Exchange orders are a common part of e-commerce, and ShipHero provides a streamlined way to manage them alongside your standard returns. This article outlines the step-by-step process for creating an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) for an exchange and then releasing the exchange order once the original item is received.
Creating an Exchange RMA follows the same process as creating an RMA for standard returns, with the main difference being an exchange order created in tandem for the new item(s) the customer requested. In this article we are going to focus on the process to follow when Exchange is selected as the return type.
Detailed instructions on how to create an RMA are outlined HERE.
Things to Consider
- Exchange orders are only created when manually generating the Exchange RMA in ShipHero. If a customer selects the Exchange return option using the ShipHero iframe on your store platform, a standard RMA will be created with return type Exchange noted for each line item, but an exchange order will not be created.
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Specific behavior of an exchange order depends on whether the "do not allocate..." option was selected during the creation flow and whether the account setting "Process automation rules for exchange orders" is enabled or not.
More information about these settings and how they impact exchange orders can be found in the sections below:
How to Create an Exchange RMA
When "Exchange" is selected as the Return Type for a product when generating an RMA in ShipHero an additional section is made available on the RMA page, Select Items to Send Customer in Exchange.
- Here you will use the search bar to select the product(s), adjust the quantity as needed for what should be added to the exchange order and decide how inventory for the exchange items should be allocated once the RMA is generated.
- After you complete this step, confirm your customer information, select the Return to Warehouse in the Return Options and review the configure your shipping options in the Shipping info section.
- Then select Generate RMA.
What's Next?
Once the RMA is generated you will be redirected to the original order details page. Here you will see the RMAs generated for that order listed in the Returns section and a link to navigate to the exchange order in the Order History section.
- By default, exchange orders are created with the status "Exchange" and have the prefix EXC-. The Exchange status is an identifier that the order has not been released for processing by the customer service team and prevents the order from being sent to the pick and pack flows until it is manually released from the RMA.
Please Note: An exchange order with a Ready to Ship status, "Yes," can still be manually pulled up in the packing flows and processed even if the order status is "Exchange".
- On the RMA page there is an added section called Exchanges. Here you can find a link to open the exchange order's details page, the current status of the exchange order, and have the ability to Release Exchange or Cancel Exchange.
Please Note: If an exchange order's order status is changed manually or via automation rules the action buttons are removed.
Releasing an Exchange Order
An exchange order can be released at any point and is not dependent on receiving and fully processing the return. This gives customer service teams the ability to be flexible and improve the customer experience.
Here are a few example use cases:
- Releasing an exchange order when the tracking of a return is updated.
- Releasing an exchange for a replacement item that was damaged in transit or had a malfunction.
- Releasing the exchange after the return has been received, inspected and processed back into inventory.
To release the exchange order, select the Release Exchange button from the Exchanges section on the RMA details page. The status of the order will update to Default and the warehouse team will be able to process the order accordingly.
Exchange Order Allocation
When generating an Exchange RMA you can decide whether or not inventory is allocated to the exchange order. This gives flexibility to "hold inventory" for the exchange or prioritize available inventory for new orders.
By default inventory is allocated to an exchange order when it is created. To prevent inventory from being allocated to an exchange order check the box next to the setting, "Do not allocate product to exchange order, until exchange order is manually released to ship."
When this option is selected the line items status for the products added in the RMA page will show as Exchange until the exchange order is released from the RMA page, at which point they will be updated to pending.
Key Notes and Limitations:
- This setting only affects the items added to an exchange order via the RMA generation page. If line items are added manually or via an automation rule, the status of those line items will show as Pending until they are fulfilled, etc.
- Changing the status of an exchange order manually, while items are in an Exchange status will change the order status to fulfilled. To be able to process the exchange order use the "Reship" action to return the order and line item(s) to a pending status.
Automation Rules and Exchange Orders
Automation rules DO NOT run for exchange orders by default. If you need automation rules to run for your exchange orders, go to the My Account > Settings page and enable the setting "Process automation rules for exchange orders".
Key Notes and Limitations
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If "Do not allocate inventory..." is selected when creating an exchange RMA, then automation rules with warehouse allocation/backorder triggers will not run for that exchange order.
To fix this: Make the required adjustments to the exchange order manually.
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If "Do not allocate inventory..." is selected when creating the RMA and an automation rule changes the status of the exchange order, the Release Exchange and Cancel Exchange actions will be removed from the RMA page, and you will not be able to release the exchange items on the order to be shipped.
To fix this: Manually update the order status, the system will automatically set it as Fulfilled because there are no pending line items. Then use the "Reship" action to return the order and line item(s) to a pending status.
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If an automation rule has the action "Set Custom Status" it will overwrite the Exchange status and the order will show in the picking queues as long as the order also has a status Ready to Ship, "Yes".
To prevent overwriting the Exchange status: Add the condition "Order Number: Does not start with: EXC-" for automation rules using the "Set Custom Status" Action.
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Automation rules with the setting "Only run after MWA rules" still run even if the account setting "Process automation rules for exchange orders" is not enabled.
To prevent overwriting these rules from running on exchange orders: Add the condition "Order Number: Does not start with: EXC-".