Five Ways to Save Time this Peak Season

Staying on top of your shipping game and effectively communicating with your customers can elevate your brand to the highest degree.

Not only that, but a good experience will ensure they come back well after the holiday rush is over.

In fact, 87 percent of consumers say the shipping and delivery experience directly impacts their decision to shop with the merchant again.

Here are five ways ShipStation can help you to save time this peak season and ensure a seamless delivery experience for your customers.

1. Automation rules

One way to help save time and keep order fulfilment flowing during the holiday season is to implement shipping automation rules.

Almost any shipping-related task for your online store can be automated, with rules set to account for any set of circumstances.

Whether applying shipping services and package types, assigning orders to certain warehouse workers, or applying certain packing slips or emails, automation rules save you a lot of time, money, and headaches in shipping.  

For sustainable women’s surfwear brand Lore of the Sea, ShipStation’s automation rules have helped automate the label’s manual processes and reduce time spent on packing and shipping parcels.

In fact, since implementing ShipStation, Lore of the Sea has increased dispatching speed by 1000 per cent and decreased manual errors by 50 percent.

ShipStation’s automation rules have not only simplified shipping operations but have also reduced costs.

For example, the business has created shipping rules to select the most cost-effective delivery option based on customer location.

2. Order tags     

ShipStation’s order tags can be used in numerous combinations to help accomplish specific tasks and make the shipping process as efficient and time-saving as possible.  

 Brian Nguyen, director of Lioness, says ShipStation’s automation rules and order tags have helped manage the fast-fashion retailer’s high volumes of pre-orders in a ‘sensible and logical’ way. It’s this function that he also anticipates will assist the team through this year’s peak season.

Lioness, which has increased dispatch speed and processing speed by 50 percent with the help of ShipStation, has set up tags to ensure pre-orders items are not released in the order queue until their arrival date.

“It would be impossible to manage [inventory] without leveraging automation and tagging. Without tags, we wouldn’t be able to prioritise orders according to the arrival date or the date that the customer placed the order, but with ShipStation we can do that seamlessly,” said Brian.

“For example, if a customer pre-orders an item that is going to arrive on the 10th of October, using ShipStation we tag the order as ‘10/10’. Using the automation rules, that order won’t be released into the queue until 10/10. On the scheduled arrival date, the order is placed on the top of the queue. The customer then receives their communication with same-day tracking.”

3. Batch shipping   

Batch shipping allows retailers to organise multiple shipments into customised groups – saving hassle and time.

Lioness has used batch shipping to prioritise customers based on location, as well as assist with international orders.

“It is easy to batch orders by specific properties or parameters. For example, our main customer is Australian, but we also have a growing market in the US. Using batch shipping, we’re able to prioritise Australian and US customers to make sure they’re being serviced as a priority.”

Batch shipping has also assisted with the intricacies of international orders, such as the European Union’s new customs changes.

Batch shipping has also improved efficiencies for not-for-profit e-commerce site, Welcome to Country.

Since integrating ShipStation, Welcome to Country has increased efficiency by 50 percent, increased dispatch speed by 50 percent and reduced manual by 80 percent.

“The team loves the batch functionality because it helps them pick and pack orders really easily,” explains Jason Eades, CEO of Welcome to Country.

4. Spilt orders

ShipStation’s split orders feature allows retailers to create separate shipments within a single order, with each shipment containing the items specified.

Each shipment also has its own shipment details, tags, notes, notification templates, and packing slip templates.

“With ShipStation, we’re now able to break up an order if it includes a pre-order item. We can send the tracking for the available items and then we’re able to ship the remainder of the order once it arrives,” said Jason.

“That really creates value for us because when you’re a small team it’s really important to be able to keep track of those orders. We can easily see it on one screen and know when it can be sent to the customer.”

5. Scan to verify

If you’re packing and shipping a lot of orders it can be tricky to make sure everything is in order, especially during peak season.

One way to minimise packaging errors is ShipStation’s scan to verify function, which allows retailers to scan a UPC or SKU barcode to confirm the picker has the right items to pack.

For Peachymama, Australia’s first post-pregnancy nursing wear specialist, ShipStation’s scan to verify has been one of the most impactful features for the business. In fact, since implementing Scan to Verify Peachymama has increased order processing speed by 400 percent.

Additionally, scan to verify has helped reduce manual errors during Lioness’ peak cycles. Lioness has reduced manual labour by 30 percent and decreased manual errors by 85 percent.

“We had an error rate of around five percent of orders during busy periods, like Christmas. But scan to verify eliminates the ability to send the wrong order or place the wrong label on the wrong parcel,” said Brian.

Check out what ShipStation can do for your business. Try ShipStation free for 30 days.

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