Carl co-founded It Goes Forward in 2023, building on research he began at Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2021. He is co-author of the peer-reviewed paper validating the peer-to-peer return forwarding methodology, published in Omega (Elsevier) in 2024 with collaborators at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Erasmus University Rotterdam.
At IGF, Carl leads commercial strategy, including pricing, sales, and enterprise relationships. He has spoken about peer-to-peer returns at industry events and on BNR Nieuwsradio's Zakendoen programme.
Carl is a finalist of the 2026 eBay Circular Fashion Fund.
Areas of expertise
- Returns economics and pricing
- EU sustainability regulation
- Fashion e-commerce strategy
- Peer-to-peer commerce models
- Circular economy
Publications
Peer-to-peer return forwarding in e-commerce
Eruguz, A. S., van Heijst, C., van den Heuvel, W., et al. (2024). Omega, 128, 103127.
DOI: 10.1016/j.omega.2024.103127
Articles
By Carl
Strategy12 Min LesezeitHow Forwarding solves the out-of-stock problem for high-volume fashion retailers
Popular SKUs sell out fast and take 7 to 14 days to restock through the conventional warehouse cycle. Peer-to-peer return forwarding can close this gap to 2 to 4 days by routing returns directly to waitlisted customers, recovering revenue that the conventional restocking cycle defers or loses.
Zuletzt aktualisiert:
Financial13 Min LesezeitNot all returns are equal: which ones make money
Most retailers treat returns as a single category and optimise the aggregate. Returns actually segment into four groups by profitability: profitable, neutral, deeply unprofitable, and fraudulent. The operational response should differ by segment.
Zuletzt aktualisiert:
Strategy10 Min LesezeitHow to make your return policy a competitive advantage
Return policies have shifted from a race to the most generous toward thoughtful designs that reduce abuse without alienating good customers. Done well, return policy becomes a brand signal and competitive moat, not just a cost line.
Zuletzt aktualisiert:
Financial12 Min LesezeitHow to calculate the true cost of a return (the hidden line items)
Most retailers undercount what a return actually costs. Once depreciation, opportunity cost, write-off, and customer-service overhead are properly attributed, returns are typically 2 to 3 times more expensive than spreadsheet defaults suggest.
Zuletzt aktualisiert:
Compliance13 Min LesezeitExtended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textile retailers: what to expect and how to prepare
What EPR means for fashion retailers: how the schemes work, which countries are implementing them, the costs to expect, and how to prepare your operations and reporting through 2026.
Zuletzt aktualisiert:
Compliance15 Min LesezeitEU sustainability regulations for fashion retailers: a comprehensive guide
CSRD, PPWR, ECD, ESPR, EPR: five EU regulations transforming fashion retail in 2026. What each requires, the deadlines, and how retailers can prepare across the full compliance map.
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