The returns management process in supply chain strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider theory development related to returns management within supply chain strategy. The marketing/logistics relationship relative to the returns management process is investigated. Design/methodology/approach – Grounded theory qualitative methodology. Managers in five Italian firms, across marketing and logistics roles, at strategic and operational levels were interviewed. Findings – Four key findings emerged: strong evidence exists that strategic goals and policies are being implemented; cross-functional integration within the firms is broader than was expected; the more integrated firms deal better with external factors influencing the returns management process; and supply chain orientation – including forward and reverse supply chain flows – is linked to effective returns management. Research limitations/implications – Firms were pre-selected for participation, due to researcher’s time constraints. Additionally, given the pan-European approach to many supply chains, this Italian research needs to be replicated in other (western and eastern) European settings to determine the robustness of the factors posited to be important to the returns management process. Finally, other functional areas beyond marketing and logistics are involved in returns management, and will be more formally incorporated into future research. Practical implications – Returns management – increasingly being recognized as affecting competitive positioning – provides an important link between marketing and logistics. The broad nature of its cross-functional impact suggests that firms would benefit by improving internal integration efforts. In particular, a firm’s ability to react to and plan for the influence of external factors on the returns management process is improved by such internal integration. Originality/value – Returns management has been under-represented in much of the logistics and supply chain literature. This paper represents the first stage of an on-going research project aimed at providing a theoretical framework for understanding the returns management process within a firm’s supply chain strategy.