6 Tips To Successful Product Shipping

Shipping is often viewed as a tedious necessity in the world of online sales. What it can actually be instead, however, is an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with your brand. Remember that in the world of online sales, the box or package your product comes in and how it arrives are sometimes the first impressions your consumers get of your actual product. As the old saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Here are 6 ways to make receiving your product a positive experience for your consumers.

1. RESEARCH PACKAGING OPTIONS

There is probably nothing worse than receiving a broken or damaged item. You want to choose packaging that will give you the best chance of getting your product to your customer intact. Some key things to consider is whether or not the product needs extra packaging to keep it safe and secure, what kind of additional padding or packaging will it need and what size of shipping boxes or packaging will you need to accommodate the product and all packaging.

2. RESEARCH SHIPPING COURIERS

Who delivers your product and how reliable they are will also go a long way towards helping or hindering your business. Many couriers will offer flat rate shipping boxes that may help you save on both shipping costs and product packaging. When researching couriers, however, don’t just research prices but also research how dependable they are. Does their overnight shipping really arrive the next day? Also do some research into what kinds of additional services they offer such as tracking, signature confirmation or insurance.

3. ESTIMATE RATES

Once you have determined what kind of packaging your product will need and some potential couriers, you will want to start estimating and comparing shipping rates. You will need to measure and weigh your packages in their shipping materials and enter the information accordingly to get accurate rates. Again, you don’t always want to simply go with whoever is cheapest. You need a balance between economical and reliable.

4. INFORM YOUR CUSTOMERS

Sometimes, people purchase online items with a specific deadline they need to meet, such as going out of town or purchasing a gift for a birthday or anniversary. This makes it highly important to always be up front about how long it will take to ship them their product. Always be generous with your estimates. If you think it will take 2-3 days, give yourself a window of 3-5 days. It’s always better to have a package arrive earlier than expected than later. When it does ship, however, let them know so they can track the package and plan accordingly.

5. OFFER OPTIONS

Whether it is expedited or overnight options, additional insurance or even gift wrapping, people like to have options. You can also take a tip from some of the big chains and offer suggestions to pair with their order. For instance, if they order a bottle of wine, you can also offer a wine opener or wine glasses. Offering options not only helps your consumer, it also helps you make a bigger sale.

6. GIVE IT A PERSONAL TOUCH

Printed boxes let your consumers know the second they see the box that your product has arrived. Just seeing the box can sometimes create a rush of anticipation. Even if you don’t use printed boxes, however, you should still do everything you can to make the unwrapping experience a good one. Just think of the thrill of unwrapping packages on Christmas morning and try to create that experience for your consumers as much as possible.

Is your Shipping Department Failing

There are a whole lot of changes that are taking place.  Companies that I never thought would have trouble have filed for bankruptcy and others have struggled in the ever-changing market.  One thing is rather certain and that is that online sales are increasing.  That means if you own a company that sells online then you are likely in for a big change.  This has been due to the  Pandemic and how most of the economy has been shifting. Many companies are literally walling off parts of their stores in order to get more room for inventory and shipping.  This has happened to my company and it has taught us many things as of late.  Some ways we learned to stay relevant during this time have been to change the way we do business.  I want to go over some ways to help your shipping department and maybe even to keep your store afloat during these wild and crazy times.

I think some of the best things we have learned have been to organize everything.  We are not walking around with our computers and spreadsheets in order to know everything that is happening in this department.  We are tracking how many people are working on projects and then how long it takes per project.  We are then tracking what items they are using.  How many boxes are being used per project and what type of tape is being used.  We even started counting the number of strips of tape and rolls we are using per box and project.  The labels didn’t get left out and we are definitely counting the filling for each box.  This has left us with a vast amount of knowledge.

 

With all of this information, we are now aware of all the things we can do to increase efficiency and purchase our shipping supplies correctly. This knowledge let us actually cut down on some practices that left us wasting time and money. Every single dollar counts in this line of work and we are tracking it all. When it came to purchasing all of our shipping supplies we found out that we were looking in the wrong place all along.  Our original manager was purchasing these items locally and for a very high markup. We first thought to purchase our packaging items online but then found out that Amazon was also really expensive.  We went back and forth talking to many companies and found out that the best place to go was actually to the source.  We ended up talking with a box and tape manufacturer and that was the best route.  We knew all the amounts we needed for each project and we were able to purchase in bulk on all of those items at a discount.  This was the best thing we could have done and we have cut out budget almost in half with all of our work.

 

So if you are struggling with the new environment and eCommerce world that we are living in I hope these tips helped. I know that there is a lot of uncertainty in this world and all I can say is stick to your guns and follow every dollar spent. Make sure you are using your money wisely.