600: Creating Value in Return Processing with Maven Circular
Welcome to the 600th episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, recorded live from ProMat 2025. Kevin chats with married co-founders Nate and Jessica Schisler, the dynamic duo behind Maven Circular and its operations arm, Maven Fulfillment and Recommerce (Maven FR). The two bring decades of collective experience in reverse logistics, fulfillment, and circular commerce. Their mission? Help brands maximize value from returned goods while reducing waste and inefficiency across the supply chain. In this episode, they share how they went from consulting to running warehouses and why faster return processing is the hidden lever brands aren’t pulling.
From Consulting to Circular Execution
What started as a consulting gig helping brands improve resale and reverse logistics evolved into something much bigger. After hearing repeated client frustrations during RFP processes, one brand asked Nate and Jess a simple question: Why not run the operation yourselves?
“One of our clients said, ‘Look, we know you guys know how to do this. Why don’t you go lease a warehouse and become our operator?’” said Nate. That car ride conversation led to the launch of Maven FR, a services business that now operates three warehouses in central Ohio.
They continue to consult through Maven Circular, offering fractional COO-style support and operational design, but now also provide full-service returns processing, grading, and fulfillment. Their tech stack is plug-and-play for Shopify, Salesforce, Loop, and AfterShip, allowing brands to reroute returns to Maven in just days.
The Cost of Delay in Return Processing
At the heart of Maven’s approach is a belief that time is money. When returned inventory sits on the shelf for too long, it misses its full-price sales window, pushing it to clearance or liquidation.
“What’s another word for time? It’s the cash cycle of your inventory,” Nate explained. Apparel returns are especially vulnerable. With many brands running 4-6-week sales cycles, delays can render items unsellable at full price.
“If your brand has a 20% return rate… that means 20% of your inventory is unsellable because it’s in transit or unprocessed,” Nate emphasized. Maven is turning that around, with some customers seeing dock-to-stock in under 48 hours.
Jessica added, “Most warehouses deprioritize returns from a labor planning perspective… so you have returns sitting at the dock for weeks.” Their solution: dedicated returns infrastructure, grading capabilities, and fulfillment—all optimized to minimize markdown risk.
Unlocking Resale, Customer Loyalty, and Higher Margins
Beyond speed, Maven Circular is also innovating how brands think about liquidation. Rather than offloading goods for pennies on the dollar to multiple brokers, they’re building social selling studios and running direct-to-consumer auctions.
“Instead of getting 10 cents on the dollar, you’re getting 30, 40, sometimes 50 cents,” said Nate, explaining their “direct-to-consumer liquidation” model. They’re also licensed auctioneers in Ohio—another unexpected capability they’ve added to boost brand recovery rates.
But the most surprising insight? Circular commerce isn’t just about sustainability. It’s also a growth lever.
“Pretty reliably across our customer base… if you sell two units secondhand, you acquire one new full-price customer,” said Nate. That stat alone makes resale and returns optimization a strategic advantage for the brands ready to embrace it.
Key Takeaways on Return Processing with Maven Enterprises
- Dock-to-stock in 48 hours reduces markdowns and speeds up inventory cash cycles.
- An integrated tech stack enables Shopify and Salesforce brands to reroute returns with minimal IT effort.
- Turn returns into an opportunity. A 20% return rate means up to 20% of inventory sits idle—Maven makes it profitable again.
- Missed seasons = missed revenue. With many brands on 4–6 week sales cycles, slow returns processing can prevent items from ever being sold at full price.
- Grading returns unlocks more value. Maven segments returns into resale, full-price restock, or liquidation, maximizing recovery across every tier.
- Social liquidation channels offer 3–5 times higher recovery rates than traditional offloading.
- For every two resale units sold, brands gain one new full-price customer.
Listen to the episode below and leave your thoughts in the comments.
Guest Information
For more information on Maven Circular, click here.
To connect with Jess on LinkedIn, click here.
To connect with Nate on LinkedIn, click here.
For more information about return processing, check out the podcasts below.
571: Rethinking Retail Return Logistics with Fillogic and Loop Returns
