What is Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA)?

An RMA, also known as return merchandise authorization is the process that organizations follow, when they’re returning an asset or product back to the manufacturer or vendor due to it being faulty or broken. RMAs typically occur when an organization procures new assets, and one or more of the assets are deemed to be faulty, or not working as expected.

RMAs can also happen when assets become faulty over time, and they’re still covered under an active manufacturer warranty, or service contract.

Take for example an IT organization procures 100 new laptops from one of their preferred vendors, when they receive the laptops, one of the IT engineers notices that 2 of them are damaged, and their screens are cracked.

When this happens, the IT engineer, or IT Asset Manager will typically contact the vendor and report the damaged goods. Once an organization has reported the damaged goods to the vendor, the vendor will typically offer to repair or replace the assets free of charge. This is a typical example of a common RMA scenario.

If you work in IT, vendor management, supply chain management, or procurement, then you’ll most likely deal with RMAs on a regular basis.

Please note, the term RMA can also be referred to as:

• Return Authorization (RA)
• Return Goods Authorization (RGA) and
• Return to Vendor (RTV)

Basically, all of these terms mean the same thing, and are just used interchangeably.

Different Types of RMAs

In my experience working in IT asset management, I’ve seen many different types of RMAs being processed.

Below is a list of the most common types of RMAs:

• Repair - This is when the manufacturer will simply repair the asset, and will return it back to you in a functional state.
• Credit - This is when the manufacturer will keep the asset, and will issue you credit for future purchases.
• Exchange - This is when the manufacturer will swap the faulty asset for a new one.
• Advance Exchange - This is when the manufacturer will immediately send you a new asset upon logging the RMA. In this case, the manufacturer doesn’t wait for the faulty asset to be returned before sending out the replacement asset. This type of RMA is ideal for mission critical assets.
• Refund - This is when the manufacturer will keep the asset and issue a refund.

Lifecycle of an RMA

So now that we’ve covered what an RMA is, and the different types of RMAs, let’s talk about the lifecycle of an RMA.

The first step of the process is to:

1. Contact the manufacturer or vendor to validate that the asset is eligible to be returned under an active warranty or support contract. Ensure that you have the model number, manufacturer name, serial number, and the issue you’re facing with the asset at hand.
2. Once you have contacted the manufacturer and they’ve authorized the return of the asset, securely package up the asset, and ship it back to the manufacturer to the address provided by them.
3. Take note of the RMA number in your asset repository or procurement system, just in case you need to follow up with the manufacturer in the future. Please note, that most manufacturers will supply you with a prepaid shipping label, so you won’t have to pay for any shipping expenses.
4. Ship the asset back to the manufacturer.
5. Once the manufacturer receives the asset, they’ll either repair it, provide you with credit, send you a replacement, or issue you a refund.

Tips to Remember When Performing an RMA

• Always remove any company installed software from the asset you’re returning back to the vendor or manufacturer
• Remove your organization’s asset tag before sending the asset back
• Remove any data from the asset to protect your organization, and to comply with information security standards
• If you receive a replacement asset during the RMA process, don’t forget to add it to your asset repository
• Always log all RMA transactions, clearly documenting the manufacturer, model number, serial number, RMA type, vendor, courier, and date of the RMA