Managing Customer Complaints and Returns

The "Complaint" Order Type represents that a certain customer has made a Complaint about a specific Product or list of Products. These orders can be analyzed for patterns but cannot be shipped. It is highly recommended that Work Flows be used on Complaint orders. This way, any decisions that must be made about the complaint can be routed and tracked.

Sales Order returns or credit memos are triggered when entering a negative quantity on a normal sales order type. There is no specific "Credit Memo" type available in the pick list in the "Order Type" field on the Sales Order header. With the exception of entering a negative quantity, the process for creating a credit memo is the same as that of a normal sales order. If the customer is not returning physical product, users should check the "Do Not Post Inventory" flag on the General tab of the Sales Order Line form. Then before saving the Sales Order, check the "Invoice/Pre-Pay" flag to convert the order directly to a credit memo.

Once saved, credit memos must be shipped via Sales > Ship Sales Order. In addition, if the item(s) returned on the credit memo include a QC group on the Item Master, these items will be placed in the "Pending QC" QC segment once the credit memo has been shipped. The process of performing QC on returned materials is detailed in Performing QC Tests on Sales Order Returns. Credit memos are also used for issuing credits to credit cards in DEACOM. Additional information is available in the process section below.

Configuration

Change Reasons may be created as a means for tracking the reason that returned items are being returned, as well as how they should be handled from an inventory standpoint upon re-entering the building.

Process

Adding a Complaint Sales Order

The "Complaint" Order Type represents that a certain customer has made a Complaint about a specific Product or list of Products. These orders can be analyzed for patterns but cannot be shipped.

Entering a Credit Memo

Depending on the desired security of processing Credit Memos, it may be a good idea to create a specific Work Flow for this process and assign it to each order. This will lead to a controlled process. More details are available in the Configuring Work Flows page.

  1. Navigate to Sales > Order Entry.
  2. Enter the appropriate customer information. Make sure that the Facility is where the inventory will be returned. Ensure that the term codes are correct on the order.
  3. Click the "Add" button to display the "Edit Sales Order Line" form.
  4. Specify the part number being returned, the credit sales to account and the quantity, in a negative number.
  5. Enter the price for the material being returned. This may be the same as the price that was originally paid for the material, or may be less, if the customer deducts a percentage of the price originally paid for a shipping fee.
  6. Important - Verify the extension and the total amount for the SO line are negative which indicates that the customer will receive a credit. .
  7. Important - Determine if the "Do Not Post Inventory" flag will be checked or unchecked. If material is being returned and a credit is being issued, this flag should be unchecked. If no material is being returned (in situations where the customer is keeping or otherwise disposing of the material) then this flag should be checked. In this case, the credit memo will simply be for a dollar amount indicating the credit amount that will be applied to the customer’s account.
  8. After selecting the Part Number on the Sales Order Line of a Credit Memo, select a Change Reason, which are maintained in Sales > Maintenance > Change Reasons. This indicates why the item is being credited.
  9. Click the "Save" button on the "Edit Sales Order Line" form and then the "X" at the top right hand of the form to return to the "Sales Order Entry" form.
  10. Click the "Save" button to save the SO in the system.
  11. Complete the process by receiving the return back into inventory, which is covered in Receiving Customer Returns into Inventory.

Managing Complaints via CRM

Users also have the option to add information on complaints and returns to a specific Contact via the CRM Reporting module. The best way to do this would be using Notes on Contact records. For more information, refer to the Tracking CRM Activity page.

FAQ & Diagnostic Tips

How can I track Return Authorization numbers?

A User Field can be created and used to track Return Authorization numbers. User fields can also be added to the grids. More information is available in Configuring User Fields and User Calculations.

Can I have returned inventory go directly into quarantine?

Yes. Change Reasons have a “Move Inventory To” field that can be set to “Quarantine”. If there is a QC Group present, the inventory will be sent to Quarantine upon approval of QC.