Wanona Satcher

Inside the reverse logistics education gap and the economic blind spot keeping it invisible Special Guest Blog Post written by Deborah Dull   Tony Sciarrotta has been asking the same question at industry conferences for years. As the Senior Director of Circularity and Reverse Logistics at the National Retail Federation, he knows what answer he’s going to get. But he keeps asking anyway. “Anybody in here go to school for returns management, reverse logistics, circularity? Any degrees in those fields the room?” It’s rare that anyone raises their hand. “That’s what’s wrong with our industry,” Sciarrotta told me at NRF Rev this January, the first conference under NRF’s new reverse logistics banner. “We still need to fix it.”   The Numbers That Should Make Headlines Here’s what makes reverse logistics so fascinating: the scale is staggering, but the infrastructure to support it needs to be stronger. According to the National Retail Federation, American retailers processed approximately $890 billion in returns in 2024 which is roughly 17% of all retail sales – and it’s higher for ecommerce. But that number almost certainly understates reality. “We have a fragmented industry,” Sciarrotta explained. “Where are all those returns going? It has to be…

Another great week here at Supply Chain Now! Have you listened to all the episodes this week? If not, we’ve got it covered! Check them all out here: We took Monday off in observation of Memorial Day, and on Tuesday we welcomed Ward Richmond with SupplyChainRealEstate.com back to Supply Chain Now, and he gave Scott and Greg a supply chain real estate industry update.   Supply Chain Now · “Industry Real Estate Update: Ward Richmond & SupplyChainRealEstate.com”   On Wednesday, Mike Wasson and Aubree Duncan with Tosca joined Scott and Greg on Wednesday to talk about food safety and a supply chain update   Supply Chain Now · “Food Safety & Supply Chain Update: Mike Wasson & Aubree Duncan with Tosca”   On Thursday we published our popular Supply Chain Buzz, and Scott and Greg welcomed Jon Davis, Chief Meteorologist with Riskpulse to the podcast, who shared a weather update and how it affects the global supply chain.   Supply Chain Now · “The Supply Chain Buzz for May 26th with Special Guest Jon Davis with Riskpulse”   And on Friday, we welcomed MIchael Darden with DFM Data Corp to Supply Chain Now.   Supply Chain Now · “Michael Darden:…