Dive Brief:
- Startup Optoro is automating reverse logistics to help retailers find buyers for returned or surplus items quickly.
- U.S. consumers send back up to 10% of their purchases every year, representing as much as $500 billion in sales, and the rate is higher among e-commerce retailers.
- Optoro is already processing returns for dozens of manufacturers and retailers, and has won backing from venture capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Dive Insight:
Software startup Optoro is helping retailers find new homes for open-box items and other returns using reverse logistics. Tapping middlemen to pick up returns and take them elsewhere for resale, the company hopes to eliminate back-end costs for its retail partners and keep excess merchandise out of landfills.
The company’s OptiTurn software helps remarket returns and other unwanted inventory on online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, while its blinq platform sells open-box goods online at a discount based on dynamic pricing information. Backed by venture capital from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and other firms, Optoro already has 100 employees and many unnamed wholesale and retail clients.
