Master Store / Hub Routing
Centralise complex returns at your Master Hub — when to transfer items in, how they arrive, and how they're processed and dispatched again.
With multi-store mode enabled, your Master Hub (central warehouse) becomes the processing centre for returns that retail stores can't handle locally. Items move to the hub via transfers; this article covers when to centralise, what happens when items arrive, and how they leave again.
Retail Store A ─┐
Retail Store B ──┼─→ Master Hub ──→ Repair / Supplier / Restock / Write off
Retail Store C ─┘
When to centralise
Retail staff choose a transfer reason when sending an item to the hub:
| Reason | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Requires specialist repair | Item needs repair equipment or expertise not available at this location |
| Supplier return needed | Item must go back to the supplier for warranty or replacement |
| Dangerous goods handling required | Item contains dangerous goods requiring specialised handling facilities |
| No stock locally for replacement | Replacement stock isn't available at this location |
| Customer dispute / QA review | Case needs management review or quality assurance evaluation |
| Complex diagnosis needed | Advanced diagnostic tools or technical expertise required |
| Parts not available at child store | Required repair parts are only available at the master facility |
Use transfer reasons consistently — over time the data shows which capabilities or stock your retail locations are missing.
How items move to the hub
Transfers are created from the RMA (see Transfer Workflow for the step-by-step process). When creating one, staff choose a Transfer Method:
- Manual Transfer (Staff will drive) — no label; the item is driven to the hub, e.g. on a regular van run
- Courier Shipping — a label is generated from the sending location to the Master Hub address. You can auto-select the best carrier or compare rates for Australia Post, StarTrack and TNT.
For batches, pending transfers can be labelled individually or consolidated onto a single pallet label (TNT) so multiple RMAs travel under one tracking number.
ReturnMate resolves dangerous goods details automatically when generating transfer labels. Australia Post does not accept dangerous goods shipments — DG transfers must ship via TNT or StarTrack.
As the transfer progresses, the RMA status moves through Transfer Pending → In Transit to Master → Received at Master.
Receiving at the Master Hub
Incoming items appear on the Transfers page (Transfer Management), filtered by location and grouped into Pending, In Transit and Received tabs. Hub staff can:
- Mark Received on an individual transfer
- Receive Selected for a batch
- Receive All on a pallet — transfers that shipped under one pallet label are grouped together
Receiving updates the RMA's location to the hub and sets its status to Received at Master — with one exception: faulty items from a counter swap go straight to Offline Diagnostics, ready for fault assessment and repair.
Processing at the hub
Once received, the RMA is processed like any other at that location — inspection, diagnostics, and a warranty resolution where applicable. Resolution inventory actions include Return to Stock, Write Off, Return to Supplier and Return to Customer; when an item is being processed away from the hub, a Return to Master Hub action is also available.
Sending items back to a retail store
When a repaired or replacement item needs to go back to the customer's local store, use Transfer to Store for Customer Pickup on the RMA. When the destination store receives the transfer, the RMA is set to Awaiting Pickup, a pickup record is created for store staff, and the SLA clock pauses while the ball is in the customer's court.