Solving The Bradery’s complex logistical issues with automated returns

Marketplace logistics are particularly complex, requiring synchronization between both the marketplace and the partner brands’ warehouses.

A large proportion of The Bradery’s returns were being shipped to their warehouse, which then made another shipment back to their partner brands’ warehouses.

Not only was this returns process very time-consuming, but generating two return labels for a single return was starting to become a financial issue. Plus, this required blocking inventory for long periods of time, which was problematic for the partner brands.

The Bradery was also managing multiple online return portals as a result of working with so many different brands, and this added another layer of complexity.

As the company grew, it realized that returns management would be crucial to sustainably scaling in the future.

We selected 4 goals for success based on The Bradery’s key pain points:

1. Automate the returns process
2. Decrease the cost of returns for The Bradery
3. Decrease the refund rate by introducing a store credit option
4. Manage all the brands' returns processes with one platform

The Bradery wanted to ensure their customers could have an easy and self-serve online returns process, increasing customer satisfaction and reducing the operational burden on their CS team, all while optimizing return economics for their marketplace.

Thanks to Elyn’s pre-built integrations with a wide variety of e-commerce tools, we synchronized with The Bradery's WMS, OMS, and marketing and accounting software in just 5 weeks.

The Bradery was also able to reduce fraud with the ability to set rules for each stage of the post-purchase journey and assign customers to segments based on their previous returns behavior.

The results were immediate:

• a 55% reduction in return-related inquiries
• a 45% decrease in time spent handling CS tickets in the first month
• an 8% decrease in online refunds, with customers opting for store credit instead

The Bradery no longer had to make two shipments to complete a single return, as returns were now routed directly to the partner brand or to The Bradery’s warehouse.

With a streamlined e-commerce returns process, The Bradery positioned itself to sustainably scale: it could increase sales volume, without sacrificing quality when it came to their post-purchase experience.