7 Tips to Prevent Ecommerce Shipping Delays

7 Tips to Prevent Ecommerce Shipping Delays

Shipping and fulfillment are like the sound equipment at a concert. When it works correctly, no one thinks about how it works or what’s happening behind the scenes. However, a malfunction is instantly disruptive and can ruin the experience if unresolved.

Ecommerce shipping delays are frustrating for everyone: you, your customer, and the carrier responsible for delivering the shipment. Here are seven problems that often delay shipments.

7 Common Issues That Cause Shipping Delays

1. Need to fulfill and ship orders faster – Streamline your warehouse layout and workflows.

2. Missing daily carrier pickup time – Fulfill and ship ecommerce orders faster.

3. Tedious, error-prone manual tasks – Eliminate repetitive, labor-intensive tasks and mistakes.

4. Poor inventory visibility and overselling – Use software to manage inventory and keep your web store updated.

5. Lost or stolen packages – Use shipping insurance to cover lost or stolen items.

6. Shipping to unverifiable addresses – Use shipping software with address verification technology.

7. Incorrect customs documents for international shipping – Use templates to file customs documents correctly.

The good news is that you can often avoid common shipping issues with a little know-how, the right software, and a few tweaks to your fulfillment ops. Here are seven tips to prevent shipping delays.

Shipping Tip 1: Streamline your warehouse layout and fulfillment workflows.

Ecommerce Shipping Issue: Need to fulfill and ship orders faster

As an online retailer, managing growing order volumes can feel overwhelming, especially during peak seasons. Late deliveries and backlogs happen when you’re unable to keep up. If your warehouse is disorganized, finding the right items can turn into a frustrating treasure hunt.

Instead of hiring more staff, consider implementing shipping technology. Automation reduces bottlenecks and keeps your fulfillment operations running smoothly. By using these solutions, you’ll meet customer expectations and maintain your competitive edge in the market.

Shipping Tip 2: Meet your scheduled carrier pickup time.

Ecommerce Shipping Issue: Missing the pickup time and shipping orders late

When peak seasons hit and order volume spikes, internal order processing delays cause a bottleneck at the shipping station, causing you to miss your scheduled carrier pickup time.

To stop missing carrier pickups, you can adjust two main factors: carrier pickup time/frequency and processing speed for packing and preparing your orders for shipment.

Tip 3: Eliminate repetitive, labor-intensive tasks and human errors.

Ecommerce Shipping Issue: Slow and Error-Prone Manual Processes

Does your fulfillment process rely on time-consuming, hands-on procedures such as manually typing in shipping information, selecting shipping services, entering package information, and emailing customers their tracking info? Relying on outdated manual systems slows down your warehouse operations.

Tip 4: Improve inventory visibility and keep your web store updated.

Ecommerce Shipping Issue: Poor inventory visibility and overselling

As a mid-sized ecommerce retailer, you know the importance of having a clear view of your inventory. When visibility is low, overselling leads to frustrated customers and lost sales.

You can get greater control over inventory visibility with an inventory management system, order management system, or enterprise resource planning program integrated with shipping software, a warehouse management system, and all your sales channels.

Tip 5: Cover lost or stolen items with shipping insurance.

Shipping Issue: Customer’s order is lost or stolen in transit.

Imagine the disappointment of ordering a long-awaited item online only to have it lost in transit or stolen from your doorstep! Investing in third-party shipping insurance is the best move. It helps safeguard all your shipments and processes claims faster than carriers.

Tip 6: Use shipping software with address verification technology.

Shipping Issue: Shipping to unverifiable addresses

Online retailers must verify that each shipping address matches the correct destination address. Address verification is a feature in shipping software used to confirm the accuracy of customer addresses before a shipping label can be printed.

Tip 7: Use templates to file customs documents correctly.

Shipping Issue: Incorrect customs documents cause international shipping delays

For new international shippers, the complexity of international shipping paperwork can pose a challenge. Incorrect customs documents lead to shipping delays. Advanced shipping software simplifies this process with helpful templates for international customs documentation.

Key Takeaways