Authors:
Soeren Gry
;
Marie Niederlaender
and
Dirk Werth
Affiliation:
August-Wilhelm Scheer Institut, Uni Campus D 5 1, Saarbrücken, Germany
Keyword(s):
Returns Prediction, Returns Prevention, Survey Results, Expert Interviews, Fashion E-Commerce, Recommendation System, Machine Learning, Sustainable Return Management, Sustainable Supply Chain.
Abstract:
The fashion industry is one of the most problematic sectors in terms of sustainability. The fashion e-commerce sector is experiencing a surge in sales, which is leading to a significant increase in returns. This, in turn, is placing a considerable burden on the environment. High transport volumes or even the destruction of garments through returns pose major environmental and also economic problems. This study is based on a survey and expert interviews with decision-makers from the fashion industry. It provides indications of how an AI-based prediction and recommendation system could be used to avoid returns and manage them in an ecologically and economically sensible way. On the one hand, use cases are discussed that can be applied in the webshop system before the customer places an order, and on the other hand, ways are shown how returns predictions can support planning in the reverse logistics network.