3 Effective Small Business Shipping Tips
About 2.5 million U.S. businesses sell their products online.
Ecommerce comes with big advantages over traditional retail. You have access to a wider consumer market and the costs of running the business are lower.
However, the success of your business will depend on the quality of the shipping services you offer. Unfortunately, shipping is also one of the hardest functions to get right.
In a world where consumers are enticed by free and same-day shipping, you have to go the extra mile to offer the best service. Read on for practical small business shipping tips you should implement.
1. Design a Shipping Strategy
Starting an online retail store without a shipping strategy is akin to starting a business without a business plan. There will only be one inevitable outcome: failure.
A shipping strategy enables you to have a picture of how your business will make the deliveries before it makes its first sale. You’ll be able to define where you’ll be selling and how that decision will affect your shipping options.
If you’ll be selling on Amazon, for example, you will be able to make use of Amazon’s shipping services. But if you’ll be selling on your website, you’ll have to make different shipping plans.
A shipping strategy also enables you to determine your shipping zones. You don’t want to open the business only to receive orders from all over the country yet you don’t have the capacity to deliver out of your state.
2. Find a Reliable Shipping Carrier
A vast majority of online retailers partner up with a shipping carrier. Outsourcing is far more cost-effective than setting up your own shipping infrastructure.
As a result, the shipping carrier industry is growing by leaps and bounds. However, not all shipping companies are created equal. Some offer exceptional services while others will only frustrate you and your customers.
It’s your responsibility to find a reliable shipping partner. Do proper due diligence. Read client reviews and assess whether a company has adequate infrastructure to support your business’s shipping needs.
The cost of shipping is another important factor to consider before choosing a shipping carrier. The best, most reliable companies will charge a premium for their services, but ensure you aren’t spending beyond your budget.
3. Use a Fulfillment Center
To understand what a fulfillment center is, think of a business that ships to multiple states.
Normally, your goods would be in your central warehouse, from where orders are packaged and shipped. Now imagine having a warehouse in every state your business ships to. Much more efficient, but also increases your costs.
Fulfillment companies have several warehouses across the country. When you partner with one, you don’t have to lease multiple warehouses. What’s more, fulfillment centers also offer packaging and shipping services.
When you’re choosing a fulfillment center service beyond its warehousing facilities, don’t overlook the quality of its last-mile shipping services. Read more information on how a last-mile carrier can affect your operations.
Make Use of These Small Business Shipping Tips
Running a business online makes your life easier in many ways, but shipping can give you constant headaches if you don’t get it right. With these small business shipping tips, you now know some of the high-impact moves to make.
Stay tuned to our blog for more business advice.
