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FedEx has launched a new returns service, FedEx Easy Returns, in tandem with supply chain management solutions provider Blue Yonder.
The solution will allow FedEx customers to return products at approximately 3,000 drop-off locations without needing a box, package or printed label. Across the network, customers can make a return at more than 2,000 FedEx Office locations, alongside roughly 1,100 Kohl’s retail stores.
When a customer requests a return online, they will be emailed a QR code. The customer can then bring the product and the QR code to the drop-off location, where an employee will scan it and accept the item.
Kohl’s involvement is intriguing as it introduced The Return Drop @ Kohl’s less than a year ago across its physical footprint, in tandem with returns technology providers Narvar and Inmar Post-Purchase Solutions—which itself was a joint venture between Blue Yonder subsidiary Doddle and Inmar Supply Chain Solutions.
It is unclear whether the new FedEx Easy Returns solution is replacing The Return Drop.
Sourcing Journal reached out to Kohl’s.
At the same time the department store is adopting FedEx Easy Returns, it has temporarily stopped accepting Amazon returns at select stores. That program first began as a pilot in 2017, before expanding to all stores in 2019.
“To continue to learn from our customers, we are conducting a test in a handful of our stores where we will be temporarily discontinuing the third-party returns service,” Kohl’s said in a statement. “Kohl’s has a test and learn culture that helps us to evolve our store experience and stay informed about customers’ expectations and preferences.”
While the future of that program is uncertain, more retailers should expect a more streamlined returns experience with the FedEx/Blue Yonder service.
Returns will be routed through a reverse logistics facility for optimal recovery, the companies say, in a move designed to help merchants ensure the accuracy and speed of the return, as well as potentially save money by reducing packaging expenses.
Waste reduction is another touted benefit of the program. Unpackaged returns will be consolidated into one box for shipping, in effect eliminating the need for extra packaging.
“Returns are a critical part of the customer experience, and present a significant challenge to retailers, which is why we are excited to support FedEx with the new service to make returns more efficient,” said Tim Robinson, vice president of returns at Blue Yonder. “Blue Yonder’s robust technology will be the driving force, allowing FedEx to power more retail counters and return processing centers across the U.S., further enhancing the convenience of the service. As a result, we’re able to offer a complete solution that improves returns processing.”
If the partnership sounds familiar, it is. Back in 2020, FedEx partnered with Happy Returns to scale that company’s “return bar” network to more than 2,000 FedEx Office locations and more than 300 Walmart stores.
At the time, the team-up quadrupled Happy Returns’ network, which was embedded in traditional retailers, malls, college bookstores and office buildings. Similarly, the service enabled consumers to return their products without a box or label, and use a QR code to complete the return.
But that collaboration ended in late 2023, when chief FedEx rival UPS acquired Happy Returns and effectively whisked its services away. Happy Returns now has more than 8,000 “return bars” in the U.S., including 5,000 UPS Stores.
FedEx appeared to replace that program in August 2024 when it teamed with Inmar Post-Purchase Solutions on another returns offering.
Like FedEx Easy Returns and its previous Happy Returns partnership, the FedEx-Inmar Supply Chain Solutions alliance offered label-free, package-free returns across the same roughly 2,000 FedEx Office locations.
However, it appears that agreement went up in smoke as well in the months after it began, with DHL Supply Chain acquiring Inmar Supply Chain Solutions from Inmar Intelligence in January. That deal gave DHL’s contract logistics arm 14 return centers.
It is unclear whether Blue Yonder still maintains the joint venture with Inmar Supply Chain Solutions in the wake of the DHL acquisition.
Sourcing Journal reached out to Blue Yonder for comment.
The recent merry-go-round of partnerships and acquisitions indicates a desire of logistics giants to seek out a wider reverse logistics ecosystem. However, there are likely other motives at bay.
“FedEx’s latest partnership and UPS’ acquisition of Happy Returns is more about route optimization and gaining more parcel volumes instead of solving other reverse logistics concerns such as reducing the cost of returns beyond transportation costs,” said Cathy Roberson, a market analyst and founder of Logistics Trends & Insights LLC in a post on LinkedIn.
Roberson pointed to FedEx’s $1.4 billion acquisition of third-party logistics (3PL) provider Genco a decade ago. While the 3PL processed more than 600 million returns annually ahead of the deal, Roberson noted that it was likely integrated into FedEx Supply Chain and remained there “with little strategic attention.”
“Reverse logistics tends to be like for many companies—sweep it under the carpet and deal with it when you absolutely have to and regardless of cost,” Roberson said. “But now retailers, especially, are realizing they need to mitigate rising returns volumes and their costs as part of a larger strategy of managing inventories and overall costs particularly as U.S. retail sales are slipping in the midst of an environment of economic uncertainty.”
