How 3PLs Are Gaining From E-Commerce Returns

Strasmann believes a dual price model for e-commerce is one solution to the strain of reverse logistics.

NEWPORT BEACH, CA—Third-party logistics operators and facility owners are benefiting from a rapidly rising rate of product returns as many retailers outsource their reverse-logistics operations to cut costs and gain maximum efficiencies, according to a recent report from CBRE. As GlobeSt.com recently reported, reverse logistics is a rising concern as the percentage of online returns grows with the percentage of online shopping, and whoever solves this problem is a genius, CBRE senior managing director Kurt Strassman told us.

An earlier report from the firm showed that as e-commerce claims an increasingly larger portion of holiday retail sales, retailers’ efficiency in limiting and handling returns of merchandise bought online—which could amount to as much as $32 billion this year—will make or break the holiday season for many. David Egan, CBRE global head of industrial and logistics research, also recently told us, “Speed and efficiency in processing e-commerce returns, with an eye toward preserving as much value of the merchandise as possible, often separates the top-performing retailers from the not-so-successful ones in the weeks after Christmas.”