How to Restock Returned Items
Plans: Learn more Platform: Shopify, BigCommerce
AfterShip Returns supports restocking of the returned items. With this help guide, you will learn how you can optimise inventory management with this new feature and also get answers to questions that could possibly come to your mind.
The items will be restocked to the same location where they were fulfilled from.
In this article, we will show you:
Enable track quantity in Shopify
Enable track quantity in BigCommerce
Restock returned items in AfterShip Returns admin
- Shopify
- BigCommerce
FAQs
Shopify enables the Track quantity option by default whenever you add a new product to your inventory. If you have disabled this option manually for any of your products, follow the steps to enable it again
Go to Products in the Shopify admin
Select a product and click on it to open its detail page
A. For products with multiple variants, scroll down to the variants and click Edit for the variant for which you'd want to enable the track quantity option
Move down to the Inventory section and select the checkbox given for Track quantity. If it is unchecked, check it and then click Save
B. For products without variants, scroll down to the Inventory section and select the checkbox given for Track quantity
If you don't enable the Track quantity option for any product, you won’t be able to restock it when it gets returned.
BigCommerce does not enable the Track quantity option by default whenever you add a new product to your inventory. You have to manually enable it on product and variant level and add appropriate stock levels.
a. If you have opted for Multi-Location BOPIS functionality on your store, the inventory tracking selector will look different, and you will need to use the inventory editor to fill in stock levels and set low and safety stock limits.
Go to Products › View and Edit a product by clicking its name, or Add a new one. On the Add/Edit Product screen, click Inventory in the side navigation
Enable Track inventory. Select On product level, then fill in stock levels
Stock — how much you currently have on hand
Low Stock — when the stock level reaches this quantity, you will be sent a notification that you are running low
Safety Stock — If the inventory count for that product is less than or equal to the threshold (safety stock) quantity, then the item will not be available for sale
Save your changes
b. If the Multi-Location BOPIS functionality on your store is disabled, this is how the the inventory tracking selector will look.
Go to Returns in the AfterShip Returns admin
Create a return or select any pending return request
Approve the return request if it's eligible on the RMA detail page
Click Mark as received if you've received the item
A pop-up window will appear confirming that the returned items are received
Select the checkbox to restock the returned item and choose the Shopify store location where you want the item to restock
By default, the location where the order is fulfilled from will be selected. So, if the Auto-restock feature is enabled on the merchant’s admin, the returned item will be restocked to the fulfillment location. The locations to restock are synced from your Shopify store.
If you haven't received or don’t want to restock any item, uncheck the box for it.
Click Submit
The status will be changed to Shipment received
The items that are checked received as well as restocked will have the respective labels
The items that are checked only received will have the received label below the listing
The option to restock to a specific location is not supported for BigCommerce.
Yes, you can restock an item later if you didn't select restock option while marking an item as received.
Click More options in the upper right corner
Select Restock items. Tick the checkbox of items you want to restock and the location where you want it to restock and hit submit
You can skip manual errors by enabling the Auto-restock settings.
Go to Automation rules under Return policy in the AfterShip Returns admin
Shift the toggle to the right to enable Automatically restock items when items are marked as received
Now, whenever you update an item's status to Mark as received, you will see a pop-up window like this:
Click Submit
To automate the entire restocking process, you can also turn on the toggle button for Automatically update shipping status to “Received”
Returned items will be automatically Marked as received and Restocked as soon as you approve a return request
AfterShip Returns supports two restock methods with Shopify. The process of triggering the restock action on AfterShip Returns is the same, but how it is done and what consecutive actions are triggered in Shopify are different for the two supported restock methods.
Adjust inventory to restock - This restock method will be selected by default. When you restock the item from the RMA detail page, AfterShip Returns will adjust the product inventory instantly on Shopify. This method will not trigger the Shopify refund API as it only restocks when you refund the money to your shopper.
Refund $0 to restock - This restock method can be enabled from the backend for merchants on premium plan. The merchant needs to contact our support team to enable this method for their account. When you restock the item from the RMA detail page, AfterShip Returns will trigger a $0 amount refund from Shopify via API and restock the item.
Restock returned items when marked as received function is available for Shopify users on all plans
Auto-restock feature for items when they are marked as received is only available for Shopify users on Premium and Enterprise plans
If you need any help, contact our chat support team at any time.
Overview
AfterShip Returns supports restocking of the returned items. With this help guide, you will learn how you can optimise inventory management with this new feature and also get answers to questions that could possibly come to your mind.
The items will be restocked to the same location where they were fulfilled from.
What you’ll learn
In this article, we will show you:
Enable track quantity in Shopify
Enable track quantity in BigCommerce
Restock returned items in AfterShip Returns admin
- Shopify
- BigCommerce
FAQs
Enable track quantity in Shopify
Shopify enables the Track quantity option by default whenever you add a new product to your inventory. If you have disabled this option manually for any of your products, follow the steps to enable it again
Go to Products in the Shopify admin
Select a product and click on it to open its detail page
A. For products with multiple variants, scroll down to the variants and click Edit for the variant for which you'd want to enable the track quantity option
Move down to the Inventory section and select the checkbox given for Track quantity. If it is unchecked, check it and then click Save
B. For products without variants, scroll down to the Inventory section and select the checkbox given for Track quantity
If you don't enable the Track quantity option for any product, you won’t be able to restock it when it gets returned.
Enable track quantity in BigCommerce
BigCommerce does not enable the Track quantity option by default whenever you add a new product to your inventory. You have to manually enable it on product and variant level and add appropriate stock levels.
a. If you have opted for Multi-Location BOPIS functionality on your store, the inventory tracking selector will look different, and you will need to use the inventory editor to fill in stock levels and set low and safety stock limits.
Go to Products › View and Edit a product by clicking its name, or Add a new one. On the Add/Edit Product screen, click Inventory in the side navigation
Enable Track inventory. Select On product level, then fill in stock levels
Stock — how much you currently have on hand
Low Stock — when the stock level reaches this quantity, you will be sent a notification that you are running low
Safety Stock — If the inventory count for that product is less than or equal to the threshold (safety stock) quantity, then the item will not be available for sale
Save your changes
b. If the Multi-Location BOPIS functionality on your store is disabled, this is how the the inventory tracking selector will look.
Restock returned items in AfterShip Returns admin
A. Shopify
Go to Returns in the AfterShip Returns admin
Create a return or select any pending return request
Approve the return request if it's eligible on the RMA detail page
Click Mark as received if you've received the item
A pop-up window will appear confirming that the returned items are received
Select the checkbox to restock the returned item and choose the Shopify store location where you want the item to restock
By default, the location where the order is fulfilled from will be selected. So, if the Auto-restock feature is enabled on the merchant’s admin, the returned item will be restocked to the fulfillment location. The locations to restock are synced from your Shopify store.
If you haven't received or don’t want to restock any item, uncheck the box for it.
Click Submit
The status will be changed to Shipment received
The items that are checked received as well as restocked will have the respective labels
The items that are checked only received will have the received label below the listing
B. BigCommerce
The option to restock to a specific location is not supported for BigCommerce.
FAQs
1. Is it possible to restock returned items later?
Yes, you can restock an item later if you didn't select restock option while marking an item as received.
Click More options in the upper right corner
Select Restock items. Tick the checkbox of items you want to restock and the location where you want it to restock and hit submit
2. Is there a way to automate the restocking process?
You can skip manual errors by enabling the Auto-restock settings.
Go to Automation rules under Return policy in the AfterShip Returns admin
Shift the toggle to the right to enable Automatically restock items when items are marked as received
Now, whenever you update an item's status to Mark as received, you will see a pop-up window like this:
Click Submit
To automate the entire restocking process, you can also turn on the toggle button for Automatically update shipping status to “Received”
Returned items will be automatically Marked as received and Restocked as soon as you approve a return request
3. How does AfterShip Returns restock the returned items?
AfterShip Returns supports two restock methods with Shopify. The process of triggering the restock action on AfterShip Returns is the same, but how it is done and what consecutive actions are triggered in Shopify are different for the two supported restock methods.
Adjust inventory to restock - This restock method will be selected by default. When you restock the item from the RMA detail page, AfterShip Returns will adjust the product inventory instantly on Shopify. This method will not trigger the Shopify refund API as it only restocks when you refund the money to your shopper.
Refund $0 to restock - This restock method can be enabled from the backend for merchants on premium plan. The merchant needs to contact our support team to enable this method for their account. When you restock the item from the RMA detail page, AfterShip Returns will trigger a $0 amount refund from Shopify via API and restock the item.
Supported plans
Restock returned items when marked as received function is available for Shopify users on all plans
Auto-restock feature for items when they are marked as received is only available for Shopify users on Premium and Enterprise plans
If you need any help, contact our chat support team at any time.
Updated on: 26/02/2024
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