Workflows

OVERVIEW

Workflows is a feature where merchants can create and manage return rules. Workflows are intended to accommodate scenarios that fall outside of a typical return policy.

For a full list of Conditions and Actions available on each tier of Workflows, please review the Workflows: Tiers and Functionality article. To get ideas on how to use Workflows, review this list of common use cases.

• Setup
• Available workflow templates
• Saving and publishing
• Plan information
• FAQ

Setup

Go to Policy settings > Workflows within the Loop admin to access the workflows list view. All existing workflows will be displayed here in the list view. The view can be filtered to show only draft or only active workflows. 

Workflows can be deleted by selecting the trash icon. Workflows must be in an unpublished state before they can be deleted. 

Workflows can be prioritized using the priority elements in the far left column. Use the drag and drop element or simply select a number from the dropdown to arrange the priority of your workflows. Note: Workflow priority is only relevant in scenarios in which a return qualifies for two of the same action type. For example, two workflows that dictate a handling fee are triggered. In this case, Loop will assess the fee present in the workflow with the highest priority.

Available workflow templates

To create a new workflow, select the "Create workflow" button in the top right corner. You will have the ability to select from the following predefined workflow templates:

• Ask a question - Ask the customer a question that determines an action
• Conditional outcomes - Determine an action based on a condition

Once inside of a template, you can configure each component of the workflow. Depending on the template selected, this may include setting conditions, questions, and actions. 

Clicking a workflow component will expose the side panel for further configuration. The yellow icon on the workflow component indicates an incomplete component. Once the component is populated with the required data, this indicator will disappear. Workflows cannot be published until all components have been completed. 

The Conditions component dictates qualification criteria for the workflow. The following condition categories are currently available:

• Customer conditions - Customer conditions target a specific customer. Some examples include customer tag, number of orders, and return count.
• Order conditions - Order conditions target an entire customer order. Some examples include order tag, order total value, fulfillment date, and order date.
• Product conditions - Product conditions target a line item. Some examples include product return reason, product ID, and product SKU. If manually entering line items, press the "enter" button on your keyboard after each line item to separate them. If uploading via CSV, the CSV file should have 1 COLUMN with each identifier (i.e., SKU, tag, ID, etc.) in its own field going from top to bottom of the document.
• Return conditions - Return conditions target the specific return. Some examples include return total value, return item count, and return outcome.

If need be, it is possible to stack multiple conditions together to further narrow which returns qualify for a given action. Stacking workflows looks like this:

Merchants can select between:

• True if ALL conditions are matched. This setting is an AND statement that will trigger the action when all conditions are met.
• True if ANY conditions are matched. This setting is an OR statement that will trigger the action when any of the chosen conditions are met.

Customer Input

Question

The Question component allows for the configuration of a question that will be asked to the customer if the previous condition has been met. The question type is a yes/no question where a yes response will trigger the intended action. The question condition is only available on the "Ask a Question" template. 

Configuration options include:

• Messaging for question presented to the customer
• Optional checkbox to include messaging if a "yes" answer was selected

Photo Upload

Photo upload can be required. Please click here to learn more. 

Actions

The actions component allows you to configure an action for returns that have met all previous criteria. Just as conditions can be stacked, actions can be stacked as well so that there can be multiple actions taken based on the conditions configured.

The following actions are available:

• Disable Label - disable automatic label generation and display your destination address to the customer instead.
• Exchange Shipping Method - set a shipping method for your outgoing exchange orders.
• Exclude outcomes - select one or more return outcomes to exclude. Do not select all outcomes to make an item final sale. Instead, use Reject Item as the action.
• Exclude return methods - exclude specific return method options (i.e., Veho home pick-up, Happy Returns drop-off, etc.).
• Handling fees - set a handling fee to override, add to, or waive existing fees.
• Hide Products - prevent a product on the order from showing up in Loop. Frequently used for non-returnable add-ons like shipping insurance or customization line items. Must be paired with a Product condition.
• Keep Item / Donate - allow the customer to keep the item or avoid return shipping costs / send the returned items in the order to your configured donation center
• Manual Review /Reject Item - flag the order for manual review (this is best if your team needs to accept or reject the request prior to it processing) / permanently mark the item ineligible for return.
• Partial Return Credit - offer customers the ability to accept a percentage of a product's return credit based on return reasons and yes/no questions. We recommend only using this action within the 'Ask a Question' template and pairing it with a Keep Item action.
• Processing Event - modify the return's processing event.
• Return window - specific a different return window than your regular policy.
• Shop Now Bonus Credit - specify a dollar amount to be offered to the customer as Bonus Credit in the Shop Now flow.
• Store Credit Incentive - specify a dollar amount to be offered as an incentive to the customer with the Store Credit outcome.
• Shop Now Discount - apply a percent discount to the Shop Now cart to automatically “pass on” or honor percentage discounts from original orders.
• Select Return Destination - select which destination where a return should go.

To learn more about the top use cases for each of these, visit this article.

Saving and publishing

Once a workflow is built, it can be saved in a draft state or published live. To save a workflow without setting it live, simply select the "Save draft" option in the header. This will save the workflow in a draft state and will not affect the returns experience. If you would like to set the workflow live, simply select "Publish" from the header. This will save the workflow in an active state and immediately set the workflow live. All returns initiated after the time of publishing will be subject to the workflow.

Once a workflow is active, it can be modified using the "Edit mode" CTA in the header. An active workflow can also be deactivated by clicking the "Deactivate" CTA in the header. 

Keep an eye out for updates from the Loop team as additional templates, conditions, and actions become available. Please reach out to support@loopreturns.com with any additional questions.

Plan Information

Workflows are available on a tiered system, some conditions and actions can be configured with all plans, but some are only eligible for those on the Advanced plan. Please view the Workflows: Tiers and Functionality article for more information. 

FAQ

What plan do I need to be on to utilize this feature? There are some conditions/actions available to all plans and other conditions/actions that are only available to merchants on more advanced plans/packages. If you do not have access to all available conditions/actions and would like to unlock them, reach out to your Merchant Success Manager or support@loopreturns.com.

Do I have to use one of the templates? Yes, you must use one of the predefined workflow templates. The ability to create custom workflows will be offered in a future release.

What format should I have my SKUs, product tags, etc in in the CSV file that I upload? The CSV file should have 1 COLUMN with each identifier (be it SKU, tag, id, etc) in its own field going from the top to the bottom of the document.

Is Loop planning to create additional templates, conditions, and actions? Absolutely. Loop will continue to add conditions and actions to workflows as part of future releases. These additions will be reflected above and communicated through our product updates. 

Can I replace my Return Policy Enforcer setup with Workflows? Yes. Workflows is built in a manner that it can accommodate all Return Policy Enforcer functionality. A full migration of Return Policy Enforcer rules into Workflows will happen at a future date.

What if I have rules set up in both Workflows and Return Policy Enforcer? We encourage you to choose from one or the other, preferably workflows. In the event that there are active rules in RPE and Workflows, the RPE rules will take precedence in the customer portal.

How does workflows interact with existing Keep Item functionality present in a return policy? Workflows exist "above" a return policy, meaning if the criteria is met for the workflow it will override your regular return policy. If the workflow criteria is not met, the return will fall back to the policy.

When is a workflow officially "live"? A workflow becomes live as soon as the workflow is published. All returns created from the time of publishing and on will be subject to the workflow.

What happens if a return does not meet the criteria for a workflow? Workflows exist to provide alternate actions from your standard return policy. If the criteria for the workflow is not met the return will simply fall back to your regular return policy settings.

What if I have duplicate workflows? Which one gets priority? Workflows are prioritized according to the priority number in the admin, 1 being the highest priority. Use the drag and drop element or simply select a number from the dropdown to arrange the priority of your workflows

Is there a limit to how many workflows I can make? No. There is no limit to the number of workflows that can be created.

When does Workflows read tags? Product and order tags are read at the time of order lookup in the customer portal. Said another way, Loop will read the tags present on the product and order when the customer looks up the order within Loop. This is different than FINAL_SALE and EXCHANGE_ONLY functionality in which tags are read from the time of purchase. 

What does the yellow exclamation point mean? This indicates an incomplete module that requires additional setup before the workflow can be published.

Do Loop's Final Sale and Exchange Only tag functionality take priority over workflows?  Yes, the final sale only and exchange only tags under Policy settings > General will take priority over workflows.

What is the customer experience if I utilize the Manual Review action? Your customers will be able to complete & submit their return in Loop but will be presented with the below messaging. This is customizable verbiage so update as needed!

How does Order Date "was placed between" read the dates outlined? All date searching criteria, including "was placed between", use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) starting at the beginning of the date(s) selected. For example, a search between 09/01/22 and 09/05/22 will include all orders placed on 09/01/22 but no orders placed on 09/05/22, since the search reads both dates at 00:00:00 UTC.