How Fashion Brands Handle Returns Across Shopify DTC, Shopify B2B, Loop, ReturnGO, REDO, Wholesale, Dropship, and 3PL Returns

Modern fashion returns are messy: Shopify DTC orders, Shopify B2B wholesale orders, EDI dropship, marketplaces, 3PL returns, exchanges, damaged goods, secondary markets, and shipping claims. AIMS360’s fashion ERP turns all of that into one consistent RMA → Inventory → Accounting → Margin Analytics flow.

AIMS360 is a fashion-first apparel ERP and apparel management software that manages styles (PIM), production (PLM), omnichannel orders (OMS), inventory (an apparel WMS / fashion WMS), shipping, and accounting in one system. It’s built as inventory management software for the realities of fashion, not generic retail.

This guide explains how returns from Shopify DTC, Shopify B2B, Loop, ReturnGO, REDO, wholesale, dropship, warehouse returns and 3PL returns all feed back into AIMS360 so you can protect inventory accuracy, profitability, and style-level margins with true returns inventory management.

1. Introduction: Why Returns Management Belongs in Your ERP

Returns are inevitable in fashion—size issues, fit problems, damage in transit, seasonal overstock, or wholesale markdown allowances. The fashion industry has some of the highest return rates in retail, so fashion returns management and returns inventory management are now core profitability levers, not side projects.  

If returns live only in Shopify, email, or spreadsheets, you end up with:

• Refunds that don’t match actual inventory
• Credits and chargebacks you can’t reconcile
• No clear view of which styles, customers, or channels are killing margin

Apparel returns management is the automated, tracked, and optimized handling of returns across DTC e-commerce, EDI dropship, wholesale, Shopify B2B, warehouse returns, and 3PL returns using apparel management software like AIMS360.

When returns live inside AIMS360, you can:

• Run Shopify returns for DTC with full control of inventory and accounting
• Support Shopify B2B returns and wholesale returns with proper RMAs and credit memos
• Turn returns into exchanges and secondary sales instead of pure losses
• See true profitability after returns at style, customer, and channel levels

2. How AIMS360 Fits Into Your Returns Ecosystem

Across all platforms and channels, the pattern is the same:

1. Return starts
   • Loop, ReturnGO, or REDO portal
   • Shopify DTC account page or Shopify B2B self-serve returns
   • Retailer / marketplace portal
   • B2B platform
   • EDI return documents
2. AIMS360 creates or updates an RMA
   • Loop via Loop integration in the AIMS360 Runway app
   • ReturnGO & REDO via ERP integration patterns that create return authorizations and update statuses in real time
3. Warehouse / 3PL receives product
   • Items are received by style–color–size, per warehouse and location.
   • Each quantity is dispositioned: stock, damaged, secondary, RTV, scrap.
4. Resolution is executed
   • Refund, store credit, exchange, donation, keep-the-item, wholesale allowance, or dropship credit.
   • AIMS360 posts credit memos and AR adjustments and syncs to accounting.
5. Margins and reporting update
   • Style, customer, and channel reports reflect net sales after returns, write-offs, and liquidation.

3. Loop + AIMS360: Shopify DTC Returns Management and Exchanges

Loop is a leading returns platform for Shopify brands, offering branded portals, instant exchanges, and analytics. AIMS360 is a Loop tech partner and Shopify ERP integration, so together they form your Shopify DTC returns and returns inventory management stack: shopper-friendly on the front end, ERP-accurate on the back end.

3.1 Standard Loop → AIMS360 Return Flow

A standard Loop → AIMS360 DTC return flow:

1. The shopper submits a return in Loop’s Shopify DTC portal.
2. Loop automatically creates an RMA in AIMS360 in the Return Authorization & Credit Memos module.
3. Once goods arrive, your team opens the RMA and restocks or marks items damaged by style–color–size.
4. AIMS360 updates the Total Credit based on what was actually received and its condition.
5. You issue the credit to the shopper from AIMS360.
6. Shopify shows an unapplied credit; you use AIMS360’s AR Adjustments to debit those credits and clean up the customer account.

Result:

• Clean linkage from Shopify DTC order → Loop return → AIMS360 RMA → credit memo → AR adjustment
• Accurate returns inventory management by condition, across warehouses and 3PLs

3.2 Exchanges, Store Credit, and Gift Cards

Loop’s flows for exchanges, store credit, and gift-card refunds map directly into AIMS360:

• Even exchanges (same style, different size or color)
• Upsell exchanges (customer chooses a higher-priced style; AIMS360 tracks incremental revenue and cost)
• Downsell exchanges (cheaper replacement; difference goes to store credit or partial refund)
• Store credit / gift card flows, where AIMS360 posts credit memos, adjusts gift-card liability, and keeps tax correct

Loop-generated exchange orders are imported from Shopify into AIMS360, filled with shipping/payment types, discounted appropriately, and shipped like any other order, while the original RMA is adjusted and credited.

3.3 Return Actions: Process, Cancel, Close, Flag

Typical actions:

• Process Return – finalize RMA, post credit memo, adjust inventory.
• Cancel Return – cancel the RMA, no inventory or financial impact.
• Close Return – close the RMA when resolved manually.
• Flag Return – hold the RMA for manual review (suspected abuse, fraud, or policy exceptions).

These actions map to AIMS360 RMA statuses so your operations team can live in one system.

4. ReturnGO + AIMS360: Rules-Based Returns for Fashion

ReturnGO provides a self-service returns portal and a rules engine for eligibility, fees, and outcomes, along with ERP integrations.

With AIMS360:

1. ReturnGO collects reason, condition, and desired outcome (refund, exchange, store credit, donation, keep-the-item).
2. Rules decide which options to show and what fees or adjustments apply.
3. ReturnGO pushes an approved return into AIMS360 as an RMA with line-level detail.
4. AIMS360 receives and dispositions items (stock, damaged, secondary, RTV).
5. AIMS360 posts financials and sends updated status back to ReturnGO.

You get sophisticated policy logic at the portal level with AIMS360 as the inventory management software and financial source of truth.

5. REDO + AIMS360: Exchange-First Returns and Claims

REDO focuses on exchange-first returns, return coverage, and claims management, helping brands protect revenue while managing risk.

With AIMS360:

1. Customers use REDO’s portal to initiate returns or exchanges, with optional package protection.
2. REDO manages label issuance, pickup scheduling, coverage rules, and claim filing with carriers.  
3. Approved returns and exchanges create or update RMAs and orders in AIMS360.
4. AIMS360 tracks:
   • Returned inventory and condition
   • Credits and refunds
   • Claim reimbursements as separate GL entries from product costs

Your exchange-first and coverage decisions in REDO always flow through to AIMS360’s inventory and financials.

6. Wholesale & Shopify B2B Returns Management in AIMS360

Wholesale returns involve large orders, chargebacks, allowances, and retailer-specific rules. AIMS360’s wholesale, Shopify B2B, and EDI tools are built for exactly this.

6.1 Wholesale & Shopify B2B RMA Workflow

1. Retailer or B2B customer requests a return/credit
   • Via EDI return/credit documents
   • Via B2B portals (RepSpark, JOOR, NuORDER, etc.)
   • Via Shopify B2B returns using Shopify’s self-serve B2B capabilities
2. AIMS360 creates a wholesale/B2B RMA
   • Tied directly to the original wholesale or Shopify B2B sales order/invoice
   • Stores reason codes and expected quantities
3. Warehouse / 3PL receives goods
   • Receives by style–color–size grid
   • Splits into stock, damaged, secondary, and RTV
4. Credit memo / allowance posted
   • Credit memo issued against the wholesale or Shopify B2B account
   • Supports markdown allowances without physical returns
   • Fully reflected in AR and margin reporting

6.2 Wholesale & Shopify B2B Use Cases

AIMS360 covers:

• Shopify B2B returns management where wholesale customers initiate self-serve returns in Shopify and AIMS360 receives them as wholesale RMAs tied to the right account and invoice
• Traditional wholesale returns at the end of a season
• Markdown and promotional allowances where goods stay in-store
• Defect returns and vendor quality tracking
• Over-ship / short-ship corrections
• Consignment and reorder-back returns
• RTV programs when you pass defects back to factories

7. Dropship Returns for Major Retailers

Dropship returns are tricky because retailers control the front end while you own inventory, logistics, and much of the cost. AIMS360’s omnichannel + EDI integration is built to manage DTC, wholesale, Shopify, and EDI dropship returns in the same system.

7.1 Core Dropship Return Scenarios

Scenario A – Customer ships back to your warehouse

• Retailer’s portal issues a label that routes to your warehouse/3PL.
• AIMS360 receives the return against the original dropship order.
• AIMS360 updates inventory and posts credits/adjustments to the retailer.

Scenario B – Customer returns in-store, retailer keeps or disposes of goods

• Retailer claims credit or deduction via EDI.
• Goods may or may not be returned.
• AIMS360 can:
  • Post financial-only credits.
  • Record write-offs if product never arrives.
  • Receive and disposition goods if they are later consolidated and shipped back.

Scenario C – Dropship returns via Loop/ReturnGO/REDO

• Retailer uses or white-labels a returns portal.
• The portal manages customer experience and labels.
• AIMS360 still treats it as a dropship order type and handles RMA, inventory, and accounting.

7.2 Dropship Use Cases AIMS360 Covers

• Partial returns across multi-line dropship orders
• Multi-box and multi-shipment returns tied to one order
• Chargebacks combined with physical returns
• Carrier-loss and damage claims via REDO, reflected in AIMS360
• Mixed scenarios where retailers keep some product and return the rest

8. Managing Stock vs Damaged, Secondary, and RTV Inventory

Many systems treat returns as “negative sales.” That’s not enough for fashion and doesn’t support serious damage inventory management.

AIMS360’s inventory/WMS is built around style–color–size grids, multiple warehouses, locations, and condition-based inventory. It functions as apparel WMS, fashion WMS, and full apparel warehouse management software for returns-heavy operations.

For each return line (DTC, wholesale, dropship, 3PL returns), you can:

• Receive quantity by style, color, size
• Split that quantity into:
  • Stock (restockable)
  • Damaged / non-restockable
  • Secondary / outlet
  • RTV (return to vendor)
  • Scrap / destroy

This supports:

• Clean damage inventory management and write-offs
• Clear visibility into warehouse returns and 3PL returns flows
• Accurate sourcing for secondary channels and liquidation

Dispositions can be driven by:

• Reason codes from Loop, ReturnGO, or REDO (fit issue, defective, damaged in transit, etc.)
• Warehouse QC overrides when physically inspecting items

9. Liquidating Returned Inventory and Secondary Markets

At some point, you can’t keep everything in primary channels. You need a clear, structured strategy to liquidate returned inventory while protecting your brand and margin.

Industry best practices in reverse logistics recommend a hierarchy of disposition options: restock, refurbish/repair, recycle, donate, or liquidate through secondary channels.  

AIMS360 supports this by tying liquidation decisions back to the same styles, orders, and costs used for your main channels:

1. Identify liquidation candidates
   • Styles with high return rates or low resale velocity
   • Overstock and out-of-season goods
   • Returned items that are non-restockable but still saleable in secondary markets
2. Segment inventory for liquidation
   • Use disposition codes to route units to:
     • Outlet / factory store
     • Online off-price channels or wholesale marketplaces
     • Bulk liquidators or closeout buyers
     • Donation programs
3. Execute liquidation and track recovery
   • Create liquidation orders in AIMS360 to move inventory out of primary warehouses
   • Capture recovery price and margin, even if discounted, so you can measure value recovered vs. write-off
   • Maintain separation between full-price and liquidation channels for brand control
4. Analyze liquidation performance
   • Measure how much value you recover by channel vs. straight write-offs
   • Use insights to refine buying, allocation, and returns policies
   • Support circular-fashion strategies (resale, repair, recycling) by clearly tracking what happens after the first return  

Because AIMS360 is your inventory management software and core apparel software, liquidation decisions aren’t handled in a separate spreadsheet or by a single buyer’s memory—they’re visible in the same reporting as your primary sales.

10. End-to-End Use Case Catalog

AIMS360 supports a comprehensive range of return workflows across all channels.

Eligibility & policy

• In-policy vs out-of-policy returns
• Return windows by channel (Shopify DTC, Shopify B2B, wholesale, dropship)
• Final-sale / non-returnable items
• Warranty returns
• Fraud or high-risk returns flagged for manual review

Resolutions

• Full and partial refunds
• Store credit / gift cards
• Even exchanges
• Product swap / upsell / downsell
• Donations / keep-the-item outcomes
• Claim-based refunds for lost, stolen, or damaged shipments
• Wholesale allowances and markdowns

Inventory

• Stock vs damaged vs secondary vs RTV vs scrap
• Mixed disposition on the same line
• Secondary-market routing (outlet, sample sale, liquidation)
• Vendor quality and RTV tracking

Logistics

• Label-based returns
• Label-less and QR-code returns
• In-store and 3PL returns
• Carrier claims and reimbursements
• Pickup scheduling, rescheduling, and label management

Accounting

• Credit memos tied to original orders
• AR adjustments for customers and retailers
• Tax and gift-card liability handling
• Write-offs and claim income posted to correct GL accounts

11. Style, Customer, and Channel Margins: Seeing Returns in Your Profitability

This is where the value shows up: margin reports that actually include returns.

Because AIMS360 is your single apparel ERP and fashion ERP for orders, returns, inventory, and accounting, it can calculate true profitability after returns at three levels.

11.1 Style-Level Margin with Returns

Style margin reports in AIMS360:

• Start with gross sales by style–color–size
• Subtract refunds and credit memos
• Reflect COGS including returns and any rework
• Deduct write-offs for damaged/scrapped returns
• Add recovery value from secondary sales or when you liquidate returned inventory

This lets you see:

• Styles with high return rates due to fit or quality
• Styles that look strong on gross sales but are margin killers after returns
• Styles where exchanges and secondary sales rescue profitability

11.2 Wholesale Customer Margin with Returns

For wholesale and Shopify B2B customers, AIMS360 shows:

• Net sales after:
  • Physical returns
  • Markdown allowances
  • Shortage/overage credits
  • Defect credits and RTVs

You can quickly:

• Identify accounts with excessive returns or allowance demands
• Compare profitability by retailer, season, and category
• Adjust terms, discounts, or allocations based on data

11.3 Channel Margin with Returns

AIMS360 also rolls this up by channel:

• Shopify DTC
• Marketplaces
• Shopify B2B and other wholesale portals
• EDI dropship per major retailer
• Factory store and outlet
• Liquidation / secondary-market channels

You can see:

• Which channels drive highest net margin after returns
• Where return and damage rates are highest
• Where exchange-first flows (Loop, ReturnGO, REDO) are turning returns into additional sales

12. Reporting and KPIs for Returns in AIMS360

With all returns inside AIMS360, you can track:

• Return rate by style / color / size
• Return rate by reason
• Exchange conversion rate
• Net margin after returns by:
  • Style
  • Customer
  • Channel
  • Season or collection
• Damage and defect rates by vendor or production run
• Recovery value from secondary/outlet sales and when you liquidate returned inventory

This gives you a single, consistent view of reverse logistics, returns inventory management, and margin—no more patchwork spreadsheets.

13. Implementation Checklist

Use this checklist when you roll out or refine returns in AIMS360:

1. Choose your returns platform(s): Loop, ReturnGO, REDO (or combination).
2. Connect all sales channels to AIMS360: Shopify DTC, Shopify B2B, marketplaces, wholesale portals, EDI dropship, factory stores, and 3PL returns.
3. Configure RMA types and reasons: Map portal reasons to AIMS360 reason codes.
4. Define disposition rules: When to restock, mark damaged, send to secondary, or RTV.
5. Set financial rules: Refund vs store credit vs exchange, gift-card liability, allowances, liquidation recovery, and write-offs.
6. Turn on integrations:
   • Loop + AIMS360 in the Runway app
   • ReturnGO and REDO via their ERP integration frameworks
7. Work with the AIMS360 implementation team:
   • AIMS360’s team comes from the fashion industry and has already handled the full range of returns-process use cases for apparel, footwear, and accessories brands.
   • They act as fashion operations consultants as well as software implementers—helping map your actual returns flows, retailer requirements, and Shopify DTC/B2B specifics into AIMS360.
   • They guide best practices for return policies, disposition logic, chargeback handling, liquidation strategies, and style-level margin analysis so you don’t have to design everything from zero.
8. Pilot in one warehouse and one channel: Validate RMAs, restocking, credits, and AR cleanup end-to-end.
9. Roll out to all warehouses, 3PLs, and channels, with AIMS360’s team supporting cutover and training.
10. Monitor style, customer, and channel margins after returns: refine rules and policies with ongoing input from the AIMS360 team as you scale.

14. FAQ: Returns Management with AIMS360

Does AIMS360 support all the return use cases I get with other ERPs that integrate to Loop, and more?

Yes. AIMS360 is designed so that any return workflow supported by other ERPs that integrate with Loop—refunds, exchanges, store credit, gift cards, manual reviews, inventory updates, and accounting flows—can be handled inside AIMS360, while also adding fashion-specific capabilities like style–color–size inventory, wholesale returns and dropship returns, and margin reporting by style, customer, and channel. Combined with deep integrations to Loop, ReturnGO, and REDO, that makes AIMS360 the best apparel management software and apparel software to use in 2026 to fully cover and optimize your returns process.

What is apparel returns management, and why does it matter for fashion brands?

Apparel returns management is the automated, tracked, and optimized handling of returns across DTC e-commerce, EDI dropship, wholesale, Shopify B2B, warehouse returns, and 3PL returns using an apparel ERP like AIMS360. It matters because fashion has some of the highest return rates in retail, so returns directly impact margin, inventory availability, and customer loyalty.

How does AIMS360 improve Shopify DTC returns management compared to using only Shopify?

Shopify’s native tools let you create returns, refunds, and exchanges in the admin, but they don’t manage style–color–size inventory across all warehouses, wholesale channels, and accounting in one place.

AIMS360 connects Shopify DTC with your full ERP stack—Loop integration, inventory, 3PL returns, and accounting—so every return from the Shopify storefront becomes a tracked RMA, inventory movement, and financial event. This prevents overselling, keeps stock accurate for new orders, and feeds style-level margin analytics.

How does AIMS360 handle Shopify B2B returns and wholesale returns together?

Shopify’s B2B features now support self-serve returns for B2B orders.

AIMS360 treats those Shopify B2B returns like wholesale RMAs: they link to the correct account and invoice, flow into warehouse receiving (including condition and disposition), and ultimately generate credit memos and allowances. This keeps wholesale returns, Shopify B2B returns, and EDI returns under the same rules and in the same margin reports.

Can AIMS360 help reduce returns, not just process them?

Yes. While returns can’t be eliminated, AIMS360 helps reduce and control them by:

• Highlighting styles with high return rates and specific reasons (fit, quality, misdescription)
• Showing which channels, customers, and regions have the most costly returns
• Supporting better size/fit analytics and secondary-market strategies (outlet, sample sales, when you liquidate returned inventory)

Over time, these insights inform better buying, sizing, and channel policies so returns become more manageable and margins improve.

How long does it typically take to implement returns management with AIMS360, Loop, and other platforms?

Timelines vary by complexity, but most brands can start a focused rollout in weeks, not years:

• AIMS360’s Shopify and Loop integrations are already built, so the initial technical connection is straightforward.
• The real work is mapping your return policies, reasons, dispositions, liquidation paths, and financial rules.
• AIMS360’s fashion-experienced team acts like a returns and operations consultancy—they’ve seen most return scenarios already and can guide you through configuration, piloting, and rollout.

Brands usually pilot with one Shopify store or one major wholesale/dropship account first, then expand across all channels once the workflow is proven.