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Logistics & Supply Chain vocabulary · Distribution and Delivery

Reverse logistics

Meaning in logistics & supply chain, with examples

nounCommon term

In logistics & supply chain, reverse logistics means: The flow of goods back from customers to the seller or manufacturer for returns, repair, reuse, recycling or disposal.

In Turkish: tersine lojistik, iade lojistiği

How it is used

Increasingly important because of online shopping, where return rates are high, and recycling rules. Companies talk about the cost of returns, returns processing, refurbishing and recovering value from returned goods.

Example sentences

  1. Reverse logistics is now a big cost for us because a quarter of online orders come back.

  2. Empty pallets and crates go back to the supplier as part of our reverse logistics loop.

Common collocations

  • reverse logistics process
  • reverse logistics costs
  • returns management
  • handle returns
  • fulfillmentAll the steps needed to get an order to the customer, from receiving the order and picking and packing it to shipping it and handling returns.
  • last mileThe final stage of delivery, from a local depot or hub to the customer's door, often the most expensive and complex part of the journey.
  • logisticsThe planning and control of how goods are moved, stored and delivered so that they arrive at the right place, at the right time and at the right cost.
  • warehouseA large building where goods, materials or products are received, stored and prepared for shipment.

More terms: Distribution and Delivery

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