Use this article to prepare for Ingrid Care scoping and understand what you need to decide, bring, and leave with.
This article is for merchants starting an Ingrid Care implementation, and for the project team that will run it. Scoping is phase 1 of your Ingrid Care implementation. Ingrid leads Ingrid Care scoping.
Ingrid Care scoping is more policy-heavy than scoping for the other Ingrid products. Most of what gets decided here is commercial — who pays, how long shoppers have, what happens to a damaged item — and those decisions drive the Ingrid Care configuration rather than the other way around.
Start on carrier credentials immediately. Ingrid Care return shipments book on your own carrier contracts, so your credentials are always required and there is no fallback. If they sit with your 3PL (third-party logistics provider), securing their release is your first action. See Carrier credentials.
The statement of work and the planning workshop in Ingrid Care scoping
Two things shape Ingrid Care scoping, and they do different jobs.
Your statement of work (SoW) sets the high-level scope and the boundaries of the Ingrid Care project — what is in, and what is not. It is the reference point whenever a scope question comes up later.
The planning workshop works through the finer detail of the Ingrid Care project: who does what, in what sequence, and what depends on what. This is where the scope becomes a dated plan with named owners on both sides.
If you are implementing more than one Ingrid product, sequence matters and it is rarely arbitrary. A contract renewal with an existing returns provider, a peak returns period after a trading peak, or a replatforming date can all force one product to go live before another.
Ingrid Care is frequently the product that has to go first, because merchants replacing an existing returns provider are working to that provider's renewal date. Bring those dates to the workshop — they are usually the strongest constraint in the room.
Five decisions to settle during Ingrid Care scoping
The list below shows the five decisions to settle during Ingrid Care scoping.
Which flows you offer. Returns, exchanges, claims, complaints — each in scope or not. They share one entry point in the Returns Portal, part of Ingrid Care, so this is not irreversible, but it shapes testing and policy work.
Where returned-item information comes from. Either your OMS (order management system), ERP (enterprise resource planning) system, or WMS (warehouse management system) sends returned-item events, or your warehouse staff work in the Ingrid Care Quality check. This is the single biggest factor in how much integration work phase 3 involves.
Whether Ingrid Care triggers refunds. Either Ingrid issues the refund in your e-commerce platform when a return resolves, or your own systems issue it and Ingrid only signals that it is due. Which model applies depends partly on your platform, and it changes the integration work in phase 3 — so settle it here rather than during testing.
Who pays for returns. Free returns, shopper-paid, or conditional. This becomes your Ingrid Care price setups, and it usually needs a commercial decision rather than an operational one.
Where returns physically go. One address or several, per market or per warehouse. See Return address configuration in Ingrid Care.
Plan for Ingrid Care training, not just configuration
Ingrid Care differs from Ingrid Promise, Ingrid Engage, and Ingrid Transport in a way that matters at scoping time: Ingrid Care is a platform your people work in, not only a configuration that runs by itself. Warehouse staff process returns through defined workflows, and customer service answers shoppers' questions about them.
Of the four Ingrid products, Ingrid Care has the highest training need. Name the warehouse and customer service people who will use Ingrid Care during scoping, so training can be planned rather than squeezed in before launch.
What you bring to Ingrid Care scoping
Your return policy — return window, accepted reasons, and any product categories treated differently. Product-level rules become Ingrid Care product policies.
Your e-commerce platform, since order data comes from there. Ingrid Care has integrations for Shopify, Centra, Magento, WooCommerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Brink, and custom platforms.
Your carrier products for return shipments, per market, and who holds each carrier's credentials.
The markets and languages the Returns Portal needs to serve.
Any fixed dates — particularly an existing provider's renewal date.
Your project team, named, with owners — see The team you'll need. Ingrid Care needs warehouse and customer service representation, not just e-commerce.
What Ingrid does during Ingrid Care scoping
Explains how Ingrid Care works and how Ingrid runs the project with you
Reviews your policy and flags anything that needs configuring differently than expected
Confirms what is needed per carrier to book return shipments
Provides documentation and integration support
What Ingrid Care scoping produces
When Ingrid Care scoping is complete, you have:
An agreed set of flows, and a written return policy to configure against
A decision on where returned-item information comes from, and on who issues refunds
Credential requests in motion for anything held outside your team
A training plan for the teams who will use Ingrid Care daily
A dated plan owned jointly by your team and Ingrid