What is Return to Vendor (RTV)?

Return to vendor (RTV) is the reverse movement of stock from noon to the partners. This document explains various RTV scenarios and the underlying processes to create and manage RTVs.

 

Type of RTVs:

At noon, we have 5 different types of RTVs. An explanation of the various types of RTVs is as below:

1. Stock RTVs: All RTV requests raised by you against stocks kept in noon warehouses i.e. under Fulfilled by Noon model (FBN) are categorized as Stock RTVs.

2. Non-Delivered Returns RTV (NDR): All non-delivered orders are termed as NDRs.

For FBN orders, NDR items undergo a Quality Check (QC) at noon FBN warehouse and items in saleable condition are restocked in our FBN warehouses. NDR items which are not in a saleable condition are returned to Sellers along with a grade-based payout. Check Grading Policy for more details.

For FBP orders, NDR items are returned to Sellers without taking them to noon FBN warehouses.

3. Customer Initiated Return RTVs (CIR): All customer-returned items are termed as CIR RTVs. 

For FBN orders, CIR items undergo a Quality Check (QC) at noon FBN warehouse and items in saleable condition are restocked in our FBN warehouses. CIR items which are not in a saleable condition are returned to Sellers along with a grade-based payout. Check Grading Policy for more details.

For FBP orders, CIR items undergo a Quality Check (QC) at noon FBN warehouse, and then returned to Sellers along with a grade-based payout. Check Grading Policy for more details.

4.Problem-Solve RTVs (PS): Products that fail the Quality Check (QC) during FBN inbounding process are termed as PS RTVs.

5. Expired RTVs: All expired products will be returned to you and such returns are termed as Expired RTVs.

 

RTV Creation:

RTV can be created by 2 methods, depending upon the type of RTV:

1. Auto-generated by noon

- PS RTVs: noon provides 14 days from the inbound QC rejection date to resolve the highlighted quality issues, failing which, an RTV will be generated automatically. 

- NDR RTVs: all NDR RTVs will be auto-generated by noon.

- CIR RTVs: all CIR RTVs will be auto-generated by noon, after grading.

- Expired RTVs: all Expired RTVs will be auto-generated by noon.

 

2. Created by Partners: You will be required to create RTVs in the following scenarios:

- Stock RTVs for sort and non-sort items are created when an inventory removal request is raised by the Seller via Seller Lab. Check RTV Creation process for Sort and Non-Sort warehouses.

- For Grocery, Darkstore or Bulky Warehouses, Seller needs to send a request to us at seller@noon.com, with relevant details. Check the RTV Tracking process.

 

Checks for RTV creation:

In certain cases inventory removal requests can be rejected by noon. These include, but do not limit to:

1. Outstanding noon Account Balance or Outstanding Loan Amount: In case your noon seller account has an outstanding balance and/or outstanding loan amount, noon reserves the right to restrict processing of the inventory removal request, in order to maintain an inventory value commensurate with the outstanding balance and /or outstanding loan amount. 

2. RTVs Pending for Action: If there are existing RTV(s) pending to be collected / accepted by you, noon reserves the right to reject new inventory removal requests, until the pending RTV(s) are actioned upon.

3. Availability of Stock: At the time of processing your requested RTV(s), if your FBN inventory is already reserved for customer order, etc. and, hence, is not available for RTV, noon reserves the right to cancel the request either partially or completely.

 

RTV Receiving Guidelines: 

1. Handover modes: RTVs can be executed by either of the three methods:

• ‘Delivery’ mode i.e. delivery at your premises: All RTVs created under delivery mode need to be mandatorily accepted when attempted for delivery. Check RTV receiving guidelines for more details.

• ‘Pickup’ mode i.e. RTV pick-up from noon designated pickup centers: All RTVs created under pick-up must be collected within the defined time frame from your selected pickup center. Change your default RTV mode.

• ‘Dispose’ mode i.e. liquidation of your items: If you wish to liquidate or dispose off your stocks, you can choose this mode while filing an inventory removal request. Once you have filed the request for disposal, noon will not be liable for either returning the stocks back to you or paying you for the disposed stocks.

2. Timelines:

• Pick-up mode: RTV shipments need to be collected by Sellers from the selected pick-up address within 10 days of ‘Ready For Collection’ date, failing which will result in Confiscation of the RTV shipments. After the 10-day window, noon may, at its discretion, attempt to deliver the Pickup shipments at your premise and in such cases noon will charge you a delivery fee for each attempt.
• Delivery mode: you are expected to receive RTV shipments when delivery is attempted by noon. In case of failure to receive the RTV shipments in the first attempt, you can request for a delivery re-attempt up to 7 days from the date of first delivery attempt, failing which will result in Confiscation of the RTV shipments.

3. In case of any issue / discrepancy in the RTV shipment, you must report the same as per below guidelines:

• For NDR RTV, you must report any packaging damage on the ‘Supply Chain’ app and later claim for the damage through the Dispute process. Upi will not be able to raise Disputes if you fail to report packaging damages in the ‘Supply Chain’ app. 
• For all Stock RTVs, you must report all issues regarding damages, missing items and any other issues on the Proof of Delivery (POD) document. Details mentioned in the POD will serve as evidence for dispute resolution and reimbursement. Noon will not entertain disputes if discrepancies are not detailed in the POD.
• All OTP enabled RTV shipments are marked as ‘Delivered’ after successful OTP verification, and hence noon will not entertain any ‘Shipment Not Received’ disputes for such shipments.
• For any other RTVs, you must clearly report any issues in the POD document. In the absence of an appropriate description of the issues on the POD document, noon may refuse to process any disputes (if any) raised in regards to such RTV shipments.
• In instances where you receive only a part of your RTV items at noon collection center, you must ensure to follow these Guidelines on Partial RTV Handover. 

4. ID proof:

• The receiver of the RTV shipments will be required to present an identity proof while receiving / collecting the shipments. Identity proof will be recorded in our systems for future reference.

RTV confiscation:

noon reserves the right to confiscate your RTV/FBN inventory under certain circumstances. Learn more about noon’s Confiscation Policy.

 

RTV Dispute:

If you find any discrepancies in the returns such as missing products / parts thereof, damages, wrong / erroneous returns etc., you can raise a dispute. Refer to our Dispute and Claim Resolution Policy.

 

That’s it!

 

Got questions?

Reach out to seller@noon.com