Reverse logistics for marketplaces and e-commerce
Returns and damaged goods growing faster than sales, the DC turning into a storeroom and audit teams asking for proof of disposal? Ecobraz builds the reverse flow with a per-DC calendar, documented product destruction and evidence per cycle — the item you disposed of never comes back to haunt your brand.
The day-to-day of running returns at scale
Is even one item on this list true for you? Then this page was written for you — describe your situation in one minute and get a technical reply, not a sales call.
- The damaged-goods quarantine already takes up whole aisles of the DC — and keeps growing with every Black Friday
- A product that should have been destroyed showed up listed on another channel
- The marketplace or the seller asked for evidence of disposal and the answer was an internal spreadsheet
- Each DC handles disposal its own way, and no standard holds up with legal
- The team wastes hours negotiating with the local scrap dealer every cycle
Idle returns are a cost — and a brand risk
Three problems grow alongside the volume of returns and damaged goods.
A 'disposed' product on sale through a parallel channel
A rejected item that returns to the market triggers a warranty claim for a product you already wrote off, a dispute with the seller and a public case on social media.
Real cost: warranty paid twice, brand exposed and relationships with sellers and manufacturers strained.Idle damaged stock is rent thrown away
Every pallet position taken up by a return with no destination is space that isn't turning over sellable stock — on the most expensive square metre of the operation.
Real cost: capital tied up, DC saturated and warehousing expansion brought forward without need.A disposal audit with nothing to back it
Contracts with marketplaces, sellers and manufacturers demand proof of end-of-life. An internal spreadsheet doesn't hold up in an audit — a disposal document does.
Real cost: contractual non-compliance and the risk of losing the account that sustains the volume.From chaotic build-up to a flow with proof
The reverse operation becomes a predictable routine — with evidence every cycle.
How it is today
- Quarantine growing with no date to be cleared
- Each DC with a different disposal 'workaround'
- No assurance the item does not return to the market
- Proof of disposal: a spreadsheet nobody audits
- Team hours burned with a scrap dealer every cycle
With the Ecobraz flow
- A collection calendar per DC — weekly, fortnightly or monthly
- A single national standard of process and document
- Documented product destruction: the item dies on record
- Inventory, waste manifest and disposal certificate where applicable, per cycle
- One contact, one contract, one report per period
What the operation gains once the flow is running
Returns stop being an accumulating liability and become a process with an owner.
The DC turning over again
Pallet positions freed up for stock that sells — not for damaged goods that wait.
Brand protected
An item disposed of with documented product destruction does not reappear in a parallel channel.
Audit answer ready
Seller, marketplace or manufacturer asks for evidence? The cycle report already exists.
A routine without friction
A defined calendar, a team that knows the process and documentation arriving on its own.
What is included — and what is not
Scope declared before scheduling reduces rework and surprises. Each batch is assessed technically.
In scope
- Returned electronics with no condition for resale
- Transport and warehousing damage
- Mobile phones, laptops, accessories and small electronic appliances
- Products with lithium batteries (with their own handling requirements)
- Batches at DCs, stores and fulfilment operations
Viability depends on categories, volume per cycle, DC locations and required documentation. Each flow is assessed before the calendar is defined.
Out of scope
- Loose household batteries
- Toner and cartridges
- Lamps, oil, polystyrene and packaging
- Chemical, biological, radioactive or contaminated waste
Materials out of scope require specific chains and are not part of this service.
How it works, from contact to final destination
No collection is confirmed without a technical assessment. That is what keeps the operation predictable and documentable.
Describe the flow
Categories, average volume per cycle, locations and destination requirements.
Technical assessment
We analyse materials, per-DC logistics and product destruction requirements.
Scope and calendar
We define collection cycles, responsibilities and documents per batch.
Documented collection
Scheduled collection with batch inventory and chain of custody.
Disposal and proof
Product destruction where contracted, disposal and documentation per cycle.
Proof of disposal per cycle — not by promise
The documentation reflects what was actually carried out in each batch — no generic promises.
Batch inventory
A list of the items collected in each cycle, recorded at source.
Documented product destruction
Where contracted, rendering the product unusable is carried out and documented.
Waste manifest and disposal certificate
Transport manifest and disposal certificate, where applicable to the material.
Report per cycle
Consolidation per period for reconciliation with stock and audit.
Chain of custody
A record of each batch's route, from the DC to disposal.
Control against return
A flow designed so the disposed item does not reappear on the market.
Why Ecobraz for an operation at scale
Recurring volume demands a process — not improvisation cycle by cycle.
Built for recurrence
Scheduled collection with batch inventory and per-period consolidation — designed for a continuous flow, not for a one-off collection.
15 years of operation
Association founded in 2011 — recognition on EU and UN platforms, with scope stated on the evidence page.
A document as standard
Each cycle closes with an inventory and applicable certificates. It is the backing for your contract with sellers and marketplaces.
Controlled end-of-line
Documented product destruction and chain of custody — the commitment is that the item does not return to the market.
What e-commerce operations ask
Do you ensure the product does not return to the market?
When product destruction is part of the contracted scope, it is carried out and recorded, and the batch stays in chain of custody through to disposal. The control is documented per batch — that is what supports the answer in an audit.
Do you serve distribution centres in more than one city?
Operations with multiple locations are assessed according to volume per site, logistics and calendar. Describe the DCs involved so we can check coverage.
Can collection be recurring?
Yes. For a continuous flow of returns, the scope defines collection cycles — weekly, fortnightly or monthly — with documentation per cycle.
Do you take products with lithium batteries?
Yes. Batteries and products containing them have their own packaging and transport requirements, defined in the technical assessment.
How does the cost work?
Commercial terms depend on categories, volume per cycle, locations and product destruction requirements. The technical assessment defines the model — with no promise of it being free and no surprises later.
Can our head office verify the documentation from outside Brazil?
Yes. The final destination certificate carries a QR code that any auditor, anywhere, can check for authenticity in seconds — the system itself confirms its authenticity, with no calls to Brazil and no translation needed. Every client also uses the Ecobraz evidence portal free of charge, with no contract: the records of each collection are organised under your company registration and can be exported to feed the compliance or ESG system your group already uses.
Could also be part of your operation
Recurring collections
A continuous collection calendar for operations with a constant flow.
View solution →Damaged and out-of-warranty products
Damaged goods, returns and after-sales for manufacturers and retail.
View solution →Batteries and UPS units
Collection of lithium and other chemistry batteries, with their own requirements.
View solution →How many pallets of returns are paying rent in your DC right now?
Describe categories, volume per cycle and locations. The team designs the calendar and comes back with scope and terms — in writing.