With the rise of eCommerce, convenience and shipping have gained extra emphasis. Shipping is very essential for successful B2B and B2C business. It is important to influence the buyer to buy a product and create return visitors by providing timely delivery of their product.

As per Pitney Bowes, Global eCommerce study conducted in 2018 says that 56 per cent consumers are disappointed when they find late shipment, unfulfilled orders, expensive shipping, wrong product shipped, poor packaging and unclear return policies. So it means that one should have a clear and well-executed shipping plan for the success of their eCommerce business and for small businesses every sale is important and return customers are indeed important.

Hence, we thought to share with you some facts and tips which you can implement in your shipping and fulfilment strategy.

1. MAKE YOUR ORDER FULFILMENT AND RETURN POLICIES CLEAR

The first step is to have clear order fulfilment policies. This information should the front and centre of your website in order to attract more customer attention. If you offering free shipping then it should catch the focus of customer as soon as they visit your site as it can definitely influence their decision to make a purchase or not.

Your shipping strategy should be flexible so that you can try a number of options until you get the right one for your business. It will change as and when your business grows and evolves. You can give multiple shipping options to your customers. You can even use mixed shipping options to give your customer the best of the service and this way you can generate additional revenue.

2. FREE SHIPPING

As per 2018 Pitney Bowes Global eCommerce study, nearly 90 per cent consumer will exit the site if the site does not consists of fast and free shipping. Hence most businesses thought that free shipping can be used as a delivery option and also as a marketing tool. To take the proper advantage of free shipping you need to try the number of options. For the start, you can provide free shipping if a customer has purchased a certain amount of products. This strategy can help you in increasing the amount which customer spends per sale.

During any specific time of the year, you can provide free shipping or certain products can be added under free shipping. Make sure you use free shipping in a correct way but remember it should not affect your bottom line.

3. FLAT RATE SHIPPING

Flat rate shipping is as simple as it sounds. When you use this kind shipping then it does not take weight, size and value into consideration into the total cost of the shipping. Well, you can decide the cost of a flat rate and create a shipping total to cover your shipping cost. This strategy is not as popular as free shipping.

4. TABLE RATE SHIPPING

Table rate shipping is completely different than flat rate shipping. In this type of shipping, you can customize the shipping rate. You can decide different shipping rates based on a number of factors such as delivery destination, number of items, product weight and size. A lot of companies charge shipping rate for one item at a certain location and same product different shipping rate for another location. There is a number of shipping cost options available for your eCommerce which you can set using table rate shipping.

5. LIVE SHIPPING RATES FROM A CARRIER

This option gives your customer exact shipping rates which they get from shipping carriers like DHL, FedEx or UPS. Yet this method is not used as a promotional item as it gives live shopping rates to the customer. This kind of shipping is mostly used for B2B shipments where rates are evaluated as per quantity, size, weight or shipping distance. By using this strategy you can cover your costs in packaging or in order fulfilment.

6. UTILIZE SHIPPING TOOLS

Companies can keep track of shipments through postal services. FedEx or UPS provide details of packaging supplies and schedule pickups. Postal services provide fast delivery. An added advantage is given to those businesses who have an account with postal services like discount shipping or free shipping supplies. A company can also go for shipping software that easily integrates with their eCommerce site.

Magento offers shipping strategies for small as well as for larger mid-market online stores. It gives you the flexibility to customize as per your business needs. It provides seamless integration with your site. One can take help from the Magento community for any kind of support.

7. PACKAGING

Packaging has become a very important part of the eCommerce business. Today company think through how their product will look when it will reach their customer.

To make a difference, you need to take some care when during packaging. Give time in designing your product packaging. The consumer will definitely react if you give a personal touch to goods. Designed packaging does not really play an important role in B2B business. Weight and size also come into consideration during the cost of shipping. Ultimately you have to leave the lasting impression on your customer so that they shop with you again.

8. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

International shipping should be your next step only after you have tried the above strategies. It depends on the country you are planning to expand to and then you have to do some research work regarding import-export restrictions for that country. You should also be aware of the customs taxes or additional documentation for your goods and then choose an international carrier to partner with. If your product has demand in other countries then only go for international shipping.

Shipping and fulfilment play a vital role in generating more revenue. The best way to do shipping is to have some custom tailored to your product. It will go through a number of trials before you decide the best-suited solution for your business.