HOW FRONT ROW & AXIOM RETURN SOLUTIONS HELP BEAUTY & WELLNESS BRANDS RECLAIM
MARGIN AT SCALE
The Amazon marketplace is as much an ecosystem as it is a sales channel, and the central engine for conversion for most beauty, health & wellness brands. Products move through fulfillment centers, automated sorting systems, tote bins, transfer trucks, returns facilities, and resale logic engines before they ever reach a customer. And when they come back, they move through that machine again, often without a brand ever laying eyes on them.
This complexity creates a quiet by expensive blind spot. Returns are typically treated as a cost of doing business. Inventory is removed. Some of it is marked unsellable. Some of it is automatically disposed of. Some of it re-enters circulation based on system logic alone. The financial impact is absorbed into margin models and written off as unavoidable.
But for brands doing $100 million, $300 million, or more on Amazon, even a modest return rate represents millions in inventory. The question is not whether returns exist. The question is whether they are being managed strategically. Front Row believed there was a better way.
The Missing Layer in Amazon Data
Most brands rely on Amazon’s return reason codes to understand performance issues. “Item defective.” “Arrived damaged.” “No longer needed.” On paper, this feels actionable, but in reality, it’s incomplete.
Customers often select vague reasons. Amazon’s system makes expiration-based decisions automatically. Sellable versus unsellable inventory is determined at scale. And none of it includes the nuance that comes from physically handling the product; you can’t improve what you can’t see.
To close that visibility gap, Front Row partnered with Axiom Return Solutions, a reverse logistics company built exclusively for Amazon sellers. Axiom specializes in receiving Amazon removals, inspecting every unit, assigning grade and disposition, filing claims on fraudulent or incorrect returns, and determining what can be strategically reintegrated.
Since October 2024, Axiom has processed nearly 200,000 units for Front Row-managed brands inside its 40,000-square-foot facility. That volume provides perspective on operational efficiency at scale.
Reclaiming What Would Have Been Written Off
Across beauty brands, Axiom consistently sees 30–40% of returned inventory eligible for reintegration back into Amazon. That number alone reframes the conversation. For many large sellers, returns are automatically disposed of because building an internal reverse logistics infrastructure feels too complex. The default becomes elimination. Ten percent return rate? Bake it into landed cost and move on. But if even a third of that inventory can be returned to sellable condition, the financial implications compound quickly.
Reducing write-offs by even one or two percentage points at scale represents meaningful margin recovery. That margin can be reinvested into media, creative, packaging upgrades, or expansion. Returns shift from being a cost center to becoming a revenue lever.
Beauty Is Different and More Exposed
If there is any indication of use, a product cannot ethically or compliantly re-enter circulation. Exposure matters. Seals matter. Customer trust matters.
At the same time, Amazon’s automated systems do not always differentiate with that level of nuance. An item that appears unopened may be routed back to a customer. If that customer receives something that feels compromised, the negative review lands on the brand, not the fulfillment center.
Front Row and Axiom interrupt that feedback loop. Every unit is physically inspected. Used products are removed from circulation. Fraudulent returns are identified and claims are filed. Missing or incorrect removals are reconciled in Seller Central.
A CASE OF EXPIRATION AND INTERPRETATION
In one instance with a Front Row brand, bundled five-packs were being removed from Amazon due to expiration flags. The outer packaging displayed the earliest expiration date among the individual items, triggering automatic removal.
Upon inspection, Axiom discovered that several units inside the bundle remained well within sellable windows. Rather than discarding the entire set, the inventory was reconfigured and resold compliantly.
Without physical inspection and supply chain understanding, that inventory would have been destroyed. This is where reverse logistics becomes strategic.
Sustainability With Control
Sustainability is increasingly part of brand strategy, but operationalizing it within Amazon’s ecosystem is complex.
Axiom maintains an audit trail from receipt through final disposition. Inventory that cannot be reintegrated may be liquidated or routed through approved donation channels when brands allow it. Packaging materials are repurposed internally. Disposal, when necessary, is handled responsibly.
Importantly, brands retain control over where their inventory flows. In categories where unauthorized resale can damage equity, that control matters.
Keeping product out of landfills is valuable. Keeping it out of uncontrolled secondary markets is equally important.
Technology Enables Speed and Precision
Reverse logistics fails when inventory sits. If removals are not processed quickly and intelligently, they accumulate, tie up capital, and become operational debt.
Axiom’s in-house RMS software is built specifically for this workflow. It allows brand-specific SOPs, SKU-level grading logic, claims tracking, and disposition reporting. Every product is handled according to customized rules rather than generic assumptions.
That level of precision mirrors Front Row’s broader Amazon strategy: data-backed, tech-enabled, and execution-focused.
Axiom’s proprietary technology captures unit-level returns data unavailable anywhere else in the market, turning every return into actionable insight for our partners. That visibility helps brands reduce return rates, improve listings and packaging, increase reimbursement recovery, and reintegrate inventory Amazon has classified as unsellable back into sellable channels- enabling smarter decisions across the entire supply chain.
At Scale, Details Become Strategy
Since October 2024, nearly 200,000 units have been processed for Front Row-managed brands through Axiom’s 40,000-square-foot reverse logistics operation.
Across beauty accounts, 30–40% of returned inventory is typically eligible for reintegration.
Those numbers represent more than operational throughput. They represent a recovered opportunity, possibly in the millions of dollars, for large brands operating on Amazon.
The marketplace will continue to grow more complex. Fulfillment networks will expand and automation will accelerate. Brands that treat returns as an afterthought will continue to write off margin. Brands that treat reverse logistics as strategy will compound it.
Through its partnership with Axiom Return Solutions, Front Row is helping beauty, health, and wellness brands do exactly that; turning returns into revenue and operational complexity into competitive advantage.
Contact Front Row if you're a beauty, health, or wellness brand looking to scale on Amazon with a partner that understands the full picture, including navigating logistical complexities.
