Blind Returns
A blind return is a return in which the customer returns an item that they have not pre-authorized as a return with the merchant.
Blind returns follow these general steps:
-
The customer wants to make a return and completes the form return label that is typically included in the shipment package. The customer then sends the package containing the product(s) returned, together with the return label, to the Logistic Service Provider’s (LSP) warehouse.
-
The warehouse verifies that the product(s) returned are in good condition, and if so, the warehouse will inform the Order Management System (OMS) that the customer made a return of specified order lines of a particular order.
-
OMS calculates the refund associated with this return based on the retailer refund rules and generates the required notifications to perform the payment refund.
Sometimes the return package does not arrive to the warehouse due to a carrier mistake. The most scenarios in which this happens is when the customer has not received a refund after a few days and they contact Customer Service to get a status update.
Customer Service will check the status of the return in the OMS Admin and sees that the package has not been delivered to the carrier. They then request the carrier receipt from the customer and contact the carrier for verification.
If the receipt is correct, Customer Service perform a manual return in the OMS Admin, or the customer service tool will need to send a message to the OMS to generate the approval. After this manual process, the OMS sends a notification to payments and the refund is triggered to the customer.
If the package is lost, Magento and the LSP will engage with each other to solve the problem. If the package arrives late to the warehouse, and they send us a message, the OMS will handle the situation in an effort to not duplicate the action.
OMS does not update stock with return activity.
Customer flow
The following diagram illustrates the common customer workflow for blind returns:
Blind returns flow
Integration
When the warehouse receives the goods in their system they send the OMS a received message to record the return in the OMS system.
The return merchandise authorization (RMA) code is not mandatory for blind returns. If it is provided, the OMS will store it as return main identifier or will generate it for the warehouse.
The OMS will send an updated message to communicate that the return has been successfully requested from all systems interested in synchronization.
{
"return": {
"order_id": "000000024",
"source_id": "SOU1",
"user": "userB",
"rma": "RMA-CS-000000024-1",
"custom_attributes": [],
"status": {
"code": "REQUESTED",
"name": "REQUESTED",
"reason_code": "CSRREQUEST",
"date": "2017-10-04T11:10:20+00:00"
},
"lines": [
{
"id": "28",
"line_number": 1,
"sku": "WS08-XS-Blue",
"status": "REQUESTED",
"custom_attributes": [],
"reason": "TOO_BIG",
"reason_description": "Too big size"
}
]
}
}
The updated message is available out-of-the-box for utilization by the OMS Connector to synchronize both Magento Digital Commerce (MDC) systems and to create return entities in the MDC.
As this is a blind return, the OMS will automatically auto-approve and another updated message is sent to the connected systems.
{
"return": {
"order_id": "000000024",
"source_id": "SOU1",
"user": "userB",
"rma": "RMA-CS-000000024-1",
"custom_attributes": [],
"status": {
"code": "APPROVED",
"name": "APPROVED",
"reason_code": "CSRREQUEST",
"date": "2017-10-04T11:10:20+00:00"
},
"lines": [
{
"id": "28",
"line_number": 1,
"sku": "WS08-XS-Blue",
"status": "APPROVED",
"custom_attributes": [],
"reason": "TOO_BIG",
"reason_description": "Too big size"
}
]
}
}
The updated message is available out-of-the-box for utilization by the OMS Connector to synchronize both Magento Digital Commerce (MDC) systems and to create return entities in the MDC.
When a return is generated the refund is calculated and the refund message, updated is triggered.
{
"refund": {
"order_id": "000000024",
"store_id": "200001",
"credit_note_number": "CUS19",
"credit_note_date": "2017-10-04T11:11:12+00:00",
"status": {
"code": "RELEASED",
"name": "RELEASED",
"reason_code": "RELEASESUCCESS",
"reason_name": "RELEASESUCCESS",
"date": "2017-10-04T11:11:12+00:00"
},
"refund_type": "Return",
"user": "userB",
"refund_reason": "RELEASESUCCESS",
"lines": [
{
"order_line": "1",
"order_item_id": "28",
"payments": [
{
"details": {
"cost_gross": "34.64",
"cost_net": "32", "cost_vat": "2.64",
"vat_rate": "8.25",
"vat_detail": [
{
"type": "VAT",
"amount": "2.64",
"rate": "8.25"
}
]
},
"status": {
"code": "REFUNDED",
"name": "REFUNDED"
}
}
]
},
{
"order_line": "2",
"order_item_id": "SHIPPING",
"payments": [
{
"details": {
"cost_gross": "5",
"cost_net": "5",
"cost_vat": "0",
"vat_rate": "0",
"vat_detail": [
{
"type": "VAT",
"amount": "0",
"rate": "0"
}
]
},
"status": {
"code": "REFUNDED", "name": "REFUNDED"
}
}
]
}
],
"custom_attributes": []
}
}