Inside Pollen Returns’ Newly Patented Reverse Logistics Technology
Atlanta-based reverse logistics platform Pollen Returns has secured a patent for its tech-powered, direct-to-consumer returns solution.
The tool brings together existing logistics operators, from mail carriers to gig drivers, to create a unique, automated operational ecosystem that makes the returns process speedier and more efficient for both retailers and end consumers, according to chief operating officer Mark Hart.
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To use it, a consumer engages with a retailer to start a return online, and chooses Pollen as their preferred return method. From there, they schedule a pickup directly from their doorstep and hand over the unwanted goods to a driver, without packaging or a return shipping label. The company’s tech infrastructure allows the driver to log the receipt of the return on the spot using a photo, giving retailers the assurance that the item is on its way back to them and expediting the refund process.
Pollen has engaged with rideshare and food service companies to mobilize fleets of drivers to conduct returns pickups, Hart said. From there, the goods are transferred to mail carriers like UPS and FedEx, where they are aggregated and transported back to the retailer. “While the driver is making the pickups, we’re communicating with the with [the mail carrier],” Hart explained. “We give them the heads up that a driver is going to be coming in with a QR code,” which stipulates the size of the box needed for the shipment, and the shipping address. “That’s what our technology does—it handles the coordination of all of it,” he added.
The company’s patent, granted in late March, covers the automated processes that dispatch drivers, identify and log returns, and coordinate handoffs to mail carriers. The technology also algorithmically segments returns into batches by location and retailer, instructing a driver to collect items going back to the same place, from within the same zip code during the same time frame. “The critical element of our patent is the orchestration and automation of those returns,” Hart said.
The patent stands to propel the company into its next stage of growth, he believes. Today, Pollen’s footprint covers 95 percent of the country, with its mail carrier network boasting over 20,000 drop off locations, and the company will soon bring on the U.S. Postal Service as a partner. Since its launch in 2021, the venture-backed company has grown 650 percent year over year, and it has begun growing its portfolio of pilots with major retailers. According to Pollen, retailers save an average of $4 per return—an average savings of 34 percent on all returns.
The savings result from several factors. Most consumers hang onto items they want to return for more than three weeks, Hart said, and that represents an opportunity cost for retailers. Offering shoppers the convenience of a return pickup allows a product to reenter a retailer’s supply chain faster, with a greater chance for a secondary sale to take place. What’s more, aggregating numerous returns into a single, manageably sized shipment reduces the cost, and carbon impact, of shipping. Companies are able to process the aggregated returns shipments more quickly than the individual poly-mailers and boxes that usually flood their warehouses.
Pollen’s platform integrates with retailers’ existing order management, warehouse management, inventory management and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software tools. Using the platform, a company stakeholder can track individual returns from the pickup at a customer’s doorstep all the way through the reverse logistics supply chain, Hart said.
“With the explosive growth of online shopping, most retailers have more than 20 percent of their inventory tied up in the returns process at any given time, crippling them from effectively managing their product and profitability,” Pollen co-founder and chief commercial officer Christian Piller said. “Our technology provides a strategic lever, allowing brands to better control the flow of their product during the returns process to maximize its value and resale potential.”
