Ecommerce Shipping – 5 Major Challenges (and Practical Solutions)

For some ecommerce businesses, getting shipping right is more of a challenge than anything else is. Damaged goods, lost packages, high logistics costs, and more plagues ecommerce shipping activity of several businesses.  

The best ecommerce shipping solution is essential for businesses to carve a niche in the new business generation.

Thankfully, several solutions are field-tested to offer a way out for businesses to fulfil their customers’ orders with ease.

That’s why four (4) of the most common e-commerce shipping challenges and their solutions are outlined in this article.  Applying strategies in this post makes overcoming shipping problems easy, your business size regardless.

4 Major Ecommerce Shipping Problems (and their Best Solutions)

1.  Snail-speed shipping

With an increased demand for goods across ecommerce stores, the line between express shipping and price preferences is becoming blurry. Nowadays, shoppers could experience several delivery delays, no matter how much they pay for shipping.

Several ecommerce companies invest tons of cash every year in alleviating the effects of prolonged shipping. However, the results from such investments may be invisible sometimes, especially during seasons of high demand.

Poor fulfillment is a major driver of business losses or ultimate failure of some ecommerce stores. Businesses must adopt a smart approach towards ensuring no snail-like activity takes place in their delivery chain

Solution(s)

Ecommerce businesses that seek lasting solutions to slow shipping issues should leverage the following tools:

• Anticipatory shipping – anticipatory shipping relies on data analytics and machine learning tools to predict a consumer’s purchase. Predicting consumer purchases makes it easy for businesses to plan product fulfillment with greater comfort.
• Automation software – functional automation software provides ecommerce businesses with tools for seamless tracking of all orders.
• Outsourcing – ecommerce businesses can handle large orders by outsourcing their stocking and shipping to bigger facilities. In some cases, this is known as dropshipping. Ecommerce platforms like Sellvia make it easy for businesses to fulfil customer orders within three (3) business days.
• Route optimization apps – an effective route optimization app allows businesses monitor drivers and their delivery routes. Such apps also allow businesses create an optimal course for drivers to fast-track easy customer fulfillment.

2.  High Costs of Shipping

Shipping costs is a major turn off for buyers, especially when these charges exceed the total value of purchased goods. Most customers prefer low shipping costs, but most times, these charges are way too expensive.

Also, cross-border shipping could be more expensive and render international sales almost impossible for many ecommerce ventures.

Solution(s)

Ecommerce shipping costs can be handled with the following strategies:

• Major support for shipping bulk orders to cost transportation prices
• Reducing the dimension of items scheduled for shipping to reduce charges
• Inquiring about, and securing association discounts if available to beat down rates
• Adding shipping fees (in part or whole) to the price of your products to avoid hidden charges

Shipping more items usually affords ecommerce stores more discounts from their preferred carriers. It is better to anticipate shipping costs if you plan to get your expected earnings after each sale.

3.  Shipping Constraints

Location problems are common for ecommerce ventures, especially for those that serve international customers. Inefficient delivery management locally and across borders could become common with poor location siting.

Countries might also have different rules international ecommerce businesses must follow to serve customers. In some cases, drivers might veer off course and you might be unaware if GPS signals are choppy or unavailable.

Solution(s)

• Ecommerce businesses should adopt anticipatory shipping technology, especially those that serve countrywide or international orders.
• Outsourcing orders across destinations is a smart way to bypass shipping limitations while reducing fulfilment costs. Delegating order fulfilment to a larger supplier that offers international shipping could help beat cross-border constraints.

4.  Lost/Damaged Goods In-transit

Whenever a shipped item gets lost or damaged, it usually results in a loss for the ecommerce supplier or marketer.

But it doesn’t have to be so if you plan to make profits from your ecommerce venture.

That’s why it’s wise to take the following steps below towards preventing losses from damaged or misplaced shipped items.

Solution(s)

• Adopting shipping insurance allows ecommerce businesses to make up for lost or damaged orders.
• Establishing contact with customer service units of delivery providers helps solve issues around damaged or lost goods
• Ecommerce businesses should possess a communication line to inform customers about their orders status
• Escalation tools to cover reporting to law enforcement, customer consultations about missing/damaged orders, etc.

Conclusion

Succeeding as an ecommerce supplier involves several smart steps from the onset of your venture. You must be ready for challenges and know what to do whenever problems arise.

That’s why it’s vital to take cues from the solutions above. At some point, your business might encounter one or more of these challenges. Know what to do whenever each issues comes up, and it will be easier to satisfy all your customers without hassle!