B2B returns: what was agreed and what arrived?

Six items in the parcel, four matching the agreement

Suppose a wholesaler agrees to accept a return of six adapters with a specified product code. The warehouse employee opens the parcel and finds four of those adapters and two units of another product. The total quantity matches, but the contents differ from the agreed return.

The warehouse needs to record what actually arrived. Four adapters can be matched to the agreed line. Two adapters remain outstanding against that line, while the two different products need a separate explanation. Receipt of the parcel does not settle how the return will be resolved or credited.

In the proposed view, customer service opens the agreement alongside the warehouse record. If the company shares receiving photos, the employee can see the attachment too. They have a specific question for the customer: the parcel contained four agreed adapters and two other products, so the difference needs explaining. They do not have to ask the warehouse employee to find the parcel again and describe it over the phone.

The customer's response stays with the same return. The person responsible for deciding what happens next can compare it with the warehouse record and act under the company's agreement with the customer. A colleague taking over can see what the question concerns and which response the team is waiting for.

One return for the warehouse and customer service

Much of the extra work may happen between systems. The customer submits items through a portal, customer service confirms the scope by email, and the warehouse records the parcel's contents in its own application. If staff connect those records only when the customer asks for an update, they need to visit all three places.

Connecting the records can preserve one case reference from agreement through discrepancy review. The warehouse uses it at receipt, and customer service can open the receiving record without searching by company name. The customer can see that the parcel arrived and its contents are being reviewed, together with the question about specific items. Internal warehouse notes remain available according to the agreed permissions.

Keep the original agreement even if the parties later change it. Staff need to understand why the other products appeared in the case and how the next steps were agreed. Replacing the earlier item list would make that conversation harder to reconstruct.

Your ERP may already handle partial receipts

Microsoft Dynamics 365 documents return orders, or RMAs, linked to sales lines, partial receipts, splitting lines, and dispositions that specify how returned goods are handled (Dynamics 365 sales returns). Receiving part of an agreed quantity does not itself require a custom application.

Ask your ERP administrator where customer service can see the actual quantities and discrepancies recorded by the warehouse. If those records are available, configuring a view or enabling the appropriate module may be enough. Also compare your current plan's terms and other standard products, including the daily work required from both teams.

An integration helps when each system handles its own part well but records do not pass between them. It could connect items submitted through the portal with the ERP agreement and subsequent receipt. Establish whether the tools provide the quantities, product identifiers, and attachments staff need.

A custom view is worth considering when, despite the available modules, customer service still copies agreements and requests separate explanations from the warehouse. An initial scope could cover one warehouse and its recurring parcel-content discrepancies.

What to preserve when changing tools

Move open returns with their agreed lines, receiving records, and correspondence. In the example, a record saying only “six items received” would lose both the two missing adapters and the question about the other products. Older cases can remain in an accessible archive; also establish how you could later export the history with those connections intact.

After launch, someone needs to handle a receipt recorded by the warehouse that customer service still cannot see. Your company identifies who resolves returns, while the provider maintains data exchange within an agreed scope. For a custom application, discuss code and data ownership and the access another provider would need to take over maintenance.

Connect customer agreements to warehouse records

Through its custom application service, Syntalith can prepare a shared returns view connecting agreed products with actual receipts and subsequent explanations. The warehouse records parcel contents in its own tool, and customer service uses that record in the conversation with the customer. Your team defines who reviews discrepancies and what the customer should see.

Tell us about the last parcel that sent customer service calling the warehouse to establish what came back. Explain where the agreed return and actual contents were recorded. That gives us a basis for comparing configuration of the current module with an integration or dedicated team view. See Syntalith pricing for information about billing.