Online businesses and any other kind of enterprise that needs to deliver products to their clients can lose a lot of deals and finance due to delays in goods transportation. As the popular saying goes, time is money. Ensuring that your products get delivered to your clients within the agreed schedule is important to satisfy and retain them.
While you may have no control over your products once they’re handed over to your logistics partner, you can do a lot to quicken the processes before that. Of course, it will be such a huge benefit for you to find highly efficient and fast freight forwarders like ZGGShip to work with. Read on to know about what you can do to achieve an enhanced shipping process below.
The benefit of efficient shipping processes
The various advantages that you can make use of with an efficient shipping process are actually pretty intuitive. For eCommerce and online business owners, some benefits may include decreased rate of cart abandonment, enhanced customer satisfaction, customer retention, and other related advantages.
On the other hand, for other types of businesses that also require goods transportation, being able to deliver the products on time means fewer complications and non-violation of terms and conditions. Plus, it also helps boost one’s reputation when it comes to delivery duration and time efficiency.
9 keys to improving your business’s shipping process
Enhancing your shipping process isn’t a change that can happen instantaneously. There are many factors that you may have to consider to ensure that you can truly send your products in a timely manner. The list below includes some key tips for improving your business’s shipping process.
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Make a list of the processes you need to follow
An ordered checklist of the things that you have to accomplish throughout the whole process of shipping your items allows you to see many things that you may be neglecting. To begin with, you can be aware of the proper sequence of the process. Also, you will know what things are still to be done. You can actually include some troubleshooting steps in case of errors.
In fact, making a list of the steps is a widely-practiced technique in schools, offices, and almost every corner of society. That’s why this should be pretty easy for you to do. Well, you are essentially making a plan on how you want your entire goods transportation process to be regulated.
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Optimize your picking process
One of the most important steps in shipping your goods is pickup. That’s why ensuring that you can easily find and retrieve each item that needs to be delivered is essential. What really gives you an advantage here (or not) is how you sort your inventory. Complicated, unsorted, and non-optimal sortation of products can drastically decrease your workers’ speed. What you can do is use the various software available that can help optimize your inventory management.
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Establish a good connection with your warehouse
Remember that communication is one of the most vital keys that can help you in any venture that you want to take. Like in transporting your products, establishing good and timely communication with your warehouse will help ensure the fast processing of orders.
It’d be optimal if you and your personnel can communicate in real-time and synchronously to avoid miscommunication. Note that it’s better to talk with them physically instead of using asynchronous platforms like e-mail and other software. The information gets processed almost instantaneously and conveyed much more clearly.
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Invest in the right technology useful in tracking your inventory
The tricky part in selling products is that you need to track your numbers. By that, we mean keeping track of how many products get processed, knowing your stock, and other similar stuff. This is actually intricately related to having a well-sorted inventory. When you can locate your items easily in your inventory, you can also have an easier time tracking your stock.
Investing in barcode scanners and similar technology decreases human error and maximizes productivity within a specific amount of time. As they can quickly process the products, it gives your workers less stress, increases their speed, and in turn, will help you save money. You essentially get minimal errors and more output using a smarter effort.
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Enhance the packaging process
As someone who sells products, you should be aware of the importance of packaging. Its main purpose is to secure your product, while it is also a good way to advertise your brand. When product orders are received, you would have to securely package your goods to make sure that they can arrive safely to your clients.
Some considerations that you should take involve adding protective materials like bubble wraps and picking the right packaging. These aside, what you truly have to pay attention to is making the packaging process faster and more secure to ensure customer satisfaction and avoid returns. Having the right tools and machines would do the trick.
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Ensure correct labeling of items
Putting the wrong set of information on an item means that it will be delivered to a different location. You know what comes next: the return of the product, delays in delivery, and possible money loss. Incorrect labeling of items can result in expensive consequences and can damage your business’s reputation.
As much as possible, try to automate how you gather and print shipping information. You can also take advantage of eCommerce websites’ technologies in terms of shipping. You may also use the available software for this, such as spreadsheets and more.
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Prioritize what needs to be prioritized
This principle is pretty intuitive. You just need to learn how to properly sequence your orders. Your best bet for this is to automate the process so that human error can be minimized and much time and effort can be saved. You can try to apply the first in first out (FIFO) principle in handling orders and shipping your items.
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Work with the right courier
All that work above would be pretty meaningless if you don’t work with a reliable courier. When looking for delivery partners to work with, you should check about their reputations, ask about referrals, know their credentials, consider their years of experience, and learn about their terms and conditions. Of course, check if they can provide you with the services that you need at the reasonable prices you want.
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Keep your customers updated
Last but not the least, keep your customers updated at all times concerning their orders. Make use of tracking software to monitor your packages and get news of errors firsthand. Notify your customers of any possible delays for whatever reasons that occurred. This makes your client assured of when their orders will arrive. Note that communication can work wonders when used correctly.
Conclusion
Shipping is essential for those businesses that focus on manufacturing and selling products. While the transportation of goods can be done at any time, honoring agreements on delivery schedules are important to retain your clients and ensure customer satisfaction. That said, optimizing your business’s shipping process is the way to go.
Returns will inevitably be a part of your shipping process. To learn more about how product returns affect your logistics, please see the resource below.
Infographic provided by KGR Logistics – managed transportation solutions for your business