Return to Sender

In recent years, publishers have deployed many systems to help reduce the associated costs with offering a hire/rental music service, but there is one approach providing great rewards for both distributors and their customers.

returnlabelThe area of saving?  A return label service – where the return of the music is prepaid by the customer and all they have to do to return the materials is to attach special labels to the packages and call the courier to arrange collection.

 

There are a number of reasons why this is beneficial:

  • Publishers can obtain much more competitive pricing with their nominated carrier because of the volume of their shipments, and these savings can be passed on to the customer to allow for returns at significantly lower cost than if the customer return the music themselves.
  • By instigating the return process the publisher has better control of their stock by specifying the means for the return (rather than relying on the customer to choose an appropriate carrier) and the packages can also be tracked at every stage of the journey.
  • Helps the customer correctly address WHERE to return the materials – especially as the person who takes the order and issues the invoice may not be the company that actually manages the consignments.
  • By setting the price for both the sending and returning of materials it is possible to provide a quote to your customer that covers all of the costs associated with the transaction, which can be issued before any parts are sent.

Procedures to create return labels vary from provider to provider, but BTMI has been working with Boosey & Hawkes to create a solution for one-click return label creation with HLMSW via UPS.  If that is something that interests you, please let us know.

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