Problem Definition
At times, agents return to the inventory with damaged goods, which are then categorized into three groups:
- Disposal: SKUs with expiry dates that have passed are disposed of.
- Offline Sales: SKUs with visible package damage, such as dents or scratches, are marked for offline sale. Despite cosmetic damage, they remain suitable for offline sales.
- Repackaging: when SKUs are received in bulk or shrink-wrapped units, and the inventory team awaits additional units to complete the packaging process. For instance, if a bulk package of Pepsi typically contains 12 cans, and an agent returns with only 8 cans, the team holds onto the shipment until the remaining 4 cans are obtained from damaged packages. This process ensures that complete units are repackaged and ready for resale.
Mainly, we will focus on the third one for monitoring the remaining items of the bulk/shrink. the challenges are related to tracking the SKUs on the system accurately for repackaging purposes and maximizing profit.
Please note that damage might occur in the following scenarios:
- During the process of loading goods into the van at the inventory.
- While en route to the merchant.
- When the delivery agent unloads goods from the van.
- While en route back to the inventory in case of undelivered items.
- During the unloading of goods from the van at the inventory.
Proposed Solution
We need to do the following:
- Introduce the fraction for the count of SKUs instead of introducing new units same as bulk/shrink and reinsert the SKU again. For example, it is returned 1/12 of the SKU bulk as one SKU is not damaged and can be used again.
- The insertion of this value can be done by different actors in the process as follows:
| Actor |
Pros |
Cons |
| Merchant |
He will be very keen to put this info to get his money back/refund (with keeping any voucher or points if the goods were damaged) |
- Extra step on the merchant side |
- The merchant might ignore this step |
| Delivery Agent | | - Extra step as well and it will take time, he needs to add the value in 2 steps (merchant side for damaged goods while delivering to the merchant and while unloading remaining goods on the inventory side ) |
| Inventory workers/managers | | - Extra step as well and it will take time during the load and unload of the goods |
I would recommend inserting it in each step and getting the deviation between all steps. So, we can focus on why it is happening in a specific step and solve the issue such as putting a supporter inside the van to avoid damage because of unstable roads.