Millions of ecommerce businesses are in operation in the U.S. alone. Every day, newer businesses are opening all the time. With behemoth ecommerce platforms like WooCommerce, Amazon, EBay, Etsy and Shopify (amongst countless others) boasting millions upon millions of users, there’s a good chance that you can find and buy just about anything that you want online. For the people who run these stores, logistics plays a strong role in how they manage their order fulfillment processes. The reality is that online shoppers have an abundance of options that they can choose from when determining where they will shop online. Since shipping options, delivery time and shipping cost are large denoting factors in strong sales or discouraging shopping cart abandonment rates, it makes sense to consider implementing a solution like FedEx shipping software to ease your online operations and to better appease your customers.
Reducing Wasted Hours on the Pack & Ship Process
The first benefit of such software solutions is found in the hours of manual time that you will save from managing your order fulfillment process. Typically, orders come through your storefront. They must then be manually exported – usually by copying and pasting them. Then they must also be added to your shipping system, in this case your online postage solutions; like Stamps.com, Endicia, Express 1 or your elected carrier, such as FedEx or UPS. Once you have generated the shipping labels, you must affix them to your parcels, pack the parcels and send them out. With a small business FedEx shipping software solution powering your order and fulfillment operation, you wouldn’t have to manually copy and paste this information any longer. Instead, you could push a button and automate the importing and exporting of shipping details as well as label generation. In addition, you could also instantly update the ship status with comments and tracking information, saving you more hours of your valuable time.
Curbing Order Fulfillment Errors
Order fulfillment errors can end up costing you a bundle in lost time and revenue. With software guiding your way, fewer errors will occur. Some of the best shipping software out there actually scans your outbound shipments to find any errors, and before you send out your packages. This means fewer order errors, happier customers and reduced cost with return shipping (due to fewer order errors). Of course, being free from that frustration is also comforting, too.
Enhancing Customer Service
Studies show that customers want a fast shipping option that won’t cost them an arm and a leg. When you use a software solution, you can offer faster delivery times for two reasons. One, you can manage more orders more quickly. Two, you can use commercial volume discounts to offer cheaper shipping. Combined, this empowers your store to better compete with your rivals by offering low cost shipping and handling with a fast delivery window. Ultimately, this will result in you attracting and retaining more customers to your store while reducing the manual hours of labor that are involved with your order fulfillment process. Now that’s something to get giddy about for all ecommerce shopkeepers.
Author Bio:
Michael Lazar is a Growth Hacker for TrueShip. The company makes feature-rich USPS, UPS and FedEx shipping software solutions for ecommerce businesses. ReadyShipper is compatible with the most popular order management, ecommerce and accounting systems, designed to enable e-retail shopkeepers with an easier, smarter way to ship. When he is not busy working on the development and marketing of software, Lazar enjoys spending time with his wife and his two kids.