Transforming Return & Refund Management for a Fast-Growing E-Commerce Retailer
Industry: E-Commerce
Service: Return & Refund Reconciliation
Client Background
The client is a rapidly expanding online retail brand in the USA, selling fashion, home essentials and personal accessories. With over 15,000 daily orders across Amazon, Shopify and Walmart, it manages thousands of returns every month due to size issues, product defects and customer-driven cancellations.
As returns grew, tracking refund amounts, marketplace deductions and vendor reimbursements became increasingly difficult. The finance team struggled with scattered data, inconsistent reporting and missed credits, which caused discrepancies, delayed closings and revenue leakage. They needed a structured and automated system to manage large-scale return and refund reconciliation accurately.
Challenges
- High return volume – Thousands of returns each month made it difficult to match refunds, vendor credits and inventory updates accurately.
- Unclear marketplace deductions – Automated deductions from Amazon, Walmart and other platforms lacked transparency, slowing reconciliation.
- Missed vendor credits – Supplier-issued credits for defective or damaged goods were often unclaimed due to manual tracking.
- Inconsistent data sources – Return information was spread across warehouse systems, marketplace portals and accounting software.
- Revenue leakage – Manual processes resulted in fee errors, duplicate refunds and missed reimbursements.
How Did APS Help?
APS experts built an automated and centralized Return & Refund Reconciliation system tailored to the client’s high-volume e-commerce operations.
- Centralized Return Tracking System – Consolidated return data from Amazon, Shopify, Walmart and warehouse systems into a single dashboard for accurate visibility.
- Automated Refund Matching – Matched returned orders, refund amounts, marketplace deductions, vendor credits and restocking updates in real time, eliminating manual checks.
- Vendor Credit Monitoring – Tracked supplier-issued credit notes and ensured all credits were correctly applied, preventing missed reimbursements.
- Marketplace Fee Validation – Compared marketplace refund fees against actual return data to detect overcharges, missing reimbursements and incorrect logistics deductions.
- Monthly Settlement Reporting – Delivered structured summaries covering total refunds, vendor credits, marketplace reimbursements and unresolved discrepancies
Results Achieved
APS delivered a fully automated and transparent reconciliation system that significantly reduced errors and recovered lost revenue.
- 95% accuracy in refund reconciliation – Automated matching improved precision and eliminated manual inconsistencies.
- 70% reduction in manual workload – Finance teams redirected time toward priority tasks instead of data verification.
- Recovered thousands in missed credits – Vendor credit tracking ensured no reimbursements were overlooked.
- 85% fewer reconciliation discrepancies – Centralized and automated reporting improved clarity across marketplaces and accounting systems.
- Improved profitability – Better tracking prevented revenue leakage and strengthened financial control.
With APS, the client now runs a streamlined, automated and highly accurate reconciliation workflow that strengthens financial oversight and supports long-term growth.