Having witnessed a constant increase in returns over two decades of experience in the retail sector, Al Gerrie founded ZigZag on the knowledge that “depending on the product, fashion retailers can see return rates between 20 and 50% and that 41% of buyers in the UK make purchases intending to return an item.”
ZigZag offers different clients a fully branded returns portal connected directly to the various companies’ websites. Buyers are not aware that they have left the retailer’s site and, on the portal created by ZigZag, can select the items to return before choosing the most convenient shipping method.
By inputting the order number and postcode, ZigZag can retrace the retailer, the customer, and what was in the basket at checkout. Customers can select the reason for the return from a series of options set by the retailer and, subsequently, choose between a refund or replacement. For example, if a customer returns an item because it is too small, the portal automatically suggests a larger size if it is available in the warehouse.
Using the software, customers can produce and print a return label in less than 60 seconds, which can be picked up and delivered to a partner store or locker. Then the software calculates the best warehouse to which to send the customer returns. Indeed, the technology developed by ZigZag optimises the routes of returns, which are directed to the most logistically efficient location, thus consuming less energy, as well as reducing the waste associated with products sent back, all of which are routed to the best option (reconditioning, redistribution, recycling or resale)
Currently, ZigZag processes some 50 million returned orders every year, worth approximately 1.5 billion pounds in refunds, and the company recently reached an agreement to partner with Royal Mail, the UK’s historic postal service.
Web site:
Name:
ZigZag
Sector:
Reverse logistics
Pros:
Classification of returned products and routing toward refurbishment, redistribution, recycling, or resale
Features:
SaaS platform and technologies to transform the returns experience at a global level
This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano
Image: Handy Wicaksono, Unsplash
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