DHL Supply Chain Acquires Returns Solutions Business of Inmar Intelligence

Contract logistics provider DHL Supply Chain, which is part of the DHL Group, has expanded its reverse logistics solutions by acquiring Inmar Supply Chain Solutions.

Inmar is a division of Inmar Intelligence and a provider of returns solutions for the retail eCommerce industry, according to a Thursday (Jan. 9) press release.

The acquisition will add 14 return centers and 800 associates to the DHL Supply Chain business, which currently includes 520 warehouses supported by 52,000 associates, according to the release.

It will also bolster the company’s returns capabilities by adding product remarketing, recall management and supply chain performance analytics, per the release.

“This acquisition strengthens our existing capabilities, allowing us to offer our customers a single-source solution for their entire supply chain, including the critical and complex area of returns management,” Patrick Kelleher, CEO of DHL Supply Chain, North America, said in the release.

With the acquisition, DHL Group expects to see accelerated growth in eCommerce, retail and other sectors that will help it achieve its goal of 50% revenue growth by 2030, according to the release.

For Inmar Intelligence, the move enables it to focus on its core businesses of healthcare and MarTech, Inmar Intelligence CEO Spencer Baird said in the release. While selling its product returns business, the company will retain its pharmaceutical reverse distribution business.

“Inmar Intelligence and DHL share a deep commitment to customer-focused innovation,” Baird added. “Because of that, we are confident that DHL will build even greater things on top of the Inmar Supply Chain Solutions foundation that we developed over time.”

The returns process is top of mind when consumers choose retailers with which to shop, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and Adobe collaboration, “The Online Features Driving Consumers to Shop with Brands, Retailers or Marketplaces.”

The report also found that consumers shopping directly from retailers are disproportionately likely to factor in how easy and convenient a given merchant’s return and refund procedures are when shopping from a retailer’s website or app, relative to other shopping features.

It was reported in December that consumers returned 17.3% of their online purchases and 10% of their in-store purchases in 2023.