Building your base of loyal customers means that you need to be consistently meeting their needs, and one of those needs is prompt delivery. When most consumers order products from your company, they want them as soon as possible. If competitors can ship the same types of products faster, they’ll likely score the customer’s business over you. Here are four simple tips you can employ to ensure that you decrease shipping times to get your products to your customers faster.
Employ Same-Day Shipping
When a customer places an order with your company, they will likely be updated with every part of the shipping process. This includes things like shipment creation, shipment pick up, and expected delivery dates. One of the best ways to not only help keep your customers loyal to your brand but to also decrease shipping lapses is to utilize same-day shipping. The product that your customer ordered should be packaged and have a shipping label created that same day. This way, the product is ready to be shipped when the carrier makes their morning rounds.
Share Transport Costs with Non-Competitors
Many times, the delay in shipping your product to consumers is due to you not having the product in stock due to slow shipments from your vendors. Dealing with products that require special shipping environments can get costly, and trying to expedite in supplies from your vendors when they require these special shipping environments can hike the prices higher. To help get your products faster and at a much cheaper shipping rate, consider teaming up with other businesses that have products which require the same shipping environment. Non-competitors will likely agree to share the expedited cost of this refrigerated transport as it will help them save money as well.
Automate the Paperwork Process
The quicker you can get supplies ready for the product to ship, the sooner you can send it out. Do your business a favor and automate the paperwork process of the shipping process. The best way to do this is to look at all the steps involved in shipping a product from the time the order is placed until it reaches the hands of the consumer. Look for areas that can be automated by a computer so that you can speed up delivery times. For example, have product shipping labels automatically produced by your system when a consumer places an order.
Limit Your Suppliers
As a business, you likely have many suppliers that provide you with the materials you need to manufacture your products and services. Each supplier comes with its own price list and lead times. To help ensure that your manufacturing process is efficient as possible, reduce the number of suppliers that you’re dealing with. If you can get most of your supplies from one supplier, do so. This will ensure that you can rely on specific lead times and never have to hold up production due to lack of supplies.
In the fast-paced world that we reside, speed means everything. Consumers will be loyal to businesses who can provide them with the products they need in the quickest time frame. Employ the tips above to ensure that your business is shipping products as quickly as possible to consumers.
Addy Reeds is a freelance writer from Eugene, Oregon. She discovered her passion for journalism while attending the University of Oregon. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook: @addyreeds1; https://www.facebook.com/addy.reeds
