Return Sales Orders

Return an item that you already shipped so you can move it from your customer back to your organization.

Return a sales order:

Go to the Order Management work area, then search for and open the order you want to return.
On the Order page, click Enable Returns.

Select values for each item that you must return:

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. Note that you can't revise the Return Type after you submit the return.

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.

Note that you can't revise the Return Type after you submit the return.

Submit.

Examine these attributes 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.

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 Inventory Management or Oracle Receiving 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 Management work area so it's returnable. For details, see Guidelines for Processing Return Orders.
The order 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 configurable 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 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 Management so it's returnable.

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

Returns and Splits

If you create a return order but return only part of the quantity on an order line, then Order Management will split the line into lines x and y. Line x will have the quantity you returned and line y will have the quantity you didn’t return. If you requery the sales order you will see lines x and y, but you can't modify them except to cancel line y. For example, you can't modify the return reason on line y.

Assume your order line has a quantity of 10 and you return a quantity of 6. Order Management sends a quantity of 10 to Oracle Receiving, Receiving received only 6, so it sends a response to Order Management with the received quantity. Order Management splits the line into line 1-1 and line 1-2. Line 1-1 has a quantity of 6 and moves to the next step in the orchestration process. Line 1-2 has a quantity of 4 and is in a pending status.

You can't manually split a return.

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 order header. Order Management filters these attributes so you can only select contacts that are currently active. Submit.

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 order header.

Order Management filters these attributes so you can only select contacts that are currently active.
Submit.

For more, see Troubleshoot Order Management.