As your company grows, you must focus more energy on ensuring customer satisfaction. Offering customers the best possible service can prove challenging as figuring out the logistics behind online orders may be complicated. We will offer some practices that you can adopt for successful ecommerce logistics.
eCommerce logistics refers to the process involved in delivering packages to customers, such as manufacturing, labelling, storing and transporting the product to the customer’s desired location. This process has to be seamless, and often, it is automated, and it assists ecommerce companies in delivering products to their online customers. We offer some practices that you can follow to ensure that you improve ecommerce logistics.
- Find an ecommerce logistics partner
Businesses that do not have logistics as their core competency should consider outsourcing. Outsourcing ensures that you avoid many issues relating to warehouses, store space, and housing your inventory. These issues can make it challenging for a retailer and hinder your business’s success. As your business continues to grow, the more effort you will need to put in continuing to do the things that got you your core customers and allow you to win over new ones. Outsourcing will be beneficial as it will give you access to some capabilities that you may not have, such as resources, technology, new geographies, or expertise. From a cost perspective, using 3PLs gives you a better cost per unit than you may be able to achieve for yourself. Using a third-party logistics company may be challenging, but it will save you time and stress.
- Prioritise free and fast delivery
Free delivery is one of the top reasons customers shop online and offering this as an option will encourage them to proceed with their shopping. Suppose you are worried about losing money when you offer free delivery. In that case, some ways will assist you in managing the cost of free delivery, such as only offering it with select items or promotions or having a minimum order size to qualify for it. Free delivery isn’t the only thing customers expect, as customers are less likely to make an online purchase if the delivery time is too long. The average time customers are willing to wait to receive the products they ordered online ranges from two to three days. If you are outsourcing your logistics, you must choose a company that keeps up with high delivery volumes in short periods as this enables you to retain customers.
- Use all available shipping options
Working with LTL shipments and traditional small packages may help; however, a combined approach, using multiple modes of transport, is crucial for the successful management of ecommerce logistics. If you have to handle larger items, it is better to have a dedicated provider who will be able to handle the intricacies relating to unusual shipments and bulky items, like freight that is better suited for white-glove service.
- Gain visibility into shipment location and status
Tracking ecommerce shipments using real-time data is critical for the success of ecommerce logistics. Customers require knowledge about where their products are located, when they are expected to arrive, why they have not already arrived, and what they can do to ensure they reach them faster. Though shippers may not have the power to control adverse events, such as bad weather, having the option to reroute shipments is essential. Businesses can use ecommerce platforms to ensure that the deliveries of orders are made on time as this enables them to build a competitive advantage and improve customer service.
- Use ecommerce-based TMS
Transport management software (TMS) is a great way to manage logistics and freight spend. Concerning ecommerce, TMS can take processes to the next level. Shippers need to re-evaluate how they use TMS and possibly consider using a solution designed to work with ecommerce platforms. Businesses can do this by using ecommerce-based TMS solutions as they assist in keeping costs down and empower decisions. eCommerce-based TMS can be integrated seamlessly with existing shopping carts, which allows for white-label shipping support companies, which is crucial.
- Connect the entire supply chain
When it comes to ecommerce, it’s common for the demand for products to change on a minute-to-minute basis constantly. Therefore, to ensure that you are not negatively impacted each time this occurs, shippers need to understand how they can move their products closer to their end-users to enable them to fulfil orders faster. Connecting your supply chain includes procuring raw products from vendors, allowing the shippers to manage their inventory better, move more products, and satisfy more customers.
Conclusion
Though ecommerce logistics is filled with risks and threats, there are also many opportunities that you can take advantage of. For successful ecommerce fulfilment, businesses can follow the practices offered above as this ensures that they improve and streamline the management of their ecommerce logistics.