Managing the flow of product returns is increasingly recognized as a strategically important activity that spans different functions within and across firms, especially in terms of marketing and operations. We focus specifically on managing returns in the shoes industry. In order to explore the phenomenon of returns management, a qualitative research methodology was chosen to generate an in-depth analysis given the currently limited understanding of the present research topic. Our results suggest that returns management is recognized an increased role in inter-functional alignment and that this phenomenon is linked to different elements of the relationship value.