business
Wal-Mart Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is renowned for its high standard of customer service, underscored by a no-quibble consumer returns policy. Product returns from all domestic stores across the Americas are supported by a world-class returns network, comprising six nationwide reverse logistics centres which take in and process all return flows. Exel manages three of these centres, strategically located to service the Southwest, Midwest and Northeast regions, employing 800 full-time personnel. Jim Schlieman, Exel’s Director of Operations for Wal-Mart says: “The centres provide one point of return for groups of Wal-Mart stores and, excluding clothes and food, handle a huge variety of products including household, gardening, cosmetics, general domestic and electronic items. “A high percentage of goods processed are unsold rather than defective, returned because it is the end-of-season for those item lines, store layout changes or they are slow-moving.” The majority of returns go back to suppliers.