Hub outbound shipments
We send all of our Return Bar and select mail returns to our network of Hubs, where we sort, aggregate, and ship them back to you to restock. By aggregating returns in reusable totes, we use fewer totes and fewer trucks — saving both you and the planet some green.
What’s special about Happy Returns’ reverse logistics?
Savings for you and the planet
Our sustainable process of aggregating all of our returns together reduces the cost of shipping and processing, savings we pass on to you. Since mail returns are shipped back in oversized boxes, four pallets of standard mail returns are equivalent to one of our Hub pallets.
Seamless connection to your supply chain
We have existing integrations with over 40 third-party logistics (3PL) partners, so your 3PL might already be supported. But if not, we provide an easy-to-use API and automated reports so that you can get started quickly.
Analytics and reports
Our Retailer Dashboard provides insight into the what, when, where, and why of your returns, with full visibility of the status of each return as it travels back to your warehouse.
A look inside our Hubs
Step 1: Sort
We save you money by aggregating your returns with those from hundreds of other retailers at our thousands of Return Bars. When returns arrive at a Happy Returns Hub, the first step is to sort by destination.
Step 2: Aggregate
After sorting, we reaggregate them into shipping boxes for each individual merchant.
Step 3: Ship back to you
The shipping boxes are palletized (depending on volume), and a Happy Returns carrier picks up items from our Hub and delivers them to your 3PL.
Hub outbound shipments
Aggregating returns saves you money and reduces waste, so there must be at least 10 items at a Hub before they can be shipped to your warehouse or 3PL. Depending on volume, returned items will be shipped back to you via parcel or freight weekly. On average, it takes about 14 business days from drop off at the Return Bar to delivery at your warehouse.
Here’s what’s in a shipment from our Hubs to your warehouse:
Labeled shipping boxes, which tell you the retailer name and the shipping box ID
Inside the shipping box, there are polybags containing returned items, grouped by return
Return Bar returns are kept their original polybags
Each polybag is associated with a single return and SKUs are mixed
Here’s how we notify you and your 3PL about a new shipment:
You’ll receive an automated email linking to the full shipment details. Learn more here.
You can log into your merchant dashboard to download the PO.
Optionally, you can also receive Advanced Shipping Notices via our Outbound Shipment webhook.
Mail returns
Shoppers love choice and some choose to mail their items directly back to your warehouse.
By checking “Box and ship items using a prepaid label,” within the Online Return and Exchange Service, a shipping label is automatically generated, using our competitive carrier rates or your own carrier account rates.
If you have more than one warehouse, our Rate Optimizer feature to automatically select the least expensive shipping destination. We then provide your warehouse with advanced shipping notices through using our Return webhook.
Integrating with us
In addition to the PO, and tracking information sent with every shipment, we offer many options to integrate with your 3PL, ERP, or warehouse management systems.
For Return Bar returns, we have existing integrations with 40+ 3PLs, so your 3PL might already be a partner! If you’re not already integrated, check out our Happy Returns Partner API is triggered when an outbound shipment from one of our Hubs enters a carrier’s system, so which enables you and your 3PLs to receive advanced shipping notices using webhooks. Our Outbound Shipment webhook is triggered when an outbound shipment from one of our Hubs enters a carrier’s system, so as soon as items ship from our Hub, your warehouse or 3PL will be notified immediately with all the details they need to know about the shipment and items to expect. And remember, we can always email you a flat file of the PO, or upload it to your sFTP server.
We also have a Return webhook, triggered whenever a drop-off method is created for a return or the return status is updated. This webhook is ideal for creating advance shipping notices for mail returns, or for automatically ingesting detailed data about your returns.
If you have questions or if you want to learn more, contact our Happy Returns team.
Tracking returns
Analytics and reporting on the shipping status of all your returns, from when the shopper starts a return to when items arrive at your warehouse, can be found in the Retailer Dashboard:
- Under Analytics & Reports > Dashboard you can find where your items are and who has them. Learn more.
- Under Analytics & Reports > Reports you can find reports on items in progress, by mail returns, and items processed, in transit, and delivered by Happy Returns. Learn More.
FAQs
You can see where your items are, and who has them, in the “Items in Progress” tile of the Analytics & Reports > Dashboard page. You can export item-level detail with the “Items in Progress'' report on the Analytics & Reports > Reports page.
From when a return is dropped off at a Return Bar, it takes about 14 business days for a return to be delivered to your warehouse or 3PL. Shipping may take longer depending on your desired shipping cadence (weekly, twice monthly, monthly).
Our West coast Hub is in Van Nuys, California and our East coast Hub is in Blandon, Pennsylvania.
We ship mail returns internationally. However, we only make domestic shipments (within the United States) from our Hubs, but we can ship to domestic freight forwarders who ship internationally.
No, as part of our cost-saving aggregation model, we ship returns in their original polybags (if returned from a Return Bar) and group mail returns into as few polybags as possible. This means polybags may contain items of mixed SKU.