e-PAQ Returns by Asendia

A seamless returns journey

Returned parcel is received at an Asendia Return Centre

Parcel scan: Parcel is scanned by Asendia and return tracking changes.

Status: return received

Notification: "retailer x, we have received you return. Your refund is subject to inspection and acceptance at "brand name" (on/off option in retailer configuration)

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Return content check

If Add-On Solutions have been selected, additional stages will occur such as inspection and grading of the returned items.

Notification: we have processed your return. Please see the status of your request below (on/off option in retailer configuration)

Return content check

Return is accepted or rejected

Retailer can handle refund

Notification: we have processed your return. Please see the status of your request below (on/off option in retailer configuration).

Status: Rejected OR Accepted

Accepted or rejected

Final-mile preparation

Return label added

After consolidation, a generic return label affixed to parcel with original order number and return number

Final mile preparation

Final-mile injected

Return is complete

Packages are consolidated, manifested and shipped back to Retailer’s chosen address – or retailer selects from an add-on solution.

Data insights and return details are visible on Returns Management Platform

final mile injected

Utilising Asendia’s global logistics network.

e-PAQ Returns delivers:

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Ease of use

A simple returns solutions with intuitive online portals for customers and retailers

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Enhanced solutions

An improved shopper returns experience that drives sales and customer retention

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Real-time updates

Live tracking, scanning, inspection and grading that make it easier to process refunds

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Customisable

A personalised returns management dashboard, reporting and insights

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International experience

Worldwide customs expertise that helps retailers increase profitability

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Cost-efficient

Efficient processing, consolidating and routing for greater cost effectiveness

Standard Solution

Software included: Our branded and configurable shopper returns portal and our retailer returns management portal including reporting features.

Retailer Choice: Retailer paid or shopper paid returns.

First-mile options: Our comprehensive carrier network includes localised services - deliver to drop off points.

Return Centres: Using our software we scan-in the item, check contents, consolidate and prepare items for their next step.

Final-mile options: We provide linehaul return, export manifest and declaration.

Add-on Solution

E-PAQ Returns offers additional solutions which support retailers. These are built bespoke based on your requirements. Just ask our team for more information on any of the below.

Connectivity: Integrate to platform via API to use your existing portal.

Inspection & grading options: Items are inspected and graded on return, restricted items are removed before last-mile option.

Customs options: Facilitating duty drawback and Returned Goods Relief.

Disposal options: Certified destruction of goods, recycle/ resell/donation of items. Liquidation services.

Access our global logistics network

We have a large network of first-mile partners worldwide providing you with reliability, speed and cost-efficiency for both domestic and international returns.

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Shopper communication

With optional live tracking notifications and automated communications, shoppers are up-to-date with the stage of their refund, which reduces customer support requests.

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Sustainable solutions

More and more consumers look for sustainable shipping methods when shopping online. With e-PAQ Returns, you are benefitting from a solution by Asendia – a business that is committed to ESG, aligned with Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

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Flexible return locations

Wherever you want your goods returned to, Asendia can deliver. Our Add-On solutions allow retailers to choose from dispatch points, reship within the country or EU locations. Destruction, resell, recycle, donation and liquidation can also be made available.

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Insights of return behaviour

Unlock customer behaviour insights and manage returns in real time with a returns portal that reminds you to re-order, issue refunds and more.

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Custom experts

e-PAQ Returns handles re-exportation and options. Our Add-On solutions cover a range of additional services such as re-importing goods to a customs warehouse, duty drawback and Returned Goods Relief.

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Efficient resell

Get your products back to your warehouses or back on the shelf more quickly, so they’re ready to be sold again.

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e-PAQ Returns is Asendia's e-commerce returns management solution for retailers. It combines a branded returns portal for shoppers, a management portal for retailers, and Asendia's global logistics network to move returned parcels from the shopper's country back to the address the retailer chooses. Scanning, tracking, customs documentation and parcel consolidation are handled within the same service.

Returns decide purchases before they happen: most shoppers check a retailer's returns policy before buying. Across borders, the hard part is the operation: the parcel must travel back, clear customs a second time and reach the right warehouse without wiping out the margin. e-PAQ Returns solves that, alongside Asendia's international parcel delivery services on the outbound leg.

What happens with customs duties on international returns?

An international return crosses a border twice, so customs treats it as two movements: an export from the shopper's country and a re-import into the retailer's. Handled incorrectly, that can mean paying import duty twice on the same goods. Two mechanisms prevent this: Returned Goods Relief, which allows goods to be re-imported without paying import duty again, subject to conditions, and duty drawback, which allows duty already paid to be reclaimed when goods are re-exported.

e-PAQ Returns includes linehaul return with an export manifest and declaration in the standard solution. Optional customs services can support re-exportation, re-importation to a customs warehouse and claims for duty drawback or Returned Goods Relief where the destination's rules and the evidence for the shipment make that relief available. Eligibility and recovery are not automatic and should be confirmed for each route. The same expertise backs Asendia's customs clearance solutions on the outbound side.

The outbound shipment matters too, because who paid the import charges on the way out determines what there is to recover when the order comes back:

Model	Who pays duties and taxes	When they are paid	What it means when the order comes back
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)	The seller is responsible for import clearance and the applicable duties and taxes; the expected amount can be included in the shopper's checkout total	The shopper accepts the landed cost at checkout; the seller settles the assessed charges under its import arrangement	Because the seller bore the import charges, it may be able to claim duty drawback on re-export or Returned Goods Relief on re-import, subject to local rules, evidence and eligibility
DTP (Duties & Taxes Paid)	Retailer-side or pre-paid arrangement, according to the agreed Asendia service	Defined by the service and destination; the shopper is not normally asked to pay on delivery when the model is configured correctly	Confirm the importer, settlement and evidence trail for each route before assessing any recovery claim
DAP (Delivered at Place; DDU is a legacy term)	The shopper	On or before delivery, collected by the carrier or customs broker, which may add a processing fee	The retailer did not pay the outbound import charges; relief on the return may still be available, but depends on the re-importing country, the original export evidence and the party making the claim

Swipe horizontally to view the full comparison table.

For B2C orders into the EU worth up to €150, the IOSS scheme lets retailers collect VAT at checkout instead of at the border. That structure shapes what needs recovering when goods come back; see our guide to IOSS and EU VAT rules.

Hatstore needed a bespoke logistics solution that understood Swiss customers’ preference for seeing all costs at checkout, including Swiss VAT and duties. Asendia and Swiss Post worked together to provide exactly what the company needed.

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Hatstore needed a bespoke logistics solution that understood Swiss customers’ preference for seeing all costs at checkout, including Swiss VAT and duties. Asendia and Swiss Post worked together to provide exactly what the company needed.

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Hatstore needed a bespoke logistics solution that understood Swiss customers’ preference for seeing all costs at checkout, including Swiss VAT and duties. Asendia and Swiss Post worked together to provide exactly what the company needed.

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It depends on how the return is set up. Return shipping can be paid by the retailer or by the shopper; e-PAQ Returns supports both models. Customs duty is a separate question: a return is a re-import of goods that were already exported, so duty could in principle be charged again. Returned Goods Relief and duty drawback may prevent or recover duplicate duty when the destination rules, the original shipment evidence and the claimant eligibility allow it. e-PAQ Returns includes export manifests and declarations as standard, and optional customs services can support eligible relief claims.

Yes, where the relevant return route is available. e-PAQ Returns uses Asendia's network of first-mile partners and the same shopper portal, tracking and Return Centre process for supported domestic and international returns. Available first-mile options and return destinations should be confirmed for each market during set-up.

Shoppers start their return in the retailer's branded returns portal, configured to the retailer's returns policy, then hand the parcel to an available local first-mile option such as a drop-off point. At the Asendia Return Centre the parcel is scanned and tracking updates. During final-mile preparation, Asendia affixes a return label carrying the original order number and return number. The exact first-mile hand-off option depends on the return service configured by the retailer.

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