Wholesale & Commercial DistributionOptional Module

Sales Returns

1. Overview & Purpose

What are B2B Sales Returns?

Sales Returns governs reverse logistics for goods rejected, damaged, or returned by wholesale corporate clients. Posting a return triggers warehouse INBOUND stock movements and provides documentation for issuing customer credit notes.

Menu Location:Sales > Returns

2. When to Use Sales Returns

Customer Offloading Bay Rejection (Transit Damage)

A corporate wholesale client offloads 100 cartons and immediately rejects 10 damaged cartons with water stains or forklift punctures.

Recommended Action:Create a Sales Return referencing original Delivery Order #DO-001, specify the 10 damaged units, and flag them as non-restockable to route to Quarantine.

Manufacturing Specification Mismatch (Client RMA Recall)

Client quality inspection discovers delivered items do not match contractual color or technical specifications agreed upon in the Sales Order.

Recommended Action:Log a formal Sales Return citing customer inspection ticket ID, issue carrier pickup pass, and inspect physical merchandise upon warehouse return dock arrival.

Contractual Buy-Back of Unopened Seasonal Overstock

A wholesale retail partner returns 50 units of unopened seasonal merchandise under contractual inventory buy-back agreements.

Recommended Action:Process return with condition UNOPENED and set Restockable to Yes; the system automatically returns the items to active warehouse storage balance.

Automated INBOUND Stock Replenishment & Credit Claim Generation

Warehouse receiving team confirms physical arrival of returned merchandise and needs to credit the customer commercial balance.

Recommended Action:Click Submit & Post on the return; the ERP generates INBOUND stock movements and provides a one-click action to create the customer Sales Credit Note.

Restocking Fee Deduction on Discretionary Client Returns

Corporate customer returns non-defective goods under a commercial contract clause mandating a 10% administrative restocking fee.

Recommended Action:Configure the restocking fee percentage on the return line; the downstream Credit Note automatically deducts the fee from the customer credit balance.

3. Data Dictionary & Fields

Schema structure for the sales_delivery_returns reverse logistics table:

Field / Column	Input Type	Requirement	Description & Operational Guide
returnNumber	STRING(50)	Required	System-generated unique sales return code (e.g. SR-20260522-001).
customerId	BIGINT (FK)	Required	Corporate customer returning merchandise.
branchId	BIGINT (FK)	Required	Branch warehouse receiving returned goods.
locationId	BIGINT (FK)	Required	Storage facility receiving the returned inventory.
returnDate	DATE	Required	Official date returned merchandise arrived at the warehouse.
status	ENUM	Required	State: DRAFT, SUBMITTED, POSTED, REVERSED, CANCELLED.
notes	TEXT	Optional	Inspection remarks, defect reports, or carrier documentation.

4. Interface Preview

B2B Sales Returns console displaying returned item lines, customer identifiers, condition status, and warehouse restocking controls.

inventories-web

Menu Location:Route: /admin/sales/returns

Screen Preview: B2B Sales Returns Console Interface

Visual interface illustration and control layout for menu Route: /admin/sales/returns

1Add Sales Return2Delivery Order Auto-fill3Condition Classification4Post Inbound Restock

Sales Returns management grid showing return numbers, Delivery Order links, defect classifications, and inventory restock buttons.

5. Initiating B2B Returns

Open Sales Returns Console

Navigate to Sales > Returns from primary sidebar navigation.

Select Delivery Order Reference

Click Add Sales Return and choose original Delivery Order.

Specify Quantities & Condition

Input return quantities and assign item physical condition status.

Document Return Grounds

Enter commercial reason, customer ticket reference, and attach inspection photos.

Submit & Post to Stock

Click Submit & Post to return saleable items back into storage balance.

6. Quality Inspection & Restocking

Warehouse Quality Inspection

Inspect physical seals and verify serial numbers against delivery records.

Generate Customer Credit Note

Click Create Credit Note to reduce customer accounts receivable balance.

7. Credit Note Settlement

Seamless Financial Settlement

Clicking Create Credit Note from the posted return automatically populates the original selling prices and quantities, ensuring the customer receivable is credited with zero manual data entry errors.

Return Reversal Controls

Posted returns can be reversed by authorized managers if logged incorrectly.

Reversals automatically adjust warehouse stock balance via audit reversal entries.

8. Cross-Module Impact

Target Subsystem	Relational & Transactional Effect
Inventories & Stock Balances	Directly triggers INBOUND stock movement with SALE_RETURN type, returning goods to balance.
Sales Credit Notes	Provides verified item quantities and monetary valuation for customer credit notes.
Accounts Receivable & Billing	Downstream credit notes offset open customer invoices or provide store credits.

Operational Best Practices

Always segregate damaged returned goods into quarantine locations to prevent accidental reselling.
Require signed customer return manifests before authorizing inventory restocking.