A return can be physically inside the warehouse while the system still cannot say whether it is sellable, damaged, incomplete or waiting for review. Until that decision is made, the item is neither useful stock nor a closed exception.
A return sitting in a box is stock you cannot sell and a customer issue you cannot close.
The physical item reaches the returns operation and is matched to the available return information.
The product and the relevant order or return reference are checked, where that information is available.
The item, its packaging and any required components are reviewed according to the agreed process.
The physical condition is recorded using the outcome rules agreed for that product.
Suitable stock can move towards resale availability; exceptions stay separate for further review.
The warehouse record reflects the approved physical outcome, so stock status matches reality.
Timing depends on the return volume and the inspection each item needs. Stow does not promise instant restocking; it commits to giving each return a recorded outcome rather than leaving it in a queue.
Grouped by the job it does, from the item arriving to the stock record telling the truth again.
Inspection is what turns “a parcel arrived” into a decision the warehouse can act on. What it needs to establish depends on the product and the process agreed with you, not one universal standard.
These are outcome categories, not a universal grading scale. The rules that decide which category a return lands in are agreed for your products.
Meets the agreed condition rules and can move towards available stock through the normal restock steps.
Needs a further check, or a different approved route, before any inventory decision is made.
Condition, completeness or information needs review before the return can be closed.
There is a gap between a return being received and it becoming available inventory again. Suitable stock only becomes sellable after the required physical and system steps are complete — the same discipline as warehouse putaway and inventory control.
Stow does not promise instant restocking, and does not quote a universal turnaround time. What it commits to is that suitable stock reaches available inventory through a clear, recorded set of steps rather than reappearing by guesswork.
A returned item physically arriving should not automatically make it sellable. Inspection and outcome come first, stock status has to reflect physical reality, suitable items are restocked, and exceptions stay separate. That is why returns processing sits right against inventory accuracy and stock control.
Then, once putaway is complete, the same unit moves to available — and only then can an order be picked against it.
A recorded physical outcome gives support a status to look at instead of an email to send. Where the relevant systems and processes are connected, the return’s operational state can be visible to the team.
This is operational status visibility, not financial decision ownership. Stow does not send every customer update, issue refunds, or authorise exchanges — those depend on your process and systems.
Returns are the back half of the same operation that ships orders out. The two connect, but a delivery exception and a physical customer return are related, not identical, workflows — not every failed delivery follows the same route back. The outbound side is ecommerce shipping and carrier management.
Fulfilment sends inventory out; returns processing decides what can come back into usable stock. When returns are processed inaccurately, inventory availability drifts and unresolved returns turn into stock and customer-service problems. It is the same operation seen from the other end — ecommerce fulfilment going out, returns coming back.
Returns are priced per return, and the work each one needs moves the number. You can model where returns sit in the wider invoice on the pricing page.
UK returns can be handled by the UK operation and EU returns by the Poland operation, connected to where the stock actually sits. Not every return should cross a border to be processed; the right routing depends on the operating model, not a single rule.
This is an operational routing decision, not VAT, tax or customs advice, and Stow works through it with you rather than assuming every brand needs separate return routes.
A quiet returns process is not something to fix. It usually becomes a problem when several of these show up together:
Switching provider is not automatically the answer. If returns are under control and inventory reflects them cleanly, there may be nothing to change. When you are weighing it up, it helps to compare running fulfilment in-house against a 3PL.
The outbound half the return journey loops back from, and where delivery exceptions begin.
Read →The operation that sent the order out, and depends on returns being processed cleanly.
Read →Where returned stock becomes available again — or stays held as an exception.
Read →Returns are priced per return; model where they sit in the fulfilment invoice.
Read →Returns management is the physical warehouse operation that handles a product after it comes back: receiving it, identifying it, inspecting its condition, grading the outcome, and either restocking suitable stock or routing an exception for review. It is the reverse-logistics side of fulfilment, and Stow runs it across the UK and EU.
Arriving is not the same as being resolved. The item is received and matched to the available return information, inspected for condition and completeness, and given a recorded outcome. Only then can suitable stock move towards resale, while anything needing review is held separately.
Inspection checks the item against the expected return: the correct product, its visible condition, packaging, completeness, any signs of use, and whether it needs further review. The exact standard depends on the product and the process agreed with you — not every category is inspected to the same rules.
Grading records the physical condition against agreed outcome rules so the warehouse knows the route: resale suitable, review required, or exception. Stow does not impose a universal grading scale; the outcome categories are set to suit your products.
Once a return is inspected and its outcome is approved as resale suitable, it moves through a restock task and a location update before it counts as available stock. It becomes sellable again only after those physical and system steps are complete — not the moment the parcel arrives.
It is held as an exception rather than mixed into sellable stock. The reason is recorded — wrong item, incomplete, damage, unclear reference or a condition mismatch — and the next step is taken based on the agreed process. Exception stock stays separate so it cannot be sold by mistake.
Stow manages the physical warehouse workflow: receiving, inspecting, grading and recording the return outcome. Refund, exchange and customer-compensation decisions depend on your agreed process and systems and are not automatically owned by Stow. The recorded physical outcome can be made visible to the workflow that does make those decisions.
A returned item physically arriving does not make it sellable. If returns are not processed cleanly, stock either goes unavailable when it could sell, or gets counted as available before it should. Recording the outcome and updating stock status is what keeps inventory honest — the same discipline as warehouse inventory control.
Yes. UK returns can be handled by the UK operation and EU returns by the EU operation in Poland, connected to where the stock sits. Where a return should be routed is an operational decision, not tax or customs advice, and it depends on your operating model rather than a single rule.
Your return volume, product types, inspection requirements, grading rules and the outcomes your operation needs to support. We'll review the physical returns workflow and the warehouse work involved.
Discuss your returns operation →