IMAGE: We Sell Cellular

E-commerce businesses rely on shipping products to other businesses and consumers, which is costly, time-consuming, and risky. Fortunately, by following industry best practices, you can help control risk, save money, and increase customer trust. 

1. Validate Addresses at the Time of Purchase

You can eliminate an entire class of shipping errors by validating delivery addresses before finalizing an order. Use shipping address software to check that the customer’s address matches an address known to carriers. Use this validation technique to reduce the risk of non-delivery or delay. Your customers will appreciate their orders arriving on time and encourage repeat business.

2. Track Orders Accurately

Customers expect transparency regarding the location of their packages in transit. Leverage the tools provided by carriers to give detailed updates throughout the shipping process. Instead of saying the package is “on the way,” share every touch point as the package moves across a carrier network. Also, give the most accurate arrival estimates possible. For most businesses, these estimates will be set by the carrier. If you notice a given carrier consistently misses their delivery deadlines, consider moving to a more reliable partner.

3. Offer Different Shipping Speed Options

Customers expect transparency regarding the location of their packages in transit. Leverage the tools provided by carriers to give detailed updates throughout the shipping process. Instead of saying the package is “on the way,” share every touch point as the package moves across a carrier network. Also, give the most accurate arrival estimates possible. For most businesses, these estimates will be set by the carrier. If you notice a given carrier consistently misses their delivery deadlines, consider moving to a more reliable partner.

Customer shipping preferences vary. Some customers want a package as quickly as possible, whatever the cost, while others want to save money and don’t mind the wait. Offer shipping speeds that match these different customer profiles. A typical shipping mix is to offer next-day delivery, two- or three-day delivery, and economy delivery that arrives in seven to 10 days. Your customers will select the option that best matches their budget and sense of urgency. 

4. Negotiate With Carriers

Carriers often offer discounted bulk rates for consistent, high-volume shippers. Contact sales representatives for multiple carriers and compare their offers. Select the bulk rate that provides the best combination of price and service quality, including reliability, delivery times, and service level agreements.

5. Have Multiple Carriers

While it can be tempting to simplify your business by using a single carrier for every transaction, this approach comes with high risk. If that carrier experiences delays or service interruptions, it’s your reputation with customers that suffers. Hedge your risk by working with multiple carriers on a regular basis, allowing you to smoothly transition to a different carrier if the need arises. Having various carriers also gives you insight into how competitive your shipping prices are. Programmatically collect several bids for shipment to a specific address to ensure you’re offering the best rate to your customer.

6. Organize the Warehouse

There are competing theories on how to best organize a warehouse. A popular approach is to move the most frequently sold items closest to the shipping area, minimizing the travel time of your workers when picking. No matter how you structure your warehouse, use warehouse management software to stay on top of your inventory and measure your efficiency when picking and packing. Modern warehouse software tools can guide your workers to the right item and track the item (with RFID technology) as it moves through the warehouse and out the door to your shipping partner.

7. Package Well

When packaging, you want to minimize expense while maximizing safety. Use the right amount of material to protect your product while maintaining your profit margin. To meet growing environmental concerns, consider recyclable packaging materials that have a minimal environmental impact.

8. Handle Returns

Nearly one in five online orders are returned. Be ready for this with a simple and consumer-friendly return policy. Have an easy online process for generating return authorizations, return shipping labels, and exchanges or refunds. If this sounds daunting, try using a return service that handles these aspects of e-commerce for you.

9. Be prepared for international shipping

When your packages cross international borders, be aware of the unique regulatory and logistics requirements. Custom agencies may require specific documentation such as certificates of origin, packing slips, commercial invoices, etc. Exact requirements will vary by country.  

Countries may assess duties (a cost to enter the country based on the value of the goods). Some nations, such as the United States, have a “de minimis” rule that exempts packages under a certain value from duties. Be aware that trade restrictions like sanctions and embargoes may completely prohibit the sale of certain technologies and goods to designated countries.  

Finally, you may want to partner with local carriers that are experts in conducting last-mile operations in countries with demanding conditions, such as poorly mapped dense urban areas or sparse rural populations.