Returns handled in 48 hours, not weeks
Every return inspected, graded and dispositioned within 48 hours of arrival. Restock, refurbish, repackage or recycle under rules you set — with the labor economics to make it worthwhile.
What is reverse logistics?
Reverse logistics is the flow of goods from the customer back to the seller — returns, exchanges, warranty repairs and recycling. Lateral Fulfillment receives returns at its Tijuana facility, inspects and grades each unit, and either restocks, refurbishes, repackages or recycles it within 48 hours, following disposition rules the brand defines.
What happens to a return, step by step?
Six stages under one roof and one system — from the moment a unit arrives to the moment its value is recovered or retired.
Inspect
Every unit opened, tested and graded on arrival.
Restock
Resalable units returned to sellable inventory, counts synced.
Refurbish
Cleaning, minor repair and re-testing for resale-grade stock.
Repackage
New retail or DTC packaging so recovered units ship as new.
Disposition
Recycle, liquidate or scrap by your rules, with an audit trail.
Report
Return reasons captured and fed back for product decisions.
Why does returns processing cost so much in the United States?
Returns are labor-intensive: each unit is opened, inspected, tested and dispositioned by hand. U.S. labor rates make that expensive, so many brands write returns off instead of recovering them. Processing the same work in Tijuana lowers cost per unit by up to 30%, which changes what is worth recovering.
Frequently asked questions
How fast are returns processed?
Within 48 hours of arrival at the Tijuana facility. Each unit is inspected, graded and dispositioned — restocked, refurbished, repackaged or recycled — according to rules the brand sets. Faster turnaround means recovered inventory returns to sale sooner.
What happens to a returned item?
It is opened, tested and graded, then routed to one of several outcomes: resalable units are restocked, lightly damaged units are refurbished and repackaged, and unrecoverable units are recycled or scrapped with an audit trail. The brand defines the thresholds for each path.
Can returned goods be resold as new?
Units that pass inspection can be cleaned, repaired where needed and repackaged in new retail or DTC packaging so they ship as new. Whether a category supports this depends on the product and the brand's standards, which are configured into the disposition rules.
How does nearshore lower returns cost?
Returns processing is manual and labor-heavy. Running it in Tijuana rather than the United States lowers cost per unit by up to 30%, which makes recovering and reselling returns economical where a U.S. operation would write them off.
Do returns affect inventory accuracy?
No. Restocked units are counted back into the warehouse management system as they are processed, keeping inventory at 99.9% accuracy and syncing live counts back to the store. Nothing re-enters sellable stock without inspection.
Can Lateral Fulfillment capture return reasons?
Yes. Return reasons and defect data are recorded during inspection and reported back to the brand, so recurring issues in product, sizing or packaging surface early enough to act on.
Are warranty repairs supported?
Yes. Warranty and service-part flows run alongside returns, with inspection, repair and re-testing under documented SOPs. These are often paired with a service-parts program for regulated or high-value categories.
Is there a minimum volume for a returns program?
No. There is no volume floor. Returns processing is priced per unit handled plus any value-added work, and every engagement starts with a free cost analysis on real volumes.
Ready to see your numbers?
No minimum order volume. No long-term lock-in. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so on the first call.
We reply within one business day.