As an ecommerce business owner, you know that offering quick fulfillment and delivery is a must to keep customers happy. After all, the speed of shipping and delivery is connected to a customer’s loyalty to your brand.
Several steps take place between the checkout and the package arriving at the customer’s door, however. If you want to give customers a positive experience every time, the shipping process needs to be efficient and streamlined.
Find out how to streamline your shipping process for your business and how you can create a positive, personalized experience for your customer.
Design the Shipping Process with Intention
The shipping process impacts the fulfillment speed, which is the time between the order and when it leaves the warehouse. The faster the fulfillment, the faster you can get the product on the customer’s doorstep. Even the fastest shipping methods in the world can’t make up for a poor fulfillment process.
If you can provide this efficiency to your customer, they’ll have confidence to purchase from you in the future. This can have a positive impact on your customer retention rate and encourage brand loyalty.
Steps in the Shipping Process
Order Placement from the Customer
When a customer places an order, you must check to see that the inventory is in stock and begin order processing. This typically means working closely with the supplier to purchase and receive inventory in advance, or send inventory to a fulfillment center if you partner with a third-party logistics company.
Order Processing
The order processing step typically includes:
- Verifying data, such as the shipping address and payment. This may be done manually or automatically.
- Updating the customer in real-time about the order status
Order Shipment
Once the information is verified and the order is processed successfully, it can be shipped. Naturally, you want to use the most cost-effective and efficient method based on the customer’s preference, if offered, and the delivery address.
Order fulfillment can be done using several options, including self-fulfillment and dropshipping. Many ecommerce businesses use drop shipping or outsourcing to a third-party logistics partner, which takes on a lot of the burden. Third-party logistics companies will handle much of the work, including picking and packing, warehousing, and shipping orders. Ecomhalo’s platform uses the latest technology to take care of all of this while taking your business to the next level.
Self-fulfillment and dropshipping have advantages and disadvantages, such as hidden costs, whereas a third-party logistics provider saves you time and money. These companies are set up to streamline the process and handle each aspect of fulfillment and shipping at scale, unlike many businesses.
Goals of an Efficient Shipping Process
The goal of setting up a streamlined shipping process is delivering a product to a customer as quickly as possible. Since most businesses offer one- or two-day shipping, often for free, customers expect nothing less.
Another challenge is ensuring the correct product arrives and it’s free from damage. If you make a mistake and ship the wrong product, it adds costs and time to the process and leaves a negative impression. And if the product is damaged, that can prevent future sales.
Providing a safe, fast delivery experience is one of the most important aspects of gaining a repeat customer from the first sale.
Designing a Shipment Process
Choose a Tech Stack
Several technology options are available to improve shipping processes, including Shipstation, Aftership, and Shippo. Each of these services offer their own features and functionality, however, so look into the pros and cons of each.
Establish a Verification Process
When you choose your software, ensure that you can use it to verify that the product you’re about to ship is what the customer ordered. Many ecommerce management software solutions have a built-in verification system, but it can also be done manually using the product name, category, part number, or SKU.
It’s also vital to check the customer’s delivery address to make sure the product arrives. Platforms like Shopify offer plugins for address verification, but shipping platforms also have verification tools for customer information.
Select Shipping Supplies
This is highly dependent on what you’re shipping. If you have products that ship in the original packaging, such as printers, televisions, or computers, all you need is a shipping label. If you’re putting multiple products into a single package, you may need different box sizes and packing materials, such as bubble wrap.
If you’re shipping hazardous or restricted products, such as perfume, you may need special labeling to identify it.
If possible, include a thank you card or small gift that show your appreciation to your customer. Small gestures like this make a huge difference in customer loyalty – assuming everything else goes smoothly. A free gift won’t make up for a negative shipping experience, but it’s the “cherry on top” of a good experience.
Perfect Your Shipping Process
A lot of planning goes into a quick fulfillment and delivery process from start to finish. The best way to streamline your shipping process and leave a positive impression on the customer involves implementing the right tech stack, using the right shipping and fulfillment partners, and keeping your necessary shipping materials on hand.
Author Bio:
Sidney Karanja is the founder of Savo Store, a logistics and procurement services provider that works with corporations, start-ups, and nonprofits, to help them acquire and transport goods to their offices in Africa.
