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A crucial part of an eCommerce business’ success is tied to their shipping process. In the modern eCommerce climate customer expectations have never been higher where a company’s shipping is concerned and having an effective shipping process can be a make-or-break proposition as a result.
That’s why this week on the ClickShip blog we are taking a close look at the eCommerce shipping process, what makes it so important, and what steps you can take to ensure that your business’ is as optimized as possible.
Why the Shipping Process is Crucial to Your eCommerce Business
While in many ways it has never been easier to set up an online business, with that low barrier of entry comes the inevitable desire to assume all your business processes are similarly easy to set up. Despite this, not being scrutinous with your backend processes, namely your shipping process, can have major implications.
Providing a strong shipping experience has become such a vital part of the eCommerce landscape that in a recent report from Deloitte, 63% of businesses surveyed were offering free home delivery to their customers.
So, while it’s clear that shipping is important, what happens if your shipping process is lacking? According to a report from Anyline, 76% of consumers would reconsider ordering from a business again following an unpleasant shipping experience.
Source: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/consumer-markets/consumer-insights-survey.html
How to Optimize Your Shipping Process?
No matter the size of your business, every business can benefit from optimizing their own shipping processes. How you fulfil your customers’ orders will go a long way in impacting their overall customer experience. Below are a few key steps you can take in optimizing your business’ shipping process:
Optimize Your Packaging Process
Because all shipping rates are based on a package’s weight and dimensions, optimizing your product packaging is an essential step in optimizing your overall shipping process.
Understanding how to properly pack a box for shipping is key, however tools such as ClickShip’s Smart Packaging solution and our OneSKU Multi-Box functionality can further optimize your packaging to ensure that your orders are fulfilled faster, and for less.
Use Multiple Carriers
Different customers will have different needs when it comes to shipping requirements. Because of this, it is ideal to have a diverse selection of shipping carriers for your customers to chose from, to allow them the freedom to select the cost and service level that best fit their unique needs.
Review Your Return Polices & Processes
It is important to recognize that reverse logistics factor largely into your overall shipping process. Despite even the best efforts, returns can and will be a part of your business and having a shipping strategy that accounts for this will not only save you money in the short term but can also have long-term benefits such as improved customer retention.
Improve the Fulfillment Process
As your business grows, it will naturally become more challenging to handle larger volumes of orders. Depending on your business’ size and budget constraints, how you choose to remedy this can take many forms. For many businesses, opting to utilize a 3rd party fulfillment service, or 3PL, can offer the benefits of dedicated warehouse space and trained staff without the long-term commitment or overhead of buying or leasing similar space and hiring your own dedicated fulfillment staff.
Strengthen Your Shipping Process with ClickShip
Optimizing your shipping process may be a crucial part of setting your eCommerce business up for success, but without the right tools it can be an intimidating task. Luckily, ClickShip can help you from feeling overwhelmed.
Our easy-to-use shipping management platform offers your customers discounted rates on pallet and parcel shipping directly at checkout and integrates seamlessly with the leading eCommerce platforms and online marketplaces to help you keep track of your products across multiple channels!
Contact one of our shipping experts today, register for a free account, and see how ClickShip can help your eCommerce shipping shine!
Written by Brandon Draga
Brandon Draga is a full-time content writer at Freightcom, the leading shipping solution for businesses in Canada. When Brandon is not writing content to help businesses with their shipping needs, he can be found at local skate parks or writing fantasy novels.
