Returns in the Warehouse
Goods come back to your warehouse in two ways: parcels the carrier brings back because the order was refused at the door or not delivered (returns to sender), and items your customers send back through QrX Returns. This article explains how both are booked back into stock, how grades decide where the units go, and how to use a B-stock item. Warehouse stock is part of QrX WMS.
Who It Is For
Warehouse staff who unpack returned parcels.
Merchants who use QrX Returns and want inspected returns to go back into stock automatically.
Where to Find It
Warehouse > Inbound > Returns to sender: parcels on their way back.
Warehouse > Inbound > Returns: inspected customer returns and how they were booked.
Warehouse > Inbound > Quarantine (Full WMS): returned units waiting for a decision.
Settings > Warehouse > Stock, Rules tab: the setting Book inspected returns into stock.
The stock item editor, General tab: the field B-stock item.
Grades: Where Returned Units Go
A: as new. Goes back into sellable stock. With Full WMS the units land in the receiving area first and are put away like a delivery.
B: sellable with flaws. Booked onto the B-stock item of this item (see below). Without a B-stock item, grade B cannot be chosen.
Refurbish: needs work first. Goes to quarantine and is not sold until you release it.
Scrap: cannot be sold. Needs a write-off reason and at least one photo.
Returns to Sender
When an order is refused at the door or cancelled after it shipped, QrX expects the parcel back. Its units count as Incoming for the warehouse and show in Warehouse > Inbound > Returns to sender with the order, the item, the quantity, what was returned or lost, what is still to come and since when.
When the parcel arrives, open the row and choose Receive the returned units.
Check the units, enter the quantity and choose a grade: A, B, Refurbish or Scrap.
For Scrap, choose a write-off reason and add at least one photo. Add a note if useful, for example "box damaged, contents fine".
Confirm. The units are booked where the grade says. You can receive a parcel in parts.
If the parcel will not come back, use Close as lost with a note, for example "carrier confirmed the parcel is lost". The units leave the incoming stock and are saved as lost in transit. They appear in the write-offs report.
For an item tracked by serial number the window also shows Serial numbers (optional): scan the serial numbers of the returned units, so exactly these come back. It is optional. A serial number that was not shipped with this order is refused. See "Serial Numbers and Lot Recall".
Customer Returns From QrX Returns
If you use QrX Returns, an inspection ends with a grade and a decision (see the article "Returns for Merchants: Setup and Handling"). With Book inspected returns into stock switched on in Settings > Warehouse > Stock, on the Rules tab (it is on by default), QrX books the item back into stock a few minutes after the inspection is completed:
Restock with grade A (or no grade): back into sellable stock (with Full WMS via the receiving area).
Restock with a lower grade: onto the B-stock item when the item has one, otherwise into quarantine.
Refurbish or Repair: into quarantine.
Liquidate or Dispose: written off with the reason Return disposed. The photos of the inspection are kept with the write-off.
Back to customer: nothing is booked.
Only inspections completed after stock was switched on are booked. Warehouse > Inbound > Returns lists every inspected return with its grade, decision and outcome: Booked, Skipped or Needs an item.
Returns inspected by a fulfilment partner. When the merchant gave its fulfilment partner Returns handling, the partner receives and inspects the return in its own warehouse. The item is booked into the partner warehouse that holds the merchant's stock, still owned by the merchant, with the same grade rules as above. The merchant follows it in Stock at partners.
Needs an item means QrX could not find the stock item of the return, for example because the product was never linked. Choose:
Book to a stock item: choose the stock item and the warehouse. The grade decides where the units are booked.
Do not book into stock: the return stays as it is and no stock is booked. Use it for items you do not keep in stock, such as samples.
Exchanges for the same value. When a customer exchanges a returned item for another option of the same price, and that product is linked to a stock item, QrX books the replacement unit out of your warehouse stock when it creates the replacement shipment. If the stock is not available, the exchange is not created: the return keeps its return label. Receive or move stock first, or agree on another solution with the customer.
For an item tracked by serial number the window also shows Serial numbers (optional): scan the serial numbers of the returned units, so exactly these come back. It is optional. A serial number that was not shipped with this order is refused. See "Serial Numbers and Lot Recall".
B-Stock Items
B-stock is stock that is still sellable but not as new, for example with a damaged box. Keep it apart from your normal stock:
Create a separate stock item for the B-stock, for example with the SKU TSHIRT-BLK-M-B.
Open the normal stock item and, on the General tab, choose it as the B-stock item.
If you want to sell B-stock, link the B-stock item to a product in your shop, so its orders reserve it.
Returns graded B are then booked onto the B-stock item, and the normal item stays clean.
Permissions
Receive stock: receive returns to sender, and book or skip customer returns.
Adjust stock: close a return to sender as lost, and release or scrap units in quarantine.
Manage stock settings: switch Book inspected returns into stock on or off, and set the B-stock item.
Limits
Items tracked by lot: returned units go to quarantine without a lot, whatever the grade (except Scrap). Check them in Quarantine and release or scrap them.
Quarantine is shown with Full WMS. With Simple stock, grade A goes straight into stock.
Photos: up to 5 per return, images only, at most 10 MB each.
Frequently Asked Questions
A customer refused the parcel. When is the stock back?
As soon as you receive the returned units in Warehouse > Inbound > Returns to sender. Until then they count as incoming, not as available.
Why can I not choose grade B?
The item has no B-stock item. Set one on the General tab of the stock item editor, or choose another grade.
An inspected return was not booked into stock. Why?
Check Warehouse > Inbound > Returns. If the outcome is Needs an item, book it to a stock item. If it is Skipped, the decision was Back to customer or the return was skipped. Also check that Book inspected returns into stock is on, and that the inspection was completed after stock was switched on.
Does a return create a refund?
No. Booking stock never changes a payment or a refund. Refunds are handled in QrX Returns or by your payment provider.
When to Contact Our Support Team
Contact QrX support when a refused parcel does not appear in Returns to sender, when an inspected return keeps showing Needs an item although the product is linked, or when returned units land in the wrong place. Include the order number, the return number and a screenshot.