On average, 64 percent of all orders in the online fashion retail sector in Germany alone are returned, resulting in 440 million returns every year. Returns have to be transported to logistics centers, manually processed, and repackaged. The Hamburg-based start-up toern presents a sustainable alternative to avoid unnecessary logistics and parcel shipments. Toern has developed a SaaS solution that enables online retailers to forward returns from one customer directly to the next.
This should not only save retailers up to 30 percent on transport, packaging, and processing costs, but also increase the availability of goods in their store. This is because the return is integrated directly back into the inventory while it is still at the customer's home and is, therefore, available for sale. In the online store, customers then have the opportunity to consciously opt for the price-reduced and sustainable “re-toern” product variant at the click of a mouse. The respective retailer – and not the start-up – determines how much of a discount is offered for the purchase of returned goods.
In the event of a purchase, the returning customer sends the item directly to the next buyer, without any detours via the warehouse. The entire resale process is automated, explains Alena Schneck, who founded the start-up together with Jonas Zeuner. As CEO, she is responsible for sales and marketing, finance, and HR management.
Online Retailer Mails Label for Return Package
The system is simple for everyone involved: customers who do not want to keep the goods they have ordered notify the online retailer and are then sent a label via email so that they can return the parcel to the parcel store – just like with the usual returns. Schneck explains that it depends on the store and service provider whether the customer finds out who will receive the ordered blouse next based on the label. The start-up has no influence on this. “I can only say for sure that everything complies with data protection law, because the process is transparent”, emphasizes the 31-year-old. And as a rule, there is only a QR code on the label and not the name of the parcel recipient.
However, not all returns are suitable for going straight back into the goods cycle. The AI-supported system by toern decides whether a digitally registered returned item is actually offered to new customers as a purchase option or is returned to the warehouse.
So far, the company has named two online stores – Sorbas Shoes and Gooden – that use Re-toern. Major brands such as Tchibo, Otto, and Avocadostore support the start-up and are monitoring developments, explains Schneck. “We were able to prove that the demand for returned products is high. Now it's about offering added value to other stores.” Therefore, she is confident that the company will develop quickly. “We are particularly proud of the fact that our solution saves 1.8 kilograms of CO2 emissions per return and ensures that fewer returns end up in the bin”, says the company founder.
What happens if the second customer doesn't want to keep the ordered product either? “This hasn't happened yet”, laughs Schneck. But it is theoretically possible. The goods would then be returned to the retailer, i.e. to the warehouse.
Experience in the Textile Industry
About the founders: The founders of toern, Alena Schneck and Jonas Zeuner, have extensive experience in the fields of fashion, e-commerce, product development, and business development. With a B.A. in Textile Management and an MBA from WHU, Alena Schneck has many years of industry experience in sales and marketing at fashion companies such as Tom Tailor, Sanetta, and Marc Cain. Most recently, she played a key role in setting up the Flink delivery service and managed operations in northern Germany.
As CTO, Jonas Zeuner is responsible for the development of the product and software at toern. He holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and a Master's degree in E-Commerce. His expertise in design, engineering, and quality management comes from his work at Siemens eAircraft. He also worked at Fashion Cloud, a fashion tech start-up, where he ensured the quality and integrity of product data and managed data standard enhancements. “During our previous activities, we were both very aware of the issue of returns and that there was a need to find a more sustainable and efficient option to the current process”, says Alena Schneck.