Return to Sender: Why Reverse Logistics Knots Up Even the Best 3PLs

The messy reality behind a simple customer click

If you run an e-commerce brand, you already know the cruel punchline behind a happy sale. Every purchase casts a long shadow. Some of your products come straight back to you like homing pigeons with customer regret strapped to their wings. Maybe an apparel item did not fit. Maybe the blender was louder than expected. Maybe the universe just felt mischievous that day.

Whatever the reason, the return lands inside your supply chain like a rogue bowling ball. The customer thinks they tapped a button. You know they triggered a Rube Goldberg machine of labels, inspections, restocking decisions, and cost calculations that make your spreadsheets sigh.

This is the puzzle of reverse logistics. It is never glamorous. It rarely behaves. And if you are leaning on a 3PL to make it all go away, you are probably wondering why it is so tricky in the first place.

Why returns feel like supply chain deja vu

Industry research shows that e-commerce returns hover between 16 percent and 21 percent in most categories. Apparel can leap well past 30 percent. Electronics bring their own quirks with warranty uncertainty and missing accessories. Cosmetics add regulatory tangles. The short version is simple: returns are growing faster than most brands want to admit.

Forward logistics is a river flowing downhill. Returns run uphill with cinder blocks in the boat. Warehouses are built for predictable motion. Returns, by contrast, introduce uncertainty. A warehouse picker can hit a same-day cutoff with near-perfect rhythm, but hand them a box containing a possibly used shirt and suddenly they are making judgment calls.

Connor Perkins, G10s Director of Fulfillment, captured it perfectly when he talked about apparel inspections. Once something is worn and sent back, the team has to determine its fate. Does it smell. Is it stained. Can it be resold. As Connor said, "That is where it gets tricky, because we do not necessarily want our employees to be smelling things. You never know where it is coming from!"

Subjectivity is the enemy of warehouse flow, and returns bring a whole lot of it.

Why most 3PLs stumble on reverse logistics

Warehouses are designed for speed. Returns are designed for hesitation. They require slow evaluation, hands-on decisions, and exceptions that break automation. They look nothing like outbound fulfillment.

A forward order contains a UPC, a barcode, a known SKU, and a clear destination. A return may contain the wrong item, torn packaging, missing parts, or a mystery object the customer dropped in by accident. Some returns arrive with Sharpie notes that look like ransom letters. None of this fits neatly into a warehouse that measures performance by lines per hour.

If a 3PL has weak processes, the cracks show: delayed refunds, misplaced returns, resellable items tossed by mistake, or unsellable items snuck back onto the shelf.

Joel Malmquist, G10s VP of Customer Experience, is frank about the challenge. G10 processes returns, but he notes that the returns workflow does not yet match the polished feedback loops in other parts of the operation. It is a priority for improvement, precisely because it matters to merchants.

Returns expose the wiring of a 3PL. Either the system is robust enough to handle the ugly parts, or it is not.

When returns turn downright radioactive

If your brand sells HAZMAT goods, reverse logistics enters a different universe. Many brands discover, usually the hard way, that customers cannot simply mail back a lithium battery, a flammable perfume, or a can of concrete sealant.

Kay Hillmann, G10s Director of Vendor Operations, breaks it down in plain language: "You literally can't do returns, not with hazmat." The customer is not a certified shipper. The carrier may not be. The receiving location almost definitely is not. The return itself could violate federal rules.

In other words, some products cannot legally return to sender. No 3PL can wish that away.

Infrastructure makes or breaks reverse logistics

Even with all the complications, returns do not have to become a slow leak in your margins. The key is visibility. You need tracking that follows every touch. You need fast inbound receiving. You need to know what gets restocked, what gets quarantined, and what gets scrapped. You need feedback loops that tell you exactly what happened.

This is where many 3PLs struggle. Outbound logistics is an Olympic sprint. Returns are a detective novel. You need both.

Bryan Wright, G10s CTO and COO, describes the difference between a weak WMS and a strong one. A weak system guesses. A strong system observes every scan from the dock to the shelf. As Bryan put it, "A bad WMS system will not track inventory 100 percent... A good WMS tracks inventory through the warehouse at every point that you touch it."

That level of detail is not indulgent. It is essential when your supply chain starts running backward.

How G10 approaches the chaos without pretending it is simple

G10 handles returns with a mix of structure, scanning discipline, and operational honesty. Items get evaluated and sorted with clear criteria. Customers get data that shows what came back and how it was classified. Resellable goods return to inventory with the same care given to forward fulfillment. Damaged items are pulled out before they can cause trouble.

Maureen Milligan, Director of Operations and Projects, explains that G10 is careful with the subjectivity of returns. They restock what truly qualifies and keep merchants informed so nothing disappears into a warehouse black hole. Returns are not treated as an afterthought. They are handled with the same seriousness as outbound orders.

The throughline across interviews is clear. G10 does not pretend reverse logistics is smooth. Instead, the team builds the transparency needed to keep it from turning into a cost spiral.

Reverse logistics is tricky, but you are not stuck with the chaos

The growth of e-commerce means returns are here to stay. You cannot eliminate them, but you can choose whether they overwhelm your margins or become a manageable workflow. Visibility, speed, and clear decision rules make all the difference.

This is where G10 can help. Our scan-based WMS, real-time reporting, nationwide footprint, and experience in both D2C and B2B give brands a realistic way to tame returns without drowning in them.

Connor summed it up well when talking about scaling and the need for capable systems. A brand must "absolutely make sure that the Warehouse Management System that your 3PL uses can handle all of those requirements." That wisdom applies twice as hard to reverse logistics.

If you want a returns process that feels less like a gamble and more like a controlled operation, reach out. We will walk through your current setup, look at the inefficiencies, and help you build a plan that keeps your supply chain moving forward even when the products are not.

Get in touch with G10 today and reclaim control over your returns before they start reclaiming control over you.