Methods and procedures

Procedures

To streamline the shipping management process, you must carry out several procedures.

First of all, you need to find the right shipping carrier. Try to choose one you can trust and obviously one that perfectly combines cost-efficiency with service quality. Also, you can read some user reviews. It is always a convenient way to decide when looking at the most popular companies.

Next you need to work out if your chosen company offers pick-up. If it does – you can simply arrange for a courier to come pick up the orders for the day and they will be on their way. On the other hand, there are companies that don’t pick up parcels. If you’re working with a company like Parcel2Go, you’ll need to drop off your packages at one of their locations. Either way you need to plan ahead.

Afterwards, there are still things like stock control, tracking numbers, updates in your store, informing your customer and in some cases – returns to think about. How you decide to manage these tasks depends on a few different things, but you should begin by taking the size of your business into account. The bigger it is or you plan it to be, the harder it will be to manage everything manually. That is why you should consider working with third-party software.

Methods

There are several methods to manage your business, inventory, orders and of course – shipping.

1. Manual fulfillment

One method for shipping management is to use a shipping company to complete the order’s transition.

If you have a warehouse or stock your products in your own house, all you need to do is choose a shipping carrier to complete the transition and then pass them all the shipping details. In this case, many online sellers choose to work with software providers, who will handle all the necessary tasks, such as shipping details, tracking numbers, store updates and stock control.

For instance, Multiorders helps you complete shipments and does all those updates instantly! As soon as you process your order through Multiorders it will automatically deduct from your available stock! Then, it will synchronize all the shipment details with your preferred shipping carrier. It means that you don’t have to manually copy-paste any of the customer’s details, shipping address or parcel’s measurements. Just click on the “Print label” button and you are ready to go. Once the shipping carrier provides us the tracking number, the system will update the corresponding order in your store. That way, you don’t have to worry about notifying your customer, because Multiorders prompts your ecommerce platform to do it for you.

Also, don’t worry about the variety of shipping carrier options, because Multiorders integrates with all of the most popular ones. Despite which one you choose, the fulfilment process will be the same – you won’t have to worry about anything. Simply print your chosen shipping carrier’s label and make your customer happy with a quick delivery. Save your time and let the software do all the time draining tasks for you.

2. Drop-shipping

Nowadays, shopping online has become an integral part of shopping, as customers can access goods and services from the comfort of their home. Not only is it possible to buy goods from your couch or desk, but you can also start your own business by utilising drop-shipping.

Drop-shipping is an e-commerce fulfilment method, which eliminates the need to keep the products a company sells in stock. It means there is no need to own space for storage and a physical storefront: the computer is the only tool you need.

Why drop-shipping?

First and foremost, the reason why you should be interested in utilising this e-commerce fulfillment method is that you do not need any storage space to stock products.
Besides, it requires low capital to start a business. As a consequence, all you need is a computer, the internet and personal qualities to manage contracts, deal with clients and that is enough to run your e-shop.

Drop-shipping advantages

• Location. Imagine, your office could be located wherever it is convenient for you. For example – you can start working at home while eating your breakfast, in the afternoon you can go outside, sit in your favourite café, or, if the weather is good and you have a portable internet connection, you can easily transform a local park into your office. What is more, you could even travel and work at the same time!
• Price. An obvious advantage is that you can set any retail price, which is far lower when you buy straight from the manufacturer. Moreover, drop-shippers are usually not bound to a suggested retail price (which is called MSRP), which allows you to set your price. This gives you total control over your margins and you have the freedom to choose between large volumes and higher markup.
• Identity. In certain cases, if you sell a lot of products, you can arrange custom packages in order to not look like a reseller. That will make your company look unique and gives you an identity customers can relate to.

Drop-shipping risks

Most great opportunities are unimaginable without risks and drop-shipping is no exception. The main challenge you may face in this business is to maintain a good reputation for your e-shop. Since customers are not able to touch or try a product, the only thing they rely on is comments and other buyers’ feedback.

The possibility of damage during shipment

There are some things that could cost your company its reputation. First of all, there is a possibility that you will face some quality issues. Being a drop-shipper, you cannot check the product before sending it to a client. You send an order to your vendors, and they then send the ordered products directly to your client.

It means that while being shipped, a product may be damaged, which will result in the client’s dissatisfaction, with which you will have to deal. The shipping company will refund or replace the damaged goods if you have them insured, but it usually takes time and might be the cause of late shipping.

How can you avoid that risk?

You can mitigate this problem with excellent customer service. It is essential to pay your attention to orders and check the shipping status for all the customers. Therefore, accuracy is a good means of prevention from a possible bad reputation. The key thing to remember is to pay close attention, empathise with your client and do everything in your power to resolve any issues.

A smart move is to use Multiorders management software. It can shut down all drop-shipment risks.

Software for drop-shipment

• Stock-list. Using more than one selling channel means daily updates for each one of them. Imagine a situation where you sell on your website, eBay, Amazon and a few more marketplaces. If your vendor sends updates for stock, you need to pass this information to each selling channel. With Multiorders, you can do it using only our website. We will update all the associated product information: prices and stock levels, without you logging separately into each marketplace. Multiorders software allows you to connect all your accounts.
• Purchase Orders and invoices. Multiorders helps you manage all the necessary information about your orders. As soon as you sell an item through your online store, you will need documents for it. With Multiorders you are able to premake these documents, so you do not need to look for any additional tools to create invoices, purchase orders or any other required documents. You can fulfil your order using only Multiorders.
• Multiple suppliers. As soon as you sign into Multiorders, you simply add your drop-shippers (vendors, whom you are working with). Add their name and email address. With this information, Multiorders will automatically deal with your order fulfilment. In this case, even if you work with multiple suppliers, managing your orders will be as easy as working with only one supplier.

Drop-shipping

All things considered, drop-shipping could be one of the easiest businesses to start, especially when Multiorders eliminates most of the risks involved. That is the fastest way to guarantee customer satisfaction. It allows you to work from wherever you want and choose when you want to work. All in all, drop-shipping might indeed be the answer to the age old question “How to start a successful business?”.

3. Amazon FBA shipment management

Usually, e-commerce looks like a great opportunity to run your own business. You only need a few things – products, a place to store them and a way to ship your goods. On the other hand, if you choose one specific sales channel this list of essentials can be reduced to one thing – products. We are talking about the Amazon marketplace that can provide you with both – a warehouse and a shipping solution. This solution is called fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) and in this page we will explain how to manage your shipments by using FBA.

Why should you use Amazon FBA?

Amazon is one of the most popular sales channels, which attracts more and more customers each year. Not to mention that selling there means you can reach all that audience if you use the right tools.

• Amazon Prime. This feature is one of the most inviting because customers love to have the “two-day shipping” option. All Amazon FBA users automatically get Prime, which means that all your buyers will see that you provide fast shipping. As a result, your sales should increase, because Amazon Prime usually attracts more customers.
• Professional services. Amazon provides FBA users with better customer service. In other words, your customers will be able to contact Amazon customer support via phone or email, anytime, day or night. They will also take full responsibility for shipping.
• Eliminate time-draining tasks. Basically, when you start using Amazon FBA, you eliminate most of the order management. It automatically updates your stock levels and ships your order.

How to manage FBA shipment?

When you choose to use Amazon FBA, they assure you that they will pick, pack and ship your product. Basically, this service takes care of all your order management, so there are very few tasks for you to manage. Amazon takes care of customer service, shipping, delivery and provides you with a warehouse and packaging.

If you would like to automate your business even more, you should use an additional solution that would fully automate not only your shipping but also inventory and order management.

For instance, Multiorders integrates with Amazon and provides you with the option to use Amazon FBA as a shipping method. When you connect your marketplace and receive an order, simply ship it with Amazon FBA. That way, the system will automatically update your shipping status, tracking numbers and inventory levels. Also, you can manage your inventory in Multiorders and your modifications will show up in your Amazon store.

Basically, when you use Amazon FBA and Multiorders, your order fulfilment takes seconds and this automation allows you to spend your time on improving your business, by eliminating all the possible time-consuming tasks and human errors.