Are you still making out your shipping orders by hand? It’s time to pull your business out of the stone age. Today, everything is automated including LTL shipping. Automation strengthens your company by speeding up your shipping process. Shipping is one of the most stressful parts of running an eCommerce business, but automation relieves that. Here’s some tips to bring you up to speed.
Calculate Shipping
Different products will have different shipping costs, so it best to know what the shipping price will be for each product. After you’ve calculated it, account for it in your eCommerce checkout. That way, the client knows exactly how much they are going to pay before they order. Your shipping cost for the total order is known immediately and can be priced without any human interaction. It removes the chance of underestimating or overestimating what the cost will be.
Labeling the Package
Think about sending one package by mail. What do you have to do? You take the package, handwrite the address on it, go to the post office, play a game on your phone while you wait in line, finally get to the front, pay the postage, head back, and then repeat the whole process on your next order. It’s too long! That’s not feasible for a growing company.
New technology now exists where you can print a label directly for the package with postage paid. You input the address and the postage, the label prints, you place it on the parcel, and it’s ready for shipment.
Shopping Cart Integration
Your shopping cart and your shipping system should be linked together. Think of it as a chain of order fulfillment. If an order comes through, it should go directly to shipping. This is done by using a web API to integrate the two. You should be able to have the order and print the label directly. It’s best to research your integration though because some may not be compatible.
Fulfillment Warehousing (Pick & Pack)
Using a fulfillment warehouse is, by far, the fastest and most efficient way to automate your shipping process. Pick and Pack is where a warehouse holds all your products in one place. When an order comes in, it’s sent to the warehouse, who then picks the order, packs the order, labels the shipment, and ships it out for you. It minimizes your shipping time by having everything in a central location.
When looking to automate your system, think about what works best for you. If you’re not sure, eShipper is there to help. We have the solutions to get you to the next level in your automation.
