Return Sales Orders

Return an item that you already shipped so you can move it from your customer back to your organization. You create a return order that returns the item on the original sales order.

Return a sales order.

1. Go to the Order Management work area, then click Tasks > Manage Orders.

2. On the Manage Orders page, search for the order that you must return.

3. In the search results, click the link in the Order column.

4. On the Order page, use the Order Lines area to return lines.

   What to Return	Description
   Return some order lines.	Select the order line that you must return, then click Return. To return more than one line, hold down the SHIFT key, click each line you must return, release the SHIFT key, then click Return. If the Return button isn't active, then the line isn't returnable. For details, see the Conditions That Determine Whether You Can Return an Item section in this topic.
   Return all order lines.	Click Return > Return All.

   Make sure the status for each order line that you're returning is Shipped. You can only return a line that already shipped.

5. In the Return Items dialog, select values for each item that you must return, then click Create Order.

   Attribute	Description
   Return Quantity	Enter a value up to the quantity that you originally ordered for the order line, minus the quantity of all prior returns for the item. Assume you originally ordered 10 items and you returned four of them in a prior return. The returnable quantity is six, so you can return up to six items.
   Return Type	Select a value. Cancel the Item. Cancel an item that doesn't include a shipment. For example, a contract for wireless phone service typically doesn't include a shipment. The customer can't physically return it, but you can cancel it. Return for Credit. Return an item that typically ships to the customer but that the customer can't return for some reason. For example, the customer received the item but it was damaged, or the customer never received the shipment. Return for Credit and Return Item. Return an item.

6. On the Create Order page, modify the return as needed.

   • If the sales order uses recurring billing, and if you must return all paid invoices, then make sure you set the Cancellation Effective Date attribute. If you don't set this date, then Order Management might apply only one credit memo to one invoice instead of to all invoices. To set the date, click Edit Line Details on the order line, then use the Line Details dialog.

   • If you're returning a drop shipment:

     • Set the Return Location attribute to a location where the drop ship supplier can receive the item.

     • Go to Shipping Details, General, and set the Request Type attribute to Arrive On.

     • Receive the item. For details, see Receive Returned Items.

7. Click Submit.

8. Note the number that Order Management assigns for the order number, such as 258206.

   Use this number to get details about the return during the subsequent work that you do during the return lifecycle.

   Examine these attributes on the Shipment Details tab to get details about the return:

   Attribute	Description for Return
   Ship-to Contact	Person at the organization who returns the item. Order Management sets Ship-to Contact to the contact at the organization who received the item in the original shipment. In this example, Ship-to Contact is a person at Computer Service and Rentals. You can modify this value when you create the return.
   Ship-to Customer	Organization that's returning the item. Order Management sets Ship-to Customer to the organization who received the item in the original shipment. In this example, Ship-to Customer is Computer Service and Rentals. You can modify this value when you create the return.
   Ship-to Address	Physical address of the organization or person who returns the item. Order Management sets Ship-to Address to the address that received the item in the original shipment. You can modify this value when you create the return. For example, the organization moved to another address since the original shipment was shipped.
   Warehouse	Warehouse that receives the return. We recommend that the customer send the return to this warehouse. Order Management sets Warehouse to the warehouse that shipping used to ship the original item. If some other supplier originally shipped the item, then Order Management doesn't set the value for the warehouse. You can select any warehouse from the list.
   Supplier	Outsider supplier who originally shipped the item to the customer. Order Management sets Supplier to the outsider supplier who originally shipped the item to the customer. In this example, assume Vision Corporation is the outside supplier, so it sets Supplier to Vision Corporation.
   Supplier Site	Physical address of the supplier who originally shipped the item to the customer.

   Order Management sets the values for several of these attributes when you create the return.

   For example, assume your Computer Service and Rentals customer purchased and received a Standard 10000-S Tablet from you, Vision Corporation. Computer Service and Rentals determines that the tablet is defective and must return it.

9. Monitor your return.

   • Click Actions > Switch to Fulfillment View.

   • Click Returns.

   • In the Orchestration Process Number column, click the number.

   • In the Orchestration Plan tab, periodically monitor the status for each task.

     Here are the tasks that a return typically includes.

     Task	Description
     Return Receipt	Track when the warehouse receives the return item from the customer, such as Awaiting Receiving.
     Invoice	Track the status of the invoice, such as Not Started.

10. Receive the return order.

    If you receive the physical items that the customer returns as part of your job responsibilities, then you can use Oracle Receivables to receive the return order. For details, see Receive Returned Items.

Conditions That Determine Whether You Can Return an Item

Each order line that you return must meet these conditions:

• Your order administrator must set up the item in the Product Information Management work area so it's returnable. For details, see Guidelines for Processing Return Orders.

• The fulfillment line that contains the item that you want to return must be fulfilled or closed. For details, see the Track Fulfillment Lines Through the Fulfillment Lifecycle subtopic in Order Management Statuses.

• The returnable quantity on the order line must be greater than zero. The returnable quantity is the quantity you ordered in the original sales order for an item, minus the quantity of all prior returns for this item from the original sales order.

• The order line that you need to return must not already be a return order line.

• If the item you're returning is a configured item, then you must return the entire item. You can't return only part of a configured item. Assume you purchase the AS54888 Desktop Computer, and configure it with the 24" Display configure option and the T100 Wireless Mouse. You can't return only the display or the mouse. You must return the entire AS54888 computer, including the display and the mouse.

• If you're returning a subscription, and if the subscription is shippable, then your administrator must set up the item in Product Information Management so it's returnable. If it isn't shippable, then the administrator doesn't need to do this. For example, a subscription to a print magazine is shippable, but a subscription to a cellular plan isn't.
• If you're returning a coverage, then your administrator doesn't need to set up the item in Product Information Management so it's returnable.

If the item doesn't meet these conditions, then you can't return it, and the Return button might not be active.

What Happens When Other Returns Are Already Returning My Item

You can only return the quantity that you haven't already successfully returned and aren't in the process of returning.

Assume you create order 12345 for the AS54888 Desktop item with a quantity of 10. You now need to return some of that quantity. You attempt to create a return but the Return button isn't available. Its possible another return order already returned some of the quantity or is in the process of returning it.

Here's how you can identify the sales orders that reference the same original sales order you're attempting to return.

1. Go to the Order Management work area, then click Tasks > Manage Return Fulfillment Lines.

2. Enter 12345 in the Original Order Reference attribute, then click Search.

   • The search results displays all sales orders that have return lines that reference original order 12345.

   • If the total of the returned quantity is equal to the ordered quantity, then you can't create a new return.

   • You can also search the Original Source Order Reference attribute.

Assume you create order 34567 that returns the AS54888 with a quantity of 6.

Next, you create order 45678 that returns the AS54888 with a quantity of 1.

Next, you create order 56789 and attempt to return the AS54888 with a quantity of 4. You can't return a quantity of 4 because it exceeds the returnable quantity.

• The returnable quantity 3 equals the original quantity 10 minus 6 from order 34567 and minus 1 from order 45678.

To fix this problem, change the quantity in order 56789 to 3 or less.

Troubleshoot Returns

Trouble	Shoot
I need to return a bill only item. I select the line that has the item, but the Return action is disabled.	Make sure the original line's status is Closed or the line is fulfilled. You can't return the line until it's closed or fulfilled. The fulfillment completion step determines whether it's fulfilled. Instead, create an unreferenced return and return the item on the unreferenced return. For more, see Return Items Without Original Sales Order. As an alternative, your order administrator can add a step to an orchestration process before the billing step and mark it as the fulfillment step. This fulfillment step makes sure Order Management fulfills the line before sending it to billing.
I encounter an error when I submit a return order. The value for the Bill-To Customer attribute depends on the Bill-To Contact attribute, but the Bill-To Contact isn't active. This problem might happen because the customer contact passed its end date sometime after you created the original order. For example, the contact might have left your company so an administrator deactivated the contact.	Try this. Save the return order. Set the value for the Bill-To Contact on the Billing and Payment Details tab. Order Management filters these attributes so you can only select contacts that are currently active. Click Submit.

For more, see Troubleshoot Order Management.