Gaurav Saran, Founder and CEO, ReverseLogix

Recommerce isn’t a trend; it’s a transformative shift in the way retailers and brands must think about returns, sustainability, and serving customers. The ReverseLogix Recommerce Module (RMS) is the technology cornerstone of those efforts, supporting the management, tracking and optimizing of product returns – from start to finish. The visibility and improved handling of returns have bolstered customer satisfaction and retention, becoming a competitive edge for users of our RMS platform.

As a global leader in sporting goods, Amer Sports reaches customers worldwide through renowned brands like Salomon, Arc'teryx, and Wilson. Customers are drawn to these brands, trusting they’ll receive top-quality sporting products at competitive prices. The company's e-commerce platform has also seen tremendous growth. However, an inefficient returns process began to threaten this success, putting pressure on customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Along with rising e-commerce sales came the concern of mounting returns, which necessitated a robust returns management solution capable of ensuring quick processing, reducing costs, and maintaining customer satisfaction.

According to Kai Bahlmann, vice president of warehousing at Amer Sports, the company had hundreds of thousands of units coming back that had to be processed fast. "We needed to speed things up, and we looked for something to improve our processes for the customer."

Although Amer Sports had seen a surge in its B2C businesses, it had also seen product returns skyrocket along with the complexity of handling these returns. Handling returns at a small scale is simple enough, and no retailer or manufacturer needs a large team to handle them. Traditional returns management will usually suffice, but starting to process returns worldwide is an entirely different problem statement. Initially, Amer Sports found itself in a situation where traditional returns management led to products arriving in various conditions — repackaged, wrinkled, or slightly used.

These products required fast, professional processing, but manual processes significantly slowed operations. Much time was spent managing product tracking, reconditioning, and coordinating across the global distribution network. These inefficiencies not only increased costs but also had a detrimental effect on operations and customer service.

Amer Sports had an existing partnership with ReverseLogix, although the focus was on their B2B operations. However, we saw immediate results and streamlined the returns process. Based on that success, Amer Sports leadership expanded its use of ReverseLogix's RMS from B2B to B2C. That decision proved strategic because ReverseLogix's RMS platform was built to manage every step of the returns process.

But beyond that, the RMS was able to offer the returns management team features such as:

1. Configurability

The platform was adaptable and configured to sync with Amer Sports' return operations and varied product list. This made it possible to quickly start optimizing the returns operations.

2. Scalability

The RMS platform is not affected by low or high returns. It is designed to be scalable, and for a global operation like Amer Sports, this was a game changer, especially in peak seasons.

3. Customer Portal

ReverseLogix's RMS solution also provided Amer Sports’ customers with an intuitive returns interface they could leverage to easily initiate returns, reduce service calls, and enhance customer satisfaction.

“The RMS implementation was a good experience on the front end for our brands,” said Bahlmann. “It was fast, efficient, and [our brands] got what they requested for. ReverseLogix shared their best practices with us so we could define our best fitting process.”

Following the integration of the RMS solution and improvement of resource optimization, Amer Sports began seeing some changes in the efficiency of the returns operations.

There were three striking results:

1. Doubling Return Processing Speed

“I’d say [ReverseLogix] doubles the amount of returns we used to be able to do,” said Hayden Rice, returns specialist. “It’s a lot faster process, so customers get their money back faster.”

The RMS solution doubled Amer Sports' returns processing speed by centralizing workflows across the entire reverse supply chain operation. The team transitioned from manual tracking to an automated process where they only had to scan a single tracking number tied to customer details. This enabled faster inspection, reconditioning, and relabeling, letting products quickly return to inventory or be routed as necessary.

2. Cost Savings & Efficiency Gains

“I can see what an individual processor is doing and keep track of their daily total, which is very helpful,” said Hill. “I can also see our arrival queues and know which projects to assign to which people.”

ReverseLogix consolidated Amer Sports' returns process onto a single, integrated platform, enabling the sports giant to cut costs. The system tracked each item's condition and disposition status in real time, making it easy to identify problem areas. Automation significantly reduced labor hours previously spent on repetitive tasks, allowing resources to be allocated more effectively.

3. Enhanced Customer Experience

ReverseLogix delivered a better customer experience with faster returns and improved tracking. Amer Sports’ customers could quickly and seamlessly initiate and track returns, enhancing transparency, removing uncertainties, and improving satisfaction.

About ReverseLogix

ReverseLogix is the only end-to-end, centralized, and fully integrated returns management system built specifically for retail, ecommerce, manufacturing and 3PL organizations. Whether B2B, B2C or hybrid, the ReverseLogix platform facilitates, manages, and reports on the entire returns’ lifecycle. Organizations that rely on ReverseLogix deliver a vastly superior customer returns experience, save employee time with faster workflows, and increase profits with 360⁰ insight into returns data. For more information, visit https://www.reverselogix.com/