When negotiating agreements with suppliers, you usually argue over prices, payment terms, delivery conditions etc. What we have seen being ignored however, are the return rights. When we say “return rights”, we don’t mean situations where the goods have been damaged or are simply malfunctioning. This is something that should come as a default right.

It’s always handy to include into the agreement however the right to return the goods in a specified timeframe regardless of the reason. Yes, it requires negotiation with the supplier and as such may definitely not be easy. However, it’s worth having it in there as you may never know if the goods satisfy your needs, is enough etc. Why not get it in there?

Another useful thing based on your industry type of course, is getting the payment condition set in a way that you only pay for goods that you have actually sold. You get the goods, they are part of your inventory, you do get the liability on your balance sheet, but you only pay for the goods you sold during a certain period.

od. When this certain period is up, you simply return the goods to the supplier. Returning goods means you get rid of the inventory and liabilities.

Having these clauses really helps you with liquidity and management of storage space. Then again, getting them in really depends on your industry type, type of goods and obviously general relationships with suppliers.