Organize shipments to grow your e-commerce business
What is the best way to boost the growth of your e-commerce business?
Many online SMEs engage in this business channel with a simplistic approach to shipping.
Often, at the beginning, they try to manage the entire logistics process “economically,” but in reality, there is no all-in-one platform for e-commerce that can handle logistics, ERP, CRM, and many other things.
So starting small is fine, but when the time comes for a breakthrough, you need to support the growth of your e-commerce business. In this article, we will look at the fundamental things you need to do.
INDEX
Understanding the e-commerce shipping process
Choosing the right courier facilitates growth
Pay attention to your e-commerce returns policy
Tips to grow your e-commerce business
How to turn your e-commerce shipping logistics into a growth advantage
Successful online entrepreneurs use strategic shipping options to differentiate themselves from the competition and grow their e-commerce profits.
In particular, following the increase in digital purchases due to the coronavirus pandemic, there has been an increase in investment in logistics and the supply chain.
Shipping can be a powerful differentiator for your brand, but it’s not enough.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Understanding the e-commerce shipping process
Choosing the right carrier facilitates growth
Pay attention to your e-commerce returns policy
You need to be prepared for execution, from coordinating multiple teams to marketing to operational implementation.
Establishing your shipping policy is not just about the options you will offer. You also need to make sure that everyone involved in the entire chain understands their part in the process.
Understanding the e-commerce shipping process
The e-commerce shipping process includes everything from receiving and processing an order to picking, packing, printing shipping labels, and even handling returns.
In short, all operations from shipping to delivery to the customer’s doorstep.
All of these well-organized operations may seem simple enough, but in reality, all the links in this moving chain create a level of complexity that depends on the types and sizes of products you sell, the regions you ship to, the delivery options and shipping speeds you choose to offer, and more.
Once your company receives the order, you will first ensure that you have the inventory in stock, then verify the customer’s shipping address and any other relevant information attached to the order.
Finally, the items will be picked, packed, and prepared for shipment. To learn more about the process, read our article Shipping for E-Commerce: The Best Strategy.
Choosing the right courier facilitates growth
If you are an online entrepreneur, you are unlikely to have an internal shipping and delivery network within your company, so you already know that this is a “link in the chain” that you will need to outsource.
Accurate courier services play a vital role in your business as they help you reach your customers quickly, wherever they are.
But you can’t just choose the first one that comes up in your Google search.
There is definitely an art and a science to choosing the best service (read our article How to Choose the Right Courier – International Shipping). We recommend that you:
Ask for references from reliable sources.
Check customer reviews online.
Check and test their customer service.
Find out how much experience they have.
Find out how they track orders.
Check that they cover your areas of interest.
Make a test shipment.
Pay attention to the e-commerce returns policy.
Returns management for e-commerce is a real burden, one of the most complex difficulties when running an online store.
Returns bog down your staff’s operations with many manual processes and obviously cause friction in the e-commerce customer loyalty journey.
Returns management is a process in e-commerce sales that concerns customers who wish to return a product after purchase for a variety of reasons, from manufacturing defects to second thoughts.
The returns management process involves interacting with customers, collecting returned items, and restocking them as returned inventory.
Your goal should therefore be to highlight, refine, and make your return policy clear to your customers, not only to reduce the costs of managing it but also to encourage potential customers to trust you when making a purchase (read our article E-commerce returns management policy: how to implement it).
E-commerce stores often overlook the costs of return shipping, the physical processing of returns, the costs associated with storing returned products, and the potential lost value if the products cannot be resold.
This is why prioritizing a returns management system can have a significant impact on profits and, therefore, on the growth of your e-commerce business.
Tips to grow your e-commerce business
The e-commerce economy continues its upward trajectory and rapid growth.
If you are an online entrepreneur, this is an exciting, promising, and intriguing opportunity for success.
This means focusing on specific growth objectives (read our article Practical tips for growing your e-commerce business) depending on the market share your business covers, but to get you started, here are some important tips:
Don’t rush the launch of your platform or a new product or service; this is one of the biggest mistakes made by unsuccessful e-commerce entrepreneurs.
Focus on the needs of potential customers. While it is true that your products cannot be touched, you can compensate for this by offering reasonable prices, free shipping, and simplifying the payment process with simplified shopping carts.
Test all processes. Before, during, and after launching any e-commerce business, you need to invest in testing and analysis. This means thinking like your customer and finding out what works, what doesn’t, and why.
Use social media. Think of social media as the beating heart of your business, as it offers you a continuous glimpse into the lives of your customers.
Offer customers more delivery options. The more options you can provide your customers, the less likely they are to turn to competitors in search of better delivery options.
SkyNet allows you to create the best delivery experience for your customers. With a specialized shipping partner with more than fifty years of experience, you will save time and energy that you can use to grow your e-commerce business.
Choose to rely on SkyNet. Click on the link below to learn about our best customized offers.
