WooCommerce Returns & Exchanges Flow

I need a seamless RMA experience built directly into my WooCommerce store so returns stop disappearing in an email black hole. From the shopper’s perspective they should be able to log in, select the exact items they want to send back or swap, tell us why, and instantly feel reassured that their request is in motion.

Here’s what I expect to see working end-to-end:

• Customer portal steps: request made, auto-generated authorisation number issued once I approve, printable label or clear shipping instructions sent, and a live status line that moves from requested → approved → received → refunded (or exchanged).
• Exchange path that lets a shopper choose an alternative size or product instead of a straight refund while still following the same tracking flow.
• An admin dashboard inside WooCommerce listing every open RMA, sorted by age so nothing gets forgotten.

I’m counting on your past experience building similar workflows to define any extra states or edge cases I may have missed and, above all, to keep the customer’s anxiety low with timely automated updates.

Please outline how you plan to implement this inside WooCommerce, which hooks or plugins you would leverage (or what you’d custom-code), and a realistic timeline for going live.