November 2002

Genco, a US-based supply-chain management company with a strong presence in reverse logistics, has followed the lead of rival ReTurn Logistics by forming a joint venture to bring its concept to the UK.

Pittsburgh-based Genco has teamed up with Wincanton Logistics to create R-Log, which is offering dedicated reverse logistics solutions to both manufacturers and retailers. The company says its solution is straightforward enough to be rolled out in just six weeks.

The system is geared mainly to the retail supply chain, since the recovery process is initiated when returned goods are scanned into a store's EPOS system. R-Log collects the product, consolidates it at a central point, then returns it to the vendor or marks it for recycling or resale.

This arrangement could however be modified to cover goods returned by home shoppers to a central point, and R-Log cites the high level of returns in this sector as one of the factors behind its rationale for setting up the business.

Last year ReTurn Logistics formed a partnership with Consignia (now Royal Mail) to roll out a comparable service in the UK. It pointed out at the time that virtually no retail returns activity was then outsourced in the UK, whereas nearly all of it was in the US.