The hidden cost of substitutions
More than a different SKU on the receipt
Three bills on every substitution
Direct margin: cheaper replacement or partial refund. Labour: extra pick steps and bench time. Trust: the customer who stops repeating because “they never send what I ordered.”
Measure before you policy
Tag substitution reason codes at pick time. Review weekly with pack evidence where available. Bud can flag repeat offenders — SKUs or suppliers — before they become churn.
Prevention beats apology emails
Low-stock alerts, supplier lead time visibility, and smarter substitution rules reduce cost more than a template “sorry” message.