take care of a return in 1.5 minutes.

How BWJ E-commerce reduced their returns processing time. 

BWJ E-commerce, the company behind Phone-Factory, Smartwatchbands.nl and XOXO Wildhearts, has made great steps in optimizing their return policy. By replacing the paper return label with a digital form and linking their e-commerce platforms with Returnless, they have been able to reduce the processing time of a return from 2.5 minutes to 1.5 minutes. Jeffrey van Battum, one of the founders of BWJ E-commerce, shares his experiences and challenges he encountered while optimizing their return process. 

 

Phone Factory logoSmartwatchbanden.nl - logowildheartsxoxo-logo

 

Phone Factory image
Website optimization based on return data
Easier return process for consumers
Suitable price and policy by carrier
Reduced processing time from 2.5 to 1.5 minutes
Warehouse BWJ E-commerce

short intro.

BWJ E-commerce owns three brands: Phone-Factory, Smartwatchbands.nl and XOXO Wildhearts. In 2014, the company launched Phone-Factory, an online store specializing in smartphone cases. Five years later, in 2019, BWJ E-commerce expanded with Smartwatchbands.nl, a shop focused on accessories for smartwatches. XOXO Wildhearts, the third brand, was added as a platform for phone cases and accessories with a focus on women. Today, these three brands also sell their products internationally, including in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain.


Tech stack:

Shopify-favicon
CMS

Shopify

Picqer-favicon-1
WMS

Picqer

lightspeed Favicon
CMS

Lightspeed

Returnless-favicon
Returns

Returnless

Smartphonebanden.nl image

the success story of BWJ e-commerce.

By Jeffrey van Battum, co-owner of BWJ E-commerce.

The original returns process was both time-consuming and inefficient, with manual steps that created a lot of customer service work. Customers returned products using a paper return label, after which customer service had to manually verify the packages and enter them into their system, Lightspeed. This made it difficult to collect usable return data, and the process put a lot of pressure on the team. It was time for a solution that would prevent returns and improve efficiency.

Jeffrey van Battum
“We had to process returns manually, which sometimes took up to 2.5 minutes for each return. This proved a huge time investment, and also led to missed opportunities to inform or assist customers in advance.” 

Jeffrey van Battum, co-owner of BWJ E-commerce

Searching for a return solution

To break this inefficiency, BWJ E-commerce decided to look for a solution to improve the return process. While listening to a podcast that mentioned return solutions, Jeffrey became inspired to further investigate the possibilities for an improved return process. After an introduction to Returnless, Jeffrey was immediately excited about the platform's capabilities.  

“The introduction to Returnless went smoothly. They had great customers and were able to meet our wishes. This gave us confidence in a successful partnership,” Jeffrey says. 

A more efficient return process with measurable results

Website optimization based on return data

With Returnless, BWJ E-commerce analyzes and collects return data, providing valuable insights into both return reasons and the return process. Based on this data, product advice and website information is improved, making consumers less likely to order the wrong product. 

From paper return label to easy digital process

Not only has the return process is going faster, but customer satisfaction has also improved. Customers of Phone-Factory, Smartwatchbands.nl and XOXO Wildhearts can now request a return faster and easier. Previously, they had to look up the return policy on the website and download and print the return form.

Return form BWJ E-commerce

From 2.5 minutes to 1.5 minutes per return

Internal processing of returns is also well organized through integrations with Lightspeed and Picqer. The integration between Picqer and Returnless allows returns to be pre-notified, so the warehouse knows how many returns are coming in each day. Where previously customer service was responsible for returns processing, this is now done by the logistics staff with returned items being immediately returned to the warehouse. This updated process has reduced the processing time per return from 2.5 to 1.5 minutes!

Return rules

Managing unprofitable returns

In addition, the company now has more control over which returns are actually processed. In some cases, consumers can keep products that are not profitable to return. 'Sometimes it is more beneficial not to request a product’s return but to leave it with the customer, which also saves costs and makes the customer happy,' Jeffrey says.

Ordered the wrong item, what next?

A major cause of returns that webshops with smartphone cases experience is that consumers accidentally order a case from a different phone than the one they have. With Returnless, BWJ E-commerce can see why the product is being returned even before a return arrives at the warehouse. This offers a quick way to resolve these types of returns by giving customers a coupon to reorder the correct product. Previously, this was only possible if the customer sent an e-mail that they wanted the correct case. 

phone factory coupon
Jeffrey van Battum
“Now that we use Returnless, we have more control over returns. Also, we can give customers all kinds of options and this allows us to collect data. With this data, we can prevent returns in advance.”

Jeffrey van Battum, co-owner of BWJ E-commerce

conclusion.

Optimizing the returns policy has resulted in major benefits for Phone-Factory, Smartwatchbands.nl and XOXO Wildhearts, both in time savings and customer satisfaction. Jeffrey underlines for other webshop owners the importance of an effective returns policy: “Switching to a system that processes returns efficiently can make a huge difference to your business. It allows you to fully customize the process and save costs on returns management.”

Although BWJ E-commerce has already made great improvements, Jeffrey sees plenty of room for further growth, especially in the areas of data analysis and website optimization. Jeffrey is also enthusiastic about the new version of Returnless: “With Returnless V2, installation was significantly faster and easier.” He also praises Returnless' Customer Success Managers: “They not only answer substantive questions, but actively think about how we can work together to improve the return process and reduce the number of returns.”

Team BWJ@2x

get started for free.

Play around and test out all features for free. Or schedule a demo with one of our colleagues if you'd like more info first.

GET STARTED 🚀 Book a demo
Return portal return form