Warehouse Returns Management Software

Handling 170,000 returned parcels a day: warehouse returns management software

MADIS developers help build and evolve the software that tracks every returned product through warehouse processing – from scanning and quality checks to refunds and onward shipment.

At a glance

170,000+

parcels tracked every day

15+

warehouses using the system

15–20k

bins processed per day

Summary: For a large European e-commerce group, returns are a daily high-volume operation. MADIS developers work on the warehouse returns management software that follows each returned item from the moment it reaches the warehouse, supports quality checks and sorting, notifies the webshop when refunds are due and makes every item traceable.

The client

The client is a large European e-commerce group. Several online fashion and retail shops rely on its returns processing across at least 15 warehouses.

The challenge

Returned products arrive in bulk, typically 15 to 30 items per bin, and at least 15,000–20,000 bins have to be processed every day. Each item must be identified, checked, routed to the right place, and the customer and the webshop’s payment system must be informed.

At this scale, performance, traceability and data protection are critical: the database holds around 17 million records, the search has to work across languages, and user data may not be stored.

• Volume: over 170,000 parcels to track daily.
• Traceability: if a product ends up in the wrong place, it must be possible to trace exactly which bin it was put in.
• Data protection: user data must be encrypted and may not be stored.

Our approach

Scanning and sorting

Bins and products carry QR codes. Scanning tells the system what the bin contains and where each product should go; full bins are emptied and sent onward.

Modular backend services

The system consists of 20–30 backend services. MADIS developers worked on several of them – including user, resource and printer management, shipment registration and bin operations and quality assurance – and on new modules such as container tracking, loading operations, error management, product search and worker evaluation.

Performance and search

The database runs in a cluster to speed up processing. Product search works dynamically across languages, with cached translations so the same text does not have to be translated twice.

Flexible agile teams

Around 30–40 people work on the project. Small task forces of 3–5 people form or dissolve every 2–3 sprints, alongside ongoing maintenance and improvements.

The solution

The result is warehouse software that tracks each returned item from arrival through quality control to its next destination, sends status updates to customers and refund messages to the webshop’s payment system, and provides statistics on incoming products.

Technologies: MongoDB (clustered) · QR-code scanning

Results

• Full traceability: every product can be traced back to the bin it was placed in.
• Reliable at scale: the system handles more than 170,000 parcels a day across 15+ warehouses.
• Positive user feedback: warehouse users have responded very positively, including to the evaluation module.

Facing a similar challenge?

Running high-volume logistics operations that need reliable software? Talk to our software development team.