Returns processing app for fashion wholesalers
At the change of season, the warehouse fills up with pallets of returns from shops. Whoever opens a box needs to know which customer it came from, what was notified, and what has to happen to each item. Appfront builds a returns app for fashion wholesalers: scanning against the notification at the returns table, assessing each item with a photo, and for the sales rep who logs a return at the shop.
What is a returns processing app for fashion wholesale?
A returns app is the part of returns processing that happens by hand: in the warehouse and at the shop. The warehouse operative scans the box, sees the shop's notification and then scans each item. The app shows straight away whether it matches what was notified, asks for an assessment of each item and a photo if it is damaged, and sends the item to the right destination: back into stock, to the outlet, or written off.
Without an app, this is done on paper or on a PC at the far end of the warehouse. One person writes down what was in the box, another types it up, and whether it matches the notification only becomes clear later. A pair of trousers from last season goes back into stock, a box with no notification stays where it is, and the discussion with the shop about the credit note starts with the question of what actually came in.
We build custom software because the processing has to fit your warehouse and your terms. Which devices you use, how you assess items, which destinations exist and how it all flows to your ERP and WMS differs from company to company. The portal where shops notify returns and the credit note that follows are handled by the software; the app is the tool on the warehouse floor and on the road.
Scanning
Box against notification.
Per item
Assessment with photo.
At the shop
Return logged on the spot.
How we build your returns processing app for fashion wholesale
We start on the warehouse floor: how returns currently arrive, what happens at the returns table, which devices you use and where items go next. Then we build a first version with scanning and per-item assessment, because that is where most of the time goes. The warehouse uses it for a while on regular returns. The integration with your ERP and WMS, the module for sales reps and the reporting follow once that works well. After that, we maintain the app as your range or your terms change.
Returns table and devices.
The first version.
ERP, WMS and shop.
Go-live, monitoring, and maintenance when things change.
What a returns processing app for fashion wholesale actually does
The components below appear in almost every returns app. Which ones you need depends on your warehouse and how shops return goods.
Scan the box
Notification alongside straight away.
Per item
Size, season and condition.
Photo
For damage or doubt.
Destination
Stock, outlet or write-off.
Discrepancy
More or less than notified.
At the shop
Log a return on the road.
Who we build a returns processing app for fashion wholesale for
The app is intended for companies that receive many returns from shops and have to assess them item by item. The bigger the peaks around the change of season, the more it pays off.
Fashion wholesalers
Returns from shops.
Brands and labels
Own collection coming back.
Logistics
Returns for brands.
Representatives
Return at the shop.
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This page is about the app in the warehouse and at the shop. For the returns portal, the terms and the credit note, see our page on returns processing software for fashion wholesale; for returns in general, our page on returns management software; and for wholesale more broadly, our page on wholesale software. You can read about our way of working on building an app.
Why Appfront for your returns processing app for fashion wholesale?
A box that sits for days because nobody knows whose it is, an item from the wrong season going back into stock, or a credit note the shop disputes: each costs a wholesaler margin and customers. That is what we build around: every box scanned against its notification, every item assessed with a photo, and discrepancies visible immediately.
Cleared faster
Peaks at season changeover.
Honest
A photo with every assessment.
Fewer disputes
What came in is on record.
Security and privacy for a returns processing app in fashion wholesale
The app works with data on customers, orders and stock. Access is set up by role: a warehouse employee sees the returns they process, a sales rep sees only their own shops, and every assessment is recorded with name and time.
The backend runs in a European data centre, with encrypted connections and storage and daily backups. Photos attached to an assessment are kept for as long as you need them to answer a question from the shop.
Frequently asked questions about a returns processing app in fashion wholesale
Questions that fashion wholesalers and brands ask before getting started.
It lets the warehouse scan returned shipments against the notification, assess each item by size, season and condition with a photo, and choose the destination. A sales rep can also use it to log a return at the shop.
The software handles the portal where shops submit returns, the return terms per customer and the credit note. The app is the tool on the warehouse floor and on the road: scanning, assessing and logging. They work together.
On Android handheld scanners, phones and tablets. If you already use handheld scanners in the warehouse, we usually build on those.
The app immediately shows which items are more or fewer than notified. This is recorded, so the credit note is based on what actually came in.
Yes. The app can link such a box to the right customer and flag it, so it doesn't sit around and you can choose how to handle it.
Yes. Notifications come from your system, and assessments and destinations go back, so stock and credit notes are correct. We look at which route fits in the first step.
For wholesalers and brands with many returns from shops, especially around the season changeover. If only a few boxes come back each month, a simple list may be enough.
Clear returns off the floor faster?
Tell us how returns are currently processed in your warehouse. We'll show you how the app can handle that at the returns table.