Tips to manage your business shipments

Today’s ecommerce has revolutionized the world of sales, starting to sell online can mean an unprecedented escalation for your business. However, one of the keys to the success of your ecommerce is the shipment of orders, as they are an important part of the customer’s shopping experience and puts at stake the reputation of your business.

The management of orders and shipments is one of the pillars of ecommerce and goes far beyond the simple delivery to the end consumer, in fact it encompasses all the processes of both the back-office and front-office and has important objectives such as conversion and saving money.

Importance of efficient order and shipping management in ecommerce

The delivery to the final consumer is the last step in the buying process, but not the least important, in fact an efficient order and shipping management can help you gain the trust of your customers more easily than other strategies, in the same way that any error in the delivery process can make you lose customers and put at stake the reputation of your business.

Nowadays, businesses like Amazon or Mercado Libre have set the bar very high in terms of delivery times, accustoming buyers to receive their products in a couple of days, for free, in good condition and above all offer the ability to track the package at all times.

However, for many businesses it can be complicated to give the same guarantees as these giants, but there is always the possibility of imitating some features to improve the user experience, for example allowing tracking or delivering packages in one or two days. So here are some tips to help you deliver your ecommerce orders in less time, reducing costs and improving the experience for your customers.

1.- Optimizing order management

The most important key to achieve an optimal and efficient delivery to the end user is to optimize order management. Creating strategies that allow you to prepare orders automatically will help you reduce errors or even cancellations.

1.1. Inventory tracking.

A key point in efficient order management is to have optimal inventory tracking. Use stock management tools to maintain detailed inventory control.

Having a clear understanding of how much merchandise you have on hand is critical to making timely deliveries. This way you will avoid delivery delays and purchase cancellations.

The best recommendation is that as soon as a product runs out of stock you should immediately remove it from your e-commerce, this way you will avoid delays or cancellations with end customers.

1.2. Strategies to reduce order errors.

Another key point to ensure that your orders reach the end user quickly is to avoid picking errors. These strategies start from the warehousing process, where you will have to correctly label and categorize all your products to make it faster to locate and avoid confusion with the products.

Another tip from the experts is to use scanning technology to avoid finger errors in capturing codes. They also recommend constant employee training, both in the use of new technologies and in cataloging your inventory. Having employees who are fluent in the warehouse drastically reduces shipping errors.

2.- Effective shipping process

The second part of optimal order management is improving shipping processes. Nowadays, what customers value most about online shopping is immediate delivery and if you add the word “free” it is even better. That is why here are some tips to improve your shipping system to deliver in record time.

2.1. Choosing shipping services

Choosing the best shipping service provider is the key to offer optimal deliveries. For your end customers, it is best to offer immediate delivery free of charge, but offering this service depends largely on the provider you choose.

Take into account that making a shipment involves many more expenses than the cost of the supplier, for example packaging costs, labor to pack the shipment, software costs and other tools as well as insurance costs, so take all these expenses into account so that in the end you do not have to pay more, and you can offer a free shipment or at least with a competitive cost.

2.2. Proper packaging

One of the most effective ways to save you and your end consumer money on shipping is by choosing appropriate packaging.

Remember that parcel companies calculate the cost of delivery by the weight of the package, so look for light packaging alternatives that do not add much to the final weight of the package, although it is very important that the material you choose, in addition to being light, can take care of and protect the product so that it arrives in optimal conditions.

2.3. Package labeling and tracking

Another feature that ecommerce users value the most is the possibility of checking where their product is, so be sure to send a tracking guide once the user completes the purchase and above all make sure that this guide works properly and allows you to follow your package at all times.

2.4 Optimize shipping routes

If you have decided not to hire a parcel service and that your own company will deliver the packages, it is best to start by designing shipping routes that allow you to deliver several orders in a single trip, this way you will be saving time and money.

3 Customer Experience

The last tip refers to the importance of taking care of the customer experience. Receiving an order is the last step in the buying process, this means that even at this point, which is precisely where the cycle closes, it is important that you continue to care about designing experiences for your customers.

3.1 Personalize your shipments

The easiest way to improve the customer experience when delivering orders is to personalize your packages. You can use the same colors and logos of your brand on your product packaging. Also add details such as thank you cards, coupons or small gifts in each package to show how important each customer is to you.

3.2. Managing returns and refunds

Another key point to improve the customer experience is to manage the possibility for customers to make returns and get refunds easily and quickly. So be sure to include or point out the refund and return policies clearly.

3.3 Free shipping

One of the most valued features by customers is the possibility to get free shipping, although for entrepreneurs and small businesses it may seem difficult to offer them, there are some strategies you can use to offer some free deliveries.

If you want to offer free shipping you can start by setting a minimum purchase to get it or select the destinations that can have this benefit. Also, you can encourage the purchase of products that are cheaper to ship as “free shipping”, this way you won’t have to put your expenses at risk.

The delivery of your products to your end customer is a fundamental part of improving your customers’ experience. Delivering late and with errors can make you lose customers and recommendations, however avoiding this problem depends on a correct and timely management of orders and shipments. We hope you find these tips useful to improve your deliveries, now tell us do you have another tip to improve order management?