Whether you’re a startup or a long-established business, you’ll need to get the logistics right. If your goods are being delivered in bad condition, or are not getting delivered at all, you won’t have many happy customers.
You might be delivering your goods to customers on time and in good condition, but what if there’s a problem with the goods themselves? If they don’t meet the customer’s expectations in terms of quality, value for money, and so on, their business will go elsewhere, in that case, they might need the best logistical consulting services.
To give yourself and your business the best chance of success, here are five things you must know about logistics:
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Get the packaging right
Packaging is vital for protecting goods during transit. It also helps to reinforce your brand message; for example, if you want people to think of your business as being environmentally friendly, use packaging that can be easily recycled.
Invest in tracking devices
A tracking device will tell you where your goods are at any given time. This means that if there’s a problem with delivery – for example, if they’ve been stolen or damaged en route – it will be easier to identify the cause and find a solution.
Plan for your big day
As an active member of the eCommerce community, you know that the holiday season is a hectic time for any retailer. To avoid a massive headache, you need to make sure that you’re prepared for those big sales days like Cyber Monday and Black Friday.
Make sure you have enough stuff in stock well before these days come around — and make sure that your employees are prepared as well. You don’t want to see a giant spike in sales only to find out that no one is around to ship out orders.
Embrace Technology
Technology is one of the most powerful tools you can use to improve your company’s logistics. By using an automated inventory management system, you can reduce errors and improve efficiency. You’ll also save yourself a lot of time and money on your shipping needs by using technology to streamline the process.
Make Sure Your Packaging Is Perfect
You don’t want to put any more effort into your shipping than you have to, which is why it’s important to get your packaging right the first time. Take some time to assess your products and think about how they might be damaged during transit. Then, make sure you use the right packaging to protect them against these hazards. If your products are fragile or expensive, buy insurance for them as part of your shipping costs to protect yourself from potential damage claims.
Track Your Packages
It’s easier than ever to track packages these days thanks to the Internet, but this is still an essential step in making sure that your deliveries reach their intended destinations in a timely fashion. By tracking shipments, you can alert customers when there are delays and make sure that everything arrives safely at its destination.
Use a Shipping Calculator
Use a shipping calculator to purchase your shipping supplies. We recommend using Shippo’s free shipping calculator, which accurately calculates the weight, dimensions, and package type for any item. You can use this on the checkout page of your e-commerce store or anywhere else you need to calculate the cost to ship something. It takes the guesswork out of calculating these values and saves you money by not overpaying for shipping or buying too much packaging material.
Use a Shipping Software
Use shipping software to generate labels in bulk by uploading a CSV file of orders instead of printing one label at a time on PayPal or eBay. This is especially useful when you have many orders to ship at once, like after an online sale or flash sale event.
Compare Shipping Rates Across Carriers
Compare rates across carriers to ensure you get the best rate every time you ship an order. Use Shippo’s Ship Rate Calculator to compare rates across USPS, FedEx, and UPS (see below). You will see that each carrier has different prices depending on speed, weight, and distance. This enables you to pick the cheapest carrier based on your needs.
