Ecommerce shipping is a necessary evil if you sell physical products. It’s also a major challenge for new and growing online stores. The good news is there are plenty of ecommerce shipping tips and tricks that can help you cut costs and deliver products faster.
The carriers you choose to work with will depend on the volume of shipping you do and the locations you ship to. The more carriers you work with, the more shipping options you can offer your customers. However, if you’re just starting out with your ecommerce business, it’s probably best to start with one or two carriers and expand from there.
Here are some of the most popular carriers and what they’re best known for:
• USPS: Great for small, lightweight packages. They also have flat rate shipping options that can save you money.
• UPS: Known for their fast delivery times and reliable service.
• FedEx: Great for businesses that need to ship large, heavy packages.
• DHL: Offers international shipping and has a strong presence in Europe.
When you’re evaluating shipping partners, make sure to look at factors like speed, price, tracking, and customer service. You should also consider any additional features they offer, such as international shipping, returns, and last mile delivery.
Your package’s dimensions and weight are the two main factors that determine your shipping costs. This is why it’s crucial to minimize both as much as possible. Here are a few packaging tips to help you do just that:
• Choose the right box: The more space your products have, the more room they have to move around and potentially get damaged. Choose a box that’s just big enough to fit your products, and consider using a custom-sized box if you ship a lot of the same products.
• Use the right amount of padding: You don’t want to overdo it with the padding, but you also don’t want to skimp on it and risk damaging your products. Use just enough padding to fill any empty space in the box and protect your products from getting jostled around.
• Get creative with your padding: Instead of using traditional bubble wrap or packing peanuts, get creative with your padding to save money. You can use things like crumpled-up paper, fabric scraps, or even air-popped popcorn to protect your products.
• Use flat-rate shipping: If you ship a lot of heavy items, it may be more cost-effective to use flat-rate shipping. With flat-rate shipping, you pay a flat rate based on the size of the box, not the weight of the package. This can help you save a lot of money on shipping costs, especially if you’re shipping heavy items.
One of the biggest factors that can slow down your deliveries is the distance between your warehouse and the customer. The further the distance, the longer it will take for the package to arrive. One way to solve this problem is to open up multiple warehouses in different regions. This will allow you to store your products closer to your customers, which can help you to cut down on shipping times and costs.
Another option is to use a third-party logistics provider (3PL) that has a network of warehouses across the country. This can help you to reduce your shipping costs and get your products to your customers faster.
The last ecommerce shipping hack to help you cut costs and deliver faster is to utilize technology to automate and optimize your shipping process.
One of the most significant advantages of using a multi-carrier shipping software is the ability to leverage bulk shipping discounts. Shipping carriers offer discounts to high-volume shippers, but the problem is that most online retailers don’t meet the volume requirements to qualify for these discounts.
However, when you use a multi-carrier shipping software, you can access the shipping volume of the entire user base. This allows you to take advantage of bulk shipping discounts, even if you’re not a high-volume shipper. The more you ship, the more you save. It’s that simple. As your shipping volume increases, you’ll be able to negotiate even better rates with your shipping carriers.
