the client to really understand what they want and therefore how we can support that.

Okay.

Okay.

And so just really going through the discovery phase with whether it's a current client of Cendia's or anybody new that's just really exploring this process to understand, you know, if they have actual international return volume today, what that looks like and or potentially future plans and strategy and everything else. Well, I think that about checks off my questions that I had though, John. So if you've got some more, please feel free to go ahead.

But thank you both very much for all the information you provided.

Yeah, thanks, I guess, somewhat.

In closing, just looking at that eShop Ascendair report, which I think, obviously for all the listeners out there, I think it's a very beneficial report that you could really see what some of the things Helen and Ari said about what countries are returning, what they're doing, what's their willingness to pay for returns, paradigm shifts, things like that. I think it's real important. If we like that, we'd love to share it with you.

Obviously, we also, Nick and I and our sales team have access to the EPAC return presentation, which I think is beneficial for anybody out there that wants to learn about US returns here, which is really good. But the thing I liked about it, the way they worded is they want to leverage logistics to unlock customer global loyalty.

Like I said out in the beginning, obviously customer loyalty is big for brands and returns shoppers and things like that. And like Nick pointed out, the 27% of card abandonment is a big deal. I also like that they surveyed 18,000 people in 18 countries for this.

So you get a pretty good swath of information. I know Helen mentioned some things on membership fees. I know also they talk about return charges, restocking fees people are willing to pay.

If to your point, if they have a membership fee, they're more loyal. And it's also true. It's got Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and baby boomers like Helen referred to. I gotta say, it was a very good report.

It gives you a good idea of what's going on here. Return market globally. And also, like I said, we have our local returns product presentation we think is beneficial to everybody out there.

But I want to thank both of you guys for getting on and going through this with us. We really appreciate it.

Helen or Ari, is there anything that, before we close, anything that you guys want to add to this that you think would be helpful for listeners. Anything at all.

There can't be. We covered everything.

I mean, there should be silence at this point. No, it's true.

Go ahead, Helen, what do you got?

No, I guess it's don't be scared of returns. I think is really a message. It is complex. It can be costly. But this is where I guess we're here to help.

This is why this product's been designed and through having the conversations, this is where we can help.

Perfect.

How about you, Warren?

Yeah, I mean, just to add on to Helen's point, like, you know, come to, you know, contact your local sales rep and let's get those conversations started and see how we can help you. You know, I mean, there's so much to explore and we can make it as easy as it needs to be.

Right. I see in all the slides it says we want to create a seamless journey for return.

So I think obviously with this, what you guys are doing is going to help our listeners with that. So we appreciate it very much. Thanks again.

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