One of the difficult feats online retailers faced as a result of 2020 growth is achieving efficient shipping. Between shipping carriers increasing their costs – such as higher surcharges during the peak season months – and the tripling of incoming orders, getting packages to customers on-time posed as a large problem for many businesses. This led to late deliveries and incorrect orders.
To be successful in 2021, you must ensure your business's shipping processes can handle whatever the new year brings for your business. In order to discover how you can improve your eCommerce shipping, you first need to evaluate your current strategies.
Evaluate Your Methods
Customer Complaints
A great place to start when looking at how your business is performing is by analyzing your customers. Have you been receiving more customer complaints? What kind of experiences do your customers have while shopping from your store? Feedback from your customers is a great way to understand what is working in your business processes and what needs improvement.
Late Deliveries
It’s likely that, in the past year, your business has experienced delayed deliveries. Whether it was an internal problem or an issue created by a national shipping carrier, late orders can have a huge impact on your business. During the pandemic, many eCommerce retailers fought for the attention of postal service providers. Nationwide consumers were spending most of their money online and still expecting to receive orders within 1 - 2 days. Unfortunately, many of these orders didn’t arrive for weeks. As your business creates a plan to thrive in 2021, be sure to consider the time it takes to get a product from your facility to your customer’s door. The more accurately you can predict this and communicate it with consumers, the happier your customers will be.
Incorrect Orders
Another area to evaluate when making a plan to improve your shipping is the accuracy of your orders. Like many eCommerce sellers, you probably saw a drastic increase in customer purchases and needed to find a quick solution to fulfilling all of those requests. In the midst of your hurricane of orders, you likely sent out the wrong package to several customers. It only takes one error to lose a shopper forever. 38% of customers will stop shopping with a retailer following one negative delivery experience. It’s important that you make resolutions to eliminate shipping mistakes in order to continue growing in 2021.
Once you’ve understood what is working and what needs improvement in your business, it’s time to take action. Make sure you have everything you need to meet your 2021 goals – including the manpower to get shipping done accurately.
Related Article: Benefits of Outsourced Reverse Logistics
Know When It’s Time to Use a 3PL
Outgrowing In-House Methods
Are you running out of space for your new products? Is your shipping timeline continuously extending? As your business grows, it may be a great idea for you to start looking at adding a few extra hands to your team. Partnering with a professional and reliable third-party logistics company (3PL) can help you eliminate your shipping struggles and ensure all of your customers are happy with every shopping experience.
Benefits of the Right 3PL
Not all 3PLs are made equal. Although many promise a seamless experience for you and your customers, few fulfill that promise. Unfortunately, working with the wrong shipping partner can have you experiencing many of the same mistakes you’d tried to avoid from in-house methods. Late deliveries, incorrect orders, inefficient processes, limited space and no client support are all signs of an unreliable 3PL. Instead, partner with a company like Rakuten Super Logistics that can help your business grow and save you money on your shipping.
With the eCommerce logistics experts at Rakuten Super Logistics, you will be able to receive:
- 100% order accuracy
- 1-2 day ground shipping
- Round-the-clock customer service support
- Access to multiple fulfillment centers across the country
- Discount shipping rates with carriers
Streamlining your shipping is crucial in order to continue thriving in 2021. Eliminate the shipping errors that held you back in 2020, and give your customers an impeccable shopping experience.
Did your business thrive in 2020? Share your success story for a chance to win $2,021!
Ready to start outsourcing in 2021? Contact us today and see how Rakuten Super Logistics can transform your business.
Rakuten Super Logistics (RSL) is the leader in eCommerce order fulfillment services and freight brokerage. RSL offers national fulfillment services and a network of 15 US fulfillment centers located in Anaheim (CA), Atlanta (GA), Austin (TX), Chicago (IL), Denver (CO), Houston (TX), Las Vegas (NV), Olean (NY), Reno (NV), Salt Lake City (UT), and Scranton (PA). Their state-of-the-art technology allows for integration with popular shopping cart platforms and online marketplaces including Amazon, Big Commerce, Channel Advisor, eBay, Magento, ShipStation, Shopify, Volusion, Walmart Marketplace, and WooCommerce.
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One of the difficult feats online retailers faced as a result of 2020 growth is achieving efficient shipping. Between shipping carriers increasing their costs – such as higher surcharges during the peak season months – and the tripling of incoming orders, getting packages to customers on-time posed as a large problem for many businesses. This led to late deliveries and incorrect orders.
To be successful in 2021, you must ensure your business's shipping processes can handle whatever the new year brings for your business. In order to discover how you can improve your eCommerce shipping, you first need to evaluate your current strategies.
Evaluate Your Methods
Customer Complaints
A great place to start when looking at how your business is performing is by analyzing your customers. Have you been receiving more customer complaints? What kind of experiences do your customers have while shopping from your store? Feedback from your customers is a great way to understand what is working in your business processes and what needs improvement.
Late Deliveries
It’s likely that, in the past year, your business has experienced delayed deliveries. Whether it was an internal problem or an issue created by a national shipping carrier, late orders can have a huge impact on your business. During the pandemic, many eCommerce retailers fought for the attention of postal service providers. Nationwide consumers were spending most of their money online and still expecting to receive orders within 1 - 2 days. Unfortunately, many of these orders didn’t arrive for weeks. As your business creates a plan to thrive in 2021, be sure to consider the time it takes to get a product from your facility to your customer’s door. The more accurately you can predict this and communicate it with consumers, the happier your customers will be.
Incorrect Orders
Another area to evaluate when making a plan to improve your shipping is the accuracy of your orders. Like many eCommerce sellers, you probably saw a drastic increase in customer purchases and needed to find a quick solution to fulfilling all of those requests. In the midst of your hurricane of orders, you likely sent out the wrong package to several customers. It only takes one error to lose a shopper forever. 38% of customers will stop shopping with a retailer following one negative delivery experience. It’s important that you make resolutions to eliminate shipping mistakes in order to continue growing in 2021.
Once you’ve understood what is working and what needs improvement in your business, it’s time to take action. Make sure you have everything you need to meet your 2021 goals – including the manpower to get shipping done accurately.
Related Article: Benefits of Outsourced Reverse Logistics
Know When It’s Time to Use a 3PL
Outgrowing In-House Methods
Are you running out of space for your new products? Is your shipping timeline continuously extending? As your business grows, it may be a great idea for you to start looking at adding a few extra hands to your team. Partnering with a professional and reliable third-party logistics company (3PL) can help you eliminate your shipping struggles and ensure all of your customers are happy with every shopping experience.
Benefits of the Right 3PL
Not all 3PLs are made equal. Although many promise a seamless experience for you and your customers, few fulfill that promise. Unfortunately, working with the wrong shipping partner can have you experiencing many of the same mistakes you’d tried to avoid from in-house methods. Late deliveries, incorrect orders, inefficient processes, limited space and no client support are all signs of an unreliable 3PL. Instead, partner with a company like Rakuten Super Logistics that can help your business grow and save you money on your shipping.
With the eCommerce logistics experts at Rakuten Super Logistics, you will be able to receive:
- 100% order accuracy
- 1-2 day ground shipping
- Round-the-clock customer service support
- Access to multiple fulfillment centers across the country
- Discount shipping rates with carriers
Streamlining your shipping is crucial in order to continue thriving in 2021. Eliminate the shipping errors that held you back in 2020, and give your customers an impeccable shopping experience.
Did your business thrive in 2020? Share your success story for a chance to win $2,021!
Ready to start outsourcing in 2021? Contact us today and see how Rakuten Super Logistics can transform your business.
Rakuten Super Logistics (RSL) is the leader in eCommerce order fulfillment services and freight brokerage. RSL offers national fulfillment services and a network of 15 US fulfillment centers located in Anaheim (CA), Atlanta (GA), Austin (TX), Chicago (IL), Denver (CO), Houston (TX), Las Vegas (NV), Olean (NY), Reno (NV), Salt Lake City (UT), and Scranton (PA). Their state-of-the-art technology allows for integration with popular shopping cart platforms and online marketplaces including Amazon, Big Commerce, Channel Advisor, eBay, Magento, ShipStation, Shopify, Volusion, Walmart Marketplace, and WooCommerce.