March/April 2003

A reverse logistics system targeting retailers and manufacturers has been launched by Tablogix, the supply-chain company linked to fulfilment specialist iForce. It aims to speed up and simplify the process of handling customer returns and crediting the supplier, and the company claims it can complete the process within 48 hours.

The new service, which is branded ReSCU, combines an IT system produced by Tablogix with a physical handling process based on a dedicated reverse logistics centre. It has been developed over a period of three years in conjunction with Tesco, and is now being offered to other customers.

Tablogix claims that its solution can be up and running in "a matter of weeks". It achieves this partly by integrating with users' existing IT systems rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel. Product is scanned at key points in the returns process, and data gathered at the processing centre is reconciled with information from stores.

The system addresses issues such as determining damage status of products and whether a store credit should be allowed, and produces full reports on all this. It allows a decision to be made quickly on whether the goods should be repaired, scrapped or sold on via the Internet or other channels.

The new service puts Tablogix head to head with ReTurn Logistics, the joint venture involving Royal Mail and American-based ReTurn Logistics. Among its customers is Safeway, which uses the service for handling returns of consumer durables. Paradoxically, Royal Mail has been working alongside Tablogix' sister-company iForce at its Swindon warehouse, although not on reverse logistics operations.

According to Tom Mills, a business analyst at consultancy Datamonitor, only 15 per cent of reverse logistics are outsourced in the UK, compared with 80 per cent in the US. Tablogix, which has American directors and is also a major force in eastern Europe, is clearly set on increasing that proportion.