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Executive Summary: Which are the Top 10 Reverse Logistics Solutions to Watch?
- CIRQUEL (Germany): Provides AI-powered reverse logistics for fashion, automating garment inspection, reuse, resale, and recycling.
- Vendidit (USA): Offers a returns management and resale platform that routes products to profitable re-commerce channels.
- Shiperoo (Australia): Simplifies fully automated returns management with robotics and AI for sorting, refurbishing, and recycling.
- It Goes Forward (Netherlands): Enables sustainable peer-to-peer forwarding of returns, bypassing warehouses to cut costs and emissions.
- Logistica para tu ecommerce (Mexico): Provides a centralized panel for ecommerce returns, automating workflows and boosting efficiency.
- Returned.com (USA): Builds an AI-powered returns tracking app that automates retailer communication, labels, and scheduling.
- Recyclify (India): Runs a reverse logistics platform for e-waste and asset recovery, coordinating recycling, resale, and compliance.
- CircleCube (Germany): Develops automated return systems for reusable food containers via compact reverse vending machines.
- Arca Waste Solutions (Brazil): Uses blockchain to manage urban waste reverse logistics, issuing tokenized recycling credits.
- Shift Logistics (USA): Offers a peer-to-peer return marketplace that reships products directly between customers, reducing costs and emissions.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights Emerging Reverse Logistics Solutions to Watch
Through the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering over 7M+ startups, 20K+ technology trends, plus 150M+ patents, news articles & market reports, we identified the top reverse logistics companies and startups.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the best reverse logistics companies and startups you should watch in 2026, as well as the geo-distribution of 240+ reverse logistics startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research.
According to our data, we observe high startup activity in Western Europe and the USA, followed by India. The top 5 Reverse Logistics Startup Hubs are London, Bangalore, New York City, Dubai, and Mumbai.
Meet Emerging Reverse Logistics Companies & Startups to Watch in 2026
We hand-picked startups to showcase in this report by filtering for their technology, founding year, location, funding, and other metrics. These emerging reverse logistics startups work on solutions advancing fully-automated returns management, sustainable returns forwarding, asset recovery, reusable container returns, and much more.
1. CIRQUEL – AI-powered Fashion Reverse Logistics
- Founding Year: 2024
- Location: Berlin, Germany
German startup CIRQUEL advances reverse logistics for the fashion industry by blending AI-powered SaaS technology with hyper-localized warehouse operations and comprehensive returns orchestration. The startup streamlines the returns journey from consumer-initiated scans to intelligent sorting and eco-conscious repurposing.
CIRQUEL’s computer vision software rapidly inspects each garment’s quality to ensure accurate grading and reduce both processing time and human error. The system also organizes localized cleaning and repairs, which enable quick restocking or rerouting to circular resale and rental channels.
Its technology forecasts the optimal reuse paths to minimize turnaround and carbon impact, maximizing the recovered value of every item. The startup provides CO2-accounted recycling solutions that support sustainability for products not suitable for reuse. It benefits fashion brands in recovering lost value and reduces waste by turning returned inventory into profitable, fast-moving assets.
2. Vendidit – Returns Management & Resale Platform
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Austin, Texas, USA
USA-based startup Vendidit offers a reverse logistics software solution that converts returned and excess inventory into valuable resale opportunities throughout the re-commerce ecosystem. Its Upstream platform streamlines returns management at the warehouse level, which allows users to scan, triage, and label products directly from mobile devices.
Upstream assigns returns to the right sellers and routes items to the most profitable resale channels using advanced condition triage with real-time tracking. Vendidit’s AI-powered GlobalSKU enhances product listings by using photos or descriptions to generate ready-to-list manifests for platforms like eBay, Amazon, and Shopify.
Additionally, its seller-centric marketplace further supports live and blind auctions, bulk listings, CRM integration, and full customization to simplify inventory liquidation and recovery. Vendidit reduces waste, maximizes recovery, and ensures fewer items end up in landfills by connecting resellers, 3PLs, and warehouses.
3. Shiperoo – Fully-Automated Returns Management
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Victoria, Australia
- Funding: AUD 30 million
Australian startup Shiperoo provides a fully automated reverse logistics platform that simplifies returns management for retailers using robotics and AI. Its uReturn service categorizes returned goods with rapid quality assessments and instantly determines if items should be restocked, refurbished, or recycled.
Shiperoo’s AI-powered software enables real-time tracking and provides retailers with complete visibility throughout the returns process. Its robotic automation ensures accurate, fast, and error-free decisions at every step, from sorting to decision-making.
These tools allow retailers to monetize returns, avoid stock shortages or surpluses, and enhance sustainability by choosing responsible recycling pathways for unsellable goods.
4. It Goes Forward – Sustainable Returns Forwarding Solutions
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Dutch startup It Goes Forward turns traditional returns into direct and sustainable peer-to-peer shipments between consumers. Its platform enables customers to anonymously forward unwanted items straight to new buyers, removing the costly and wasteful warehouse process.
The system uses AI, including MCTS and ADP technologies, to match new orders with returns and calculate optimal discounts. This instantly makes returned items available for resale on the retailer’s own webshop. The portal also offers real-time inventory updates, photo-based quality checks, and generates privacy-focused shipping labels.
The startup aids retailers in cutting CO2 emissions, saving on handling costs, and preventing unnecessary disposal by forwarding returns instead of sending them back to warehouses.
5. Logística para tu ecommerce – Returns Management Panel
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Mexican startup Logística para tu ecommerce offers a smart reverse logistics platform that simplifies the returns process for ecommerce businesses. The platform features a centralized management panel where retailers instantly approve or reject returns and exchanges.
Its automated workflows categorize return reasons and provide real-time inventory insights. This aids businesses in making quick data-driven restocking decisions that enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction. This automated platform reduces operating costs and increases customer loyalty.
Logística para tu ecommerce improves accuracy and speed throughout picking, packing, and returns management while optimizing logistics operations for online retailers.
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6. Returned.com – Returns Tracking & Management App
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Boulder, Colorado, USA
USA-based startup Returned.com provides an AI-powered app that simplifies returns management and tracking for consumers. The platform consolidates all purchases, tracks return deadlines, and manages the entire returns process.
It offers BoughtBot, an AI virtual return agent. It automatically contacts retailers, negotiates return approvals, generates shipping labels, and initiates returns with minimal user involvement. The app also enables users to process gift returns, schedule package pickups, and donate returns to local charities.
Returned.com reduces the cost and time associated with returning products by automating return management and providing real-time coordination.
7. Recyclify – Reverse Logistics for Asset Recovery
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Gurgaon, India
Indian startup Recyclify provides a reverse logistics platform that streamlines and accelerates asset recovery and sustainable waste management across organizations. The platform’s tech-enabled solution manages the collection, segregation, and monetization of e-waste, batteries, and IT assets.
Recyclify’s five-step reverse logistics process begins with thorough quality inspection and segregation. It then moves to competitive bidding among authorized recyclers, full upfront payment, and detailed documentation at every stage.
The engine coordinates returns in real time while supporting refurbishment and resale of usable assets. It also ensures safe, legal, and environmentally responsible disposal to maximize scrap value and minimise landfill impact.
Recyclify drives both profitability and sustainability by enabling companies to handle returns at scale and convert outdated electronics into reusable resources. It benefits corporations as well as the recyclers with transparent transactions and compliance with environmental regulations.
8. CircleCube – Reusable Containers Returning System
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Schweriner, Germany
German startup CircleCube offers reverse logistics technology for the food service and catering industry through its ReturnCube system. ReturnCube operates as a compact and user-friendly reverse vending machine. It automates the return and collection of reusable containers while eliminating manual steps and speeding up the return process.
The system enables users to quickly deposit, scan, and validate containers to support efficient reuse and extend the lifecycle of packaging. Its plug-and-play design ensures simple installation and compatibility with various reusable container programs. This promotes flexible adoption across corporate campuses, food service providers, and institutions.
CircleCube allows organizations to embed sustainability into daily operations, reduce waste, and contribute to the circular economy by integrating automated returns management.
9. Arca Waste Solutions – Blockchain-led Urban Waste Reverse Logistics
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Campinas, Brazil
Brazilian startup Arca Waste Solutions creates a blockchain-powered reverse logistics and solid urban waste management platform. It converts recyclable waste into certified environmental and economic value. Its ARK solution connects companies, cooperatives, and recyclers while automating the tracking, certification, and monetization of reverse logistics credits.
The platform digitizes the entire lifecycle of post-consumer waste. It manages the collection and recovery of packaging materials, enables tokenized recycling certificates (UTMs), and facilitates credit trading. This aids enterprises in legally and transparently offsetting packaging waste.
Arca Waste Solutions enables companies to meet legal, ESG, and sustainability objectives with seamless documentation, immutable proof, and comprehensive environmental impact reporting.
The startup advances the circular economy and reduces landfill reliance for businesses and waste collectors by providing automated verification, compliance, and value recovery.
10. Shift Logistics – Eco-friendly Peer-To-Peer Return Platform
- Founding Year: 2023
- Location: Orange County, California, USA
USA-based startup Shift Logistics offers a peer-to-peer reverse logistics platform that enhances online returns by eliminating warehousing, reshipping, and remarketing steps. The platform instantly lists returned products on a dedicated secondary marketplace and coordinates direct shipments from the original buyer to a new customer.
This solution improves customer satisfaction and recovery rates while reducing costs with options for flexible refunds and store credits that incentivize ongoing engagement. It benefits e-tailers by connecting existing shopping carts, customizable messaging, and A/B testing for a customized customer experience.
Shift Logistics’ technology enables unlimited return policies, reduces fees and emissions, and drives retention with buy-back credit incentives. The platform supports a more sustainable and efficient reverse logistics model for retailers and shoppers by removing unnecessary shipping and storage.
Discover All Emerging Logistics Startups
The reverse logistics startups showcased in this report are only a small sample of all startups we identified through our data-driven startup scouting approach. Download our free Logistics Innovation Report for a broad overview of the industry or get in touch for quick & exhaustive research on the latest technologies & emerging solutions that will impact your company in 2026!