In survey after survey, consumers say that their experience with shipping is a key factor in their shopping satisfaction. A majority want detailed information at every point of the shipping process. They are more likely to buy a product when shipping costs are low and shipping speed is fast. Nearly half of all online shoppers say that they have abandoned shopping carts when shipping speeds were too slow. To meet the demands of consumers who have more shopping choices than ever, you need a shipping process that is fast and efficient. Here are a few areas to focus on if you are going to deliver the results people want:
Optimize your warehouse organization.
The physical organization of goods and supplies in your warehouse makes a huge difference in your shipping performance. If team members need to spend time hunting for items or going from one side of the building to the other for every order, this accumulates into delays across the board. This is where a warehouse management system (WMS) can be very beneficial in streamlining warehouse operations.
Work with multiple shipping services.
Customers are happier when they can choose between several shipping options at different speeds and price points. By forming relationships with a number of providers, you can offer the sort of experiences that are more likely to make satisfied customers – meaning return customers.
Simplify your shipping processes.
If you are using several different systems and databases for shipping, this can cause shipping delays. Everything from the time involved in entering items more than once to the increase in the odds of data entry errors can slow your process down and make mistakes more likely. Softeon provides innovative supply chain planning and execution products that make every phase of your shipping fulfillment far more efficient. Their intuitive systems are easy for every team member to use, meaning that everyone gets their part of the job done faster. Softeon allows you to unify all supply chain needs in a single system, so every bit of information you need is right there where you need it. There is no third-party software needed, even at the shipping phase, so one system has its “eye” on the order from beginning to end.
Utilize every touchpoint as a fulfillment center.
If you have the right system in place with advanced orchestration, you can implement drop shipping at retail locations or cross-docking with your trucks to create an optimal and efficient order fulfillment every time. A solution such as DOM can link every node of your network together and take the guess work out of figuring out how to best fulfill an order. Optimal sourcing could be based on geography (how close the inventory is to the recipient), shipping times, inventory levels, incoming weather plus many more factors.
If you are looking for ways to make your shipping processes better, we can help. Get in touch today to discuss our solutions and how they can improve your shipping performance.
Sources:
https://www.odoo.com/blog/business-hacks-1/post/8-ways-to-improve-your-delivery-performance-212
https://www.process.st/shipping-processes/
https://econsultancy.com/free-shipping-and-delivery-timing-are-key-for-customer-satisfaction/
