Excessive Labor Waste from Idle Time and Indirect Activities

$10,000-$15,000 per month per FTE (bulk returns = fewer transactions but longer per-unit processing time; coordination overhead 20-30% of shift) • $10,000-$20,000/month (lost inventory visibility costs + labor cost of reconciliation + potential shrinkage due to poor tracking) • $11,000-$16,000 per month per FTE (wholesale returns = high volume; 25-35% of shift spent waiting for authorization; dock space conflicts create 2-4 hour hold times; inventory reconciliation delays impact retail analytics by 3-5 days)

Batch processing with manual tier tracking, spreadsheet-based inventory reconciliation, sticky notes on tote bins, verbal handoffs between pick and pack • Email chains, manual spreadsheets tracking return status, phone calls to receiving dock, ad-hoc verbal agreements on bin assignments • Email thread management (entire conversations in Outlook), manual status spreadsheet, phone calls to warehouse and customer, sticky notes on desk, memory-based escalation paths