What is e-commerce shipping? Basically, it’s the process of moving products that have been ordered online from the retailer to the customer. The aim is to establish an efficient and cost-effective method to ensure that items are received within a certain timeframe which means that operating your business online has many benefits.
How does e-commerce shipping work? Read on to find out more…
Shipping rates
E-commerce shipping can easily become a key part of your business – all you need is a clear shipping strategy. Before you can begin shipping e-commerce orders you’ll need to have a pricing strategy. Offering free or cheap e-commerce shipping can be a good incentive but bear in mind you’ll have to pay the price of shipping out of your profits.
You can increase your product prices to cover entire shipping costs, or raise prices slightly and share the expense with your customers. Alternatively, you could offer discount codes for free shipping in certain cases.
You could decide to charge a flat rate which works well if you’re selling products of similar sizes and weights, but this can be complex if you sell a wide variety of products. Or you could customise your delivery area using local couriers which cuts down on delivery costs and allows you to offer free delivery for goods over a certain order amount.
Packaging
E-commerce package delivery requires the packages to be secured properly for delivery. You could use padded envelopes, boxes, and standard packaging materials, or consider packaging shipping solutions such as The Packaging Group, Shopify, or Arka to provide you with the necessary materials you need for packing goods properly.
Some e-commerce shipping companies will provide poly mailers that are ideal for products that don’t need a lot of protection such as clothing. Keeping the package as light and small as possible will save on your e-commerce shipping rates.
Insurance
Shipping insurance and tracking options can offer additional security. With the majority of e-commerce shipping companies, insurance and tracking is relatively cheap and give you options if your packages get lost or damaged.
E-commerce fulfilment explained
E-commerce fulfilment is exactly as the term implies – the process of getting the stock you sell online to your customers in a manner that guarantees you repeat business. It’s the sorting, selection, packing, and delivery and can be done by you or by outsourcing the logistics to a third party company who’ll do it all for you.
These third-party logistics companies will ship your goods to a warehouse to be stored, known as a fulfilment centre. Any orders placed by your customers will automatically be received via your e-commerce website by your fulfilment centre. Picking will then ensure the correct items are selected which are then packed by the centre staff. The goods are then delivered to their final destination.
Handling returns is one of a 3PL provider’s main functions as it’s understood that the faster your stock is back on the shelf, the sooner you can resell it, and the faster your customer gets a refund which makes for optimum customer service.
You’ll be able to get a comprehensive pricing guide determining your individual e-commerce fulfilment fees as they vary depending on the size and weight of your products and the rate at which you sell them. Bear in mind that this investment cost will save you time, reduce the need for additional staff and storage space, and increase sales as well as customer satisfaction.
International e-commerce shipping
If you’re shipping internationally you’ll need to include the proper customs documentation, which you can obtain at your local post office, shipping retail location, or via Shopify shipping options online. Forms need to be completed clearly and accurately taking into account any additional customs fees that may be due when your package reaches its destination that needs to be paid by your customer.
Takeaways
E-commerce shipping takes four simple steps:
- Order processing: a set of activities needed to process the customer order is assigned to the packaging and delivery team.
- Order packaging: ensuring that the goods are received safely and undamaged.
- Logistics and delivery: a reliable logistics process vital for delivering the items on your behalf.
- Returns: if a customer needs to return goods the logistics agency will ship them back to you to enable you to begin the returns process.
Find a 4PL consultancy provider
DRG Solutions can help with any international courier services from Barcelona working with all the transport companies to handpick the most suitable ones for you. You’ll get the best value for money as well as the most efficient solution for your e-commerce shipping to and from Spain. And if you need a provider for warehousing, one for shipping and another for distribution this will all be expertly handled on your behalf.