Shipping makes the world go ‘round. Online shopping increasing every year (and a giant 32.4% leap in 2020 alone). More customers are taking a digital-first approach for everything. This includes clothes and electronics to food and furniture. Large companies are keen to offer free two-day shipping to meet customer demands. But, small businesses are either left out of the conversation altogether or forced to shrink their margins just to compete.
When it comes to shipping for small businesses, there are a whole different set of rules, challenges, and priorities to focus on. Many small businesses can’t get the same volume discounts from FedEx and UPS like larger companies do. Building an internal shipping and packing team often means high overhead. Plus, the ongoing talent shortage makes it harder to maintain fast, predictable shipping timelines.
It’s time to reimagine shipping for small businesses, and we’ve got the tips and tricks to help you do it.
What is Shipping in the Small Business World?
A hallmark of a small business is the centralized way they operate. Small business owners and their employees wear many hats, from marketing to customer service to operations, and this extends to shipping.
This usually means having an in-house team to oversee inventory management, picking, packing, and shipping when it comes to shipping. Of course, this also means that all aspects of shipping fall squarely on the shoulders of the business, including:
- Partnering with logistics providers like FedEx, UPS, USPS, and DHL
- Comparing and negotiating shipping rates
- Buying shipping supplies, such as boxes, bubble wrap, mailer envelopes, and packing material
- Establishing processes for employees to follow when packing orders
- Managing inventory, including monitoring item levels, reordering, and organizing and storing items to be easily located
- Packing items in a way that ensures safe arrival
- Handling returned merchandise (and figuring out what to do with it)
It’s a lot for a small business to handle, especially if you run lean-on staffing. And keep in mind this is just a tiny part of your total business operations — things like online store management, marketing, and customer service are also top priorities to keep your shipping line humming.
There’s another side of small business shipping, too — outsourcing it to a 3PL.
What is a 3PL Logistics Provider?
One way to reduce the workload without cutting corners is to outsource your small business shipping services to purpose-built third-party logistics or 3PLs.
A 3PL provider handles all aspects of fulfillment, from inventory management to shipping orders to accepting returns and more. For example, when customers place an order in your Shopify store, the order goes directly to your 3PL service for fulfillment and shipping.
Outsourcing the fulfillment aspect of your small business comes with many benefits. For starters, 3PLs are set up for rapid and efficient shipping. They help small businesses maximize cost savings by not building a fulfillment center and processing from the ground up. Costs are split between multiple eCommerce customers, so you’re not shouldering the whole expense of fulfillment yourself.
Small businesses get access to enterprise expertise and bulk shipping rates, focus on their core competencies, and scale their business with agility. As a result, your small business can grow with greater ease without considering the costs of extra warehouse space, fulfillment staff, and equipment.
Keep in mind that not all 3PLs are created equal. Shipping and fulfillment services can vary just as much as pricing for those services. If you decide to go the 3PL route, make a list of your needs and priorities first. That way, you’ll have real criteria to use when comparing 3PL logistics companies.
What Small Business Shipping Services Do I Need for My Shopify Store?
Your small business shipping services should work for you, not the other way around. This means getting access to the services you need and only those services so that you don’t end up paying for things you’re not using.
So, what does your Shopify store really need in terms of small business shipping services?
Seamless Shopify Integration
Running a seamless business means making all the parts fit together and work like they were made for each other. Giants like Amazon can afford to have custom solutions made for this very purpose. But small businesses often have to rely on third-party APIs to piecemeal a solution. And oftentimes, that solution doesn’t quite match up with your expectations.
Choose a shipping solution made specifically to connect with Shopify to gain a seamless integration. This means fast setup, easy execution, and features that are designed to work flawlessly with the Shopify platform. When customers place orders, your shipping solutions can get right to work in calculating shipping prices, printing labels, and streamlining fulfillment.
Inventory Visibility
Few fears are greater for small business retail than having a customer place an order for a product that’s out of stock. When you depend on multiple systems (e.g., one for inventory management, one for picking and packing, etc.), those systems don’t always talk to each other. They may rely on manual updating or will update themselves once a day instead of in real-time.
When this happens, you not only lose the sale; you might also lose the customer for good. Brand reputation can take a hit. Consequently, all the work you did to attract that customer will be wasted.
That’s why inventory visibility is an essential part of your small business shipping services. Seamless integrations should give you visibility into your inventory so customers can’t place orders you can’t fulfill.
Transportation Management
While you might offer free or flat-rate shipping to your customers, your costs will look much different. You need to know how much shipping is costing you on every order. Also, be able to find the best rates quickly without guesswork.
When choosing a solution for shipping for small businesses, choose one that helps you minimize transportation costs. Using a provider like GEODIS eLogistics lets you tap into volume discounts with carriers that are often out of reach for small businesses. Compare logistics options at scale, including delivery timelines and costs, so you can best serve your customers.
Easy Returns Management
Returns happen for all small eCommerce businesses. Sometimes, this is due to no fault of your own: the customer ordered the wrong size, wrong color, or it simply didn’t meet their needs. And sometimes, things like item damage can prompt a return.
This is what we call reverse logistics, where you have inventory coming in that you need to decide what to do with. Should it go back on the shelf to be resold? Is the item no longer sellable, and do you need to get a vendor credit? A shipping service should be able to accommodate returns according to your standards, no matter what needs to happen next.
How to Achieve Better Small Business Shipping
The impact of sending a wrong order or a damaged item, paying too much for shipping, and not maximizing efficiencies fall heavier on a small business than a larger enterprise. When every penny and every minute matters, put these tips and tricks to work to improve your small business shipping:
Use the Right Size Package
Package size affects shipping prices just like weight. When you right-size your packaging to fit the item (we’re looking at you, oversized Amazon boxes), you can save money on shipping without sacrificing service to your customers.
Depending on the items you sell, you might want to have a variety of packagings on hand. Such as boxes, polybags, and envelopes.
Integrate Shipping with Your Shopify Store
Shipping isn’t just an extension of your business — it is your business. It should be as seamless as how customers place orders from you. Find shipping solutions that will integrate with your Shopify store so there are no gaps in the process. This saves time by not having to manage two separate systems. Plus, it saves money. There are no risks that orders or errors didn’t send to the shipping system.
Consider the Advantages of a 3PL
Using a 3PL for Shopify shipping can be a savvy business move. It can lower fulfillment costs. This is due to 3PLs ability to handle high-volume fulfillment. Thus, allowing you to minimize your own expenses. And when you’re a small business owner wearing many hats, taking one-off allows you to wear the others more frequently and with greater purpose.
Start with GEODIS eLogistics
GEODIS eLogistics is giving new meaning to digital, scalable fulfillment. We’ve designed our services to work for Shopify store owners who want to maximize their time and minimize their expenses. With no startup costs and no long-term contracts, you can expect savings right out of the gate.
Partner with us and create small business shipping solutions that work.
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