For Those With On-Line Stores - Shipping Question

TrendingSolutionsTrendingSolutions subscriber Posts: 1
edited December 2016 in Building A Website That Works
I own a customer service and order fulfillment company, which supports small on-line retailers who would not necessarily have the time or money to staff their own ordering and/or order fulfillment departments.  We have been doing the customer service aspect for a while, but have just recently added the shipment aspect of the business.  Our services are geared to allow business owners more time to go out and promote their businesses and spend time with their families rather than having to be addressing customers questions and shipping product.
So here is my question.  I am almost done with my advertising piece for the shipping portion, but I am trying to apply time saving numbers into it.  For any of you that currently ship your own products, can you please look at the following questions and provide your feedback. 
1. How much time do you spend ordering your shipping supplies? 2. How much time do you spend doing inventory? 3. How long does it take you to actually package the products(s)? 4. If you bring the packages to the post office or UPS, how much time is spent doing this? 5. Do you set a certain time of day aside to handle any of these processes? 6. Can you perform these tasks uninterupted? 7. Do you ship your products the same day that they are received? If not, what is your turn around time? 8. Do you use the same shipping method for all of your items or do you determine the most economical rate based on distance?
 
· Share on Google+ Share on TwitterShare on Facebook

Comments

  • GrillCharmerGrillCharmer subscriber Posts: 7
    Hey there Janene!!  So good to "see" you here!!  You know I`m not there yet, so I can`t really help with your question, but I just wanted to stop by and say Hello and WELCOME!!!  I`ll be needing ya soon though....
    · Share on Google+ Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
  • TrendingSolutionsTrendingSolutions subscriber Posts: 1
    Thank you, Janie.  I appreciate your feedback. 
    So far we have received very positive feedback.  One of the benefits of our service is that we are also able to take the phone orders and then turn around and ship them.  That is a win-win for both my customer and theirs.
    Thank you again and have a great evening
    · Share on Google+ Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
  • TrendingSolutionsTrendingSolutions subscriber Posts: 1
    That was very helpful.  Thank you so much.  Also, we do offer shipping even if someone doesn`t use our phone services.  We just got the idea of adding shipping as part of our services because we noticed we were getting a lot of order status calls because our customers weren`t shipping their products fast enough after we took the phone order.  This way, by having us ship and guarantee shipment the same day (if the order is entered by 4:00 PM EST), the number of order status calls should be greatly reduced and the customer satisfaction level raised.
    BTW, you product is very cool.
    · Share on Google+ Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
  • ShipwireShipwire subscriber Posts: 0
    Great thread.  I can`t believe that tiger taco makes his own boxes...that is amazing to me.  I may have to order a few of those for the next time I move.We see a lot of customers coming to our service with similar concerns and issues.  I would also add that reducing shipping costs is a major driver.  Many merchants want to plug into our warehouse network to move inventory closer to the end merchant.  Moving inventory in bulk closer to the customer means the parcel delivery costs can be reduced.  Parcel delivery is way more expensive on a per item basis than bulk freight.Plugging their online store into the warehouse is also a concern.  One of the reasons that we offer a software platform with pre-integrations to many popular online shopping carts.International fulfillment, freight and customs tends to rank high on the list of concerns as well.  Hence our additional Canadian warehouses, freight desk and help moving inventory over borders.
    · Share on Google+ Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
  • hankmoodyhankmoody subscriber Posts: 0 Member
    Very nice Janie! I worked for a order fulfillment company, which offer the services of China product sourcing, China warehousing and worldwide shipping from China. we uses powerful technology to simplify fulfillment, delivery, and returns.
    http://www.chinadivision.com
    · Share on Google+ Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
  • emeliaingramemeliaingram subscriber Posts: 13 Bronze Level Member
    Shipwire wrote:
    Many merchants want to plug into our warehouse network to move inventory closer to the end merchant.  Moving inventory in bulk closer to the customer means the parcel delivery costs can be reduced.  Parcel delivery is way more expensive on a per item basis than bulk freight.

    Yes I agree that parcel delivery can be reduced especially when its a bulk delivery. It is not that expensive but the cost is slight higher than bulk freight.


    Emelia, Freight Marketing
    BR International Parcel Forwarding USA to Australia(Website)
    · Share on Google+ Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
  • tips91tips91 subscriber Posts: 3 Member

    Interesting and a very helpful discussion!

    · Share on Google+ Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Sign In or Register to comment.