News / Inmar deal sees DHL take top slot in N American reverse logistics

DHL Supply Chain has become North America’s largest reverse logistics provider following its acquisition of Inmar Supply Chain Solutions.

DHL declined to comfirm the purchase price of the business unit, a division of Inmar Intelligence, but said the deal would add 14 returns centres and some 800 workers to its operation.

That operation already has more than 520 warehouses, supported by 52,000 workers, and the intention is that Inmar will bolster its product remarketing, recall management and analytics work.

Oscar de Bok, global CEO of DHL Supply Chain said: “The addition of Inmar’s suite of returns services and its talented workforce will enable us to provide best-in-class logistics. Together, we will create a returns business in North America that is unmatched.”

Amid the ever-increasing growth of ecommerce, reverse logistics is taking on an increasingly prominent role in supply chains, with some estimates suggesting that within a decade the market’s value will exceed $1trn.

Such growth is not surprising, considering the number of online purchase returns being made in the US alone, the value of which last year the National Retail Federation (NRF) puts at $890bn.

A report conducted by the NRF and UPS subsidiary Happy Returns found US retailers expected almost 17% of their annual sales last year to be returned, provoking high anxiety around the increasing cost of reverse logistics.

“Returns policies are no longer just a post-purchase consideration – they are shaping how younger generations shop” said David Sobie, co-founder of Happy Returns. “With behaviour like bracketing [where shoppers order several versions of the same item to sample], and rising return rates putting strain on traditional systems, retailers need to rethink reverse logistics. Solutions like no box/no label returns with item verification enable immediate refunds.”

These options, Mr Sobie said, “met customer convenience expectations”, while also bolstering accuracy and reducing fraud  – the latter described as a “significant issue” by 93% of US retailers.