Audience: Administrators. This is the setup guide; the day-to-day workflow is in Using Core return.

Overview

Core return (also called KBB return) keeps track of the old board you take out of a device during a board swap. On a board-swap repair the order line records two serials: the new board fitted (KGB, known good board) and the old board removed (KBB, known bad board). With Core return set up, dispatching that line also books the removed board into a dedicated Core return stock, optionally graded, so the core can be sent back to the OEM or vendor for credit.

Core return is the mirror image of DOA: a DOA stock collects parts that arrived faulty, a Core return stock collects the part you took out.

Four gates must all be open for a core return to run on a line:

1. The tenant setting Enable KBB return to stock is on.
2. The product has Allow KBB return ticked.
3. The product is serial-tracked (or is a Samsung part on a GSPN-connected account).
4. A Core return stock exists at the order's location (or the line names one).

Before you begin

• You have the Manage stock settings, Edit product and Create stock permissions (or admin status).
• You know which products are boards or modules whose cores you return. Only products of type Product, Replacement or Module can opt in.
• If your account uses Part Requests (Fixably Depot), note that core returns will flow through its Return tab; see "How the two modes differ" below.

Step 1 – Turn on KBB return

1. Go to System Settings → Stocks.
2. Scroll to the Returns section.
3. Tick Enable KBB return to stock and save.

This unlocks the Core return stock type and the Allow KBB return checkbox on product cards. Until it is on, nothing else in this guide is visible.

Step 2 – Opt in each product

Core return is decided per product, so only the boards you actually return are affected.

1. Go to Stocks → Products and open the product.
2. Confirm the product Type is Product, Replacement or Module. Other types do not show the checkbox.
3. Tick Serial number tracking if it is not already on. Core return only runs for serial-tracked parts, because the returned core is identified by its serial. The one exception is a Samsung part on an account with the GSPN integration, where the serial fields exist without stock serialization.
4. Tick Allow KBB return and save.

Products can also be updated in bulk with the product import if you have many boards.

Step 3 – Create grades (optional)

If you want to record the condition of each returned core, create grades under System Settings → Grades (permission Manage grades). Once any grade is enabled, every core return must be given a grade before dispatch, so either set up the grades you need or leave grades empty. Grades are shared with part harvesting.

Step 4 – Create a Core return stock

A Core return stock is a quarantine stock. It is never offered when bringing parts to an order or receiving purchase orders, and its contents are never auto-assigned to a repair, so a returned bad board cannot accidentally be used again.

1. Go to Stocks → Stock management and select New Stock.
2. Enter a Name, for example Depot – Core return.
3. Select the Location. Cores are only returned to a Core return stock at the order's location, so create one at every location that dispatches board swaps.
4. Set Stock type to Core return. The DOA transfer controls disappear, because a Core return stock never forwards its own contents.
5. Do not tick Default stock.
6. Select Save.

Recommendation: exactly one Core return stock per location. With one, every eligible line returns there automatically. With two or more, each line has to name its destination on the order line, or dispatch is blocked.

Step 5 – Permissions for the return team (Part Requests only)

On accounts with Part Requests enabled, a core return becomes a return request that someone confirms. Give the parts team role Handle return part requests for order lines so they can assign and retrieve requests on the Part Requests → Return tab. Technicians do not need anything extra; dispatch creates the request for them.

How the two modes differ

Verify it worked

1. Open a product with Allow KBB return ticked and add it to a test order at the location.
2. On the order line, enter a new serial (KGB) and an old serial (KBB).
3. Open the line's Edit panel. You should see KBB return stock set to Use location default (Core return stock) and, if grades exist, a KBB grade field.
4. Dispatch the line (close the order or run your closing macro). Then check Stocks → Stock logs for a KBB return receive into the Core return stock, or, with Part Requests on, the new request on the Return tab.

Troubleshooting

• "Core return" is not in the stock type list – Enable KBB return to stock is off (Step 1).
• "Allow KBB return" is missing from the product card – the tenant setting is off, or the product type is not Product, Replacement or Module.
• "Set a KBB return stock for this line before dispatch (no Core return stock is configured for this location)." – the order's location has no Core return stock, or has more than one and the line has not chosen. Create one (Step 4) or set KBB return stock on the line.
• "A grade must be selected for the KBB return before dispatch." – grades are enabled but the line has no KBB grade. Set it on the line's Edit panel, or disable all grades if you do not want to grade cores.
• Dispatch worked but nothing was returned to stock – check the four gates: the tenant setting, the product's Allow KBB return, serial tracking on the product, and a KBB serial on the line. With Part Requests on, the board arrives in stock only once the return request is marked Retrieved.

Related articles

• Using Core return
• Setting up your stocks: which stocks does your business need?
• Part Requests Detailed Overview
• Handling Part Return Requests
• V26.33 Release Notes (core returns joined the part-return request workflow)