What Is Inventory Removal?

Inventory removal refers to the process of removing a seller's saleable and non-saleable inventory stored in noon’s warehouses. 

Types Of Inventory:

At noon, inventory is categorized into two primary types: saleable and non-saleable. Below is a breakdown of each type:

1. Saleable Inventory

• This inventory has passed noon's quality checks, been successfully inbounded, and is stored in the fulfillment center.
• It is eligible for sale to customers and considered part of active stock.

2. Non-Saleable Inventory

• Non-saleable inventory cannot be sold to customers for various reasons. It is further classified into eight sub-types.

Subcategories of Non-Saleable Inventory:

1. ASN Inbound QC Failed
• Inventory that fails to meet noon's Quality Guidelines upon arrival at their fulfillment center.
2. Non-Delivered Returns (NDR)
• Items that were undelivered to customers.
• For FBN orders: NDR items undergo Quality Checks. Saleable items are restocked, while non-saleable items can be returned to sellers with payouts based on grading.
• For FBP orders: NDR items are returned directly to the seller.
3. Customer-Initiated Returns (CIR)
• Items returned by customers.
• For FBN orders: Items undergo Quality Checks. Saleable items are restocked, while others are returned to sellers with payouts based on grading.
• For FBP orders: CIR items undergo a Quality Check (QC) at noon's FBN warehouse. After that, these items become available for sellers to request back, with payouts based on grading. Returns are processed via the Direct Ship Customer Returns Process.
4. Mislabel
• Inventory that does not match the SKU details listed on the website.
5. Expired
• Products that have exceeded their minimum shelf life as per noon's inbound QC policy.
6. Damaged
• Inventory damaged while stored in noon’s warehouse.
7. Researching
• Items currently being evaluated by noon’s warehouse team to determine the issue and its classification.
8. Others
• This inventory is being processed by noon's warehouse team to accurately identify the issue and assign it to one of the sub-types.

The details of saleable and non-saleable inventory can be viewed in the Inventory Dashboard.
You can download the same data from the FBN Stock Inventory Detail Report via the Seller Lab.

How to Request Inventory Removal

Inventory Removal Requests can be created using two methods:

1. Created by Partners:
You are required to follow the Inventory Removal Process to request the removal of inventory. There are two options for initiating the request:

• Request via Seller Lab
• Request via Seller Support - seller@noon.com

2. Auto-generated by noon:
For certain inventory types that are not eligible for manual removal requests, noon will automatically generate inventory removal requests at regular intervals.

Eligible Methods for Inventory Removal Requests

Inventory Type	Request via Seller Lab	Request via Seller Support (via seller@noon.com)	Auto- generated by noon
Saleable+ Non-saleable (except dark store)	✅	❌	❌
Saleable+ Non-saleable (dark store only)	❌	✅	❌
ASN Inbound QC failed	✅	❌	❌
FBN Non-delivered items (FBN NDR)	✅	❌	❌
Customer initiated returns (CIR)	✅	❌	❌
Mislabel	✅	❌	❌
Expired	❌	❌	✅
Damaged*	❌	❌	❌
Researching**	❌	❌	❌
Others**	❌	❌	❌

** Will be processed by noon’s warehouse team to correctly identify the issue and tag it to one of the above zones

Reasons for Inventory Removal Request Rejection

Noon may reject inventory removal requests under the following circumstances:

1. Outstanding Account Balances or Loans: If your seller account has unpaid dues or loans, noon may restrict inventory removal requests in order to maintain an inventory value commensurate with the outstanding balance and /or outstanding loan amount.
2. Pending Shipments: If previous removal requests are pending action (e.g., collection or acceptance), new requests may be rejected.
3. Stock Unavailability: At the time of processing your requests, if your inventory is already reserved for customer order, etc. and, hence, is not available for return request, noon reserves the right to cancel the request either partially or completely.

RTV Shipment Receiving Guidelines:

1. Handover modes: The Inventory Removal Requests can be executed by either of the three methods:

• ‘Delivery’ mode i.e. delivery at your premises: All requests created under delivery mode need to be mandatorily accepted when attempted for delivery. Check RTV receiving guidelines for more details. Please note noon will not support cross country requests.
• ‘Pickup’ mode i.e. requests to be picked-up from noon designated pickup centers: All requests created under pick-up must be collected within the defined time frame from your selected pickup center. Please note noon will not support cross country requests.

• ‘Dispose’ mode i.e. liquidation of your items: If you wish to liquidate or dispose off your stocks, you can choose this mode while filing an inventory removal request. Once you have filed the request for disposal, noon will not be liable for either returning the stocks back to you or paying you for the disposed stocks.

2. Timelines:

• Pick-up mode: requested shipments need to be collected by Sellers from the selected pick-up address within 10 business days of ‘Ready For Collection’ date, failing which will result in Confiscation of the shipments. After the 10 business days, noon may, at its discretion, attempt to deliver the Pickup shipments at your premise and in such cases noon will charge you a delivery fee for each attempt.
• Delivery mode: you are expected to receive requested shipments when delivery is attempted by noon. In case of failure to receive the shipments in the first attempt, you can request for a delivery re-attempt up to 7 business days from the date of first delivery attempt, failing which will result in Confiscation of the shipments.

3. In the event of any issue / discrepancy in the shipment, you must report the same as per below guidelines:

• For Direct Ship NDR shipments, you must report any packaging damage on the ‘Supply Chain’ app and later claim for the damage through the Dispute process. You will not be able to raise Disputes if you fail to report packaging damages in the ‘Supply Chain’ app. 
• For all other requested shipments, you must report all issues regarding damages, missing items and any other issues on the Proof of Delivery (POD) document. Details mentioned in the POD will serve as evidence for dispute resolution and reimbursement. Noon will not entertain disputes if discrepancies are not detailed in the POD.
• All OTP enabled shipments are marked as ‘Delivered’ after successful OTP verification, and hence noon will not entertain any ‘Shipment Not Received’ disputes for such shipments.
• For any other shipments, you must clearly report any issues in the POD document. In the absence of an appropriate description of the issues on the POD document, noon may refuse to process any disputes (if any) raised in regards to such shipments.
• In instances where you receive only a part of your shipments at noon collection center, you must ensure to follow these Guidelines on Partial RTV Handover. 

4. ID proof:

• The receiver of the shipments will be required to present an identity proof while receiving / collecting the shipments. Identity proof will be recorded in our systems for future reference.

RTV Shipment Confiscation:

noon reserves the right to confiscate your requested shipments/FBN inventory under certain circumstances. Learn more about noon’s Confiscation Policy.

RTV Shipment Dispute:

If you find any discrepancies in the returns such as missing products / parts thereof, damages, wrong / erroneous returns etc., you can raise a dispute. Refer to our Dispute and Claim Resolution Policy.

 

That’s it!

 

Got questions?

Reach out to seller@noon.com