As we all know, shipping is one of the most complex functions of any eCommerce business. Compared to setting up eCommerce stores, e fulfillment service and shipping responsibilities revolve around many interrelated functions. Providing customers with a rewarding experience during online shopping is not a simple task! The efficiency at which online merchants offer shipping services helps them keep up with their eCommerce operations. Today, customer expectations are rising and, customers get accustomed to same-day delivery or next day delivery or shipping within two hours of placing the order. With plenty of ecommerce shipping options in place, managing orders and processing them to implement shipping and delivery requires careful contemplation in many matters. 

The sudden increase in the delivery speed has brought many challenges in e fulfillment service. Optimising last-mile delivery is one of the most demanding tasks in order delivery. Last mile delivery is related to the final part of the distribution process where shipment item travels from the distribution centre or warehouse to the consumer or at the collection point as specified. 

Last mile delivery seeks proper warehouse management and shipment transit to the specified location (doorstep of the end consumer or a collection point). For this purpose, a distribution warehouse stores inventory to facilitate picking, packaging and transport of shipments. Last mile delivery can make or break the business since it affects the customer experience directly. It is the final touchpoint and, customers make a judgement on the brand and service depending on the quality of the last mile delivery service. Providing the best experience by reducing the order processing and shipping time creates a long-lasting impression for customers. 

In addition to this, it makes for repeat purchases and helps acquire new customers. Shorter transit time by establishing e fulfillment service centres or a distribution warehouse for last-mile delivery solves the challenges encountered in asap shipment. But building more fulfilment centres for fast order processing attracts more costs. The use of the right technology helps many shipping and logistics providers to coordinate the entire process involved in eCommerce shipping while helping to overcome the challenges that arise during transit of order delivery. Hence if you are running an eCommerce business, take care of these most common eCommerce shipping challenges. We shall take a look at each of them. 

1. Lack of Inventory Visibility 

If there is no proper inventory management system, poor visibility arises. Ultimately it affects profitability by failing to meet the customer needs. Inventory visibility ensures fast e fulfillment service and shipping. For offering high levels of customer experience, online merchants primarily have to focus on inventory availability. If there is no proper system to process orders and manage inventory, delivery becomes delayed due to poor visibility.  

Fast fulfilment is no magic and, several systems work closely to monitor the inventory status to keep up with the shipping and the delivery time window. Therefore, end-to-end visibility in real-time becomes a must-have in every eCommerce fulfilment and shipping process. Besides, it helps merchants achieve optimal costs and enhances productivity in their operations. Adhering to a proper inventory management system wins the customers while reducing the cost burden on online merchants. 

2. Shorter Delivery Time Windows  

As we have discussed earlier, customers make online orders intending to get it asap and expect them to get it delivered fast. Therefore, shorter delivery times such as same-day and next-day delivery gain significance. It necessitates shipping companies to offer optimised packaging, route optimisation and many more services for providing low-cost delivery solutions. 

As a result, shipping companies need to find proper resources to meet the delivery time window. Furthermore, for fast eCommerce shipping, building local e fulfillment service centres near customer locations becomes essential to ensure same-day delivery services. Unlike other services, same-day delivery helps improve the bottom line but is likely to face several cost constraints. While increasing average order size would help, online stores need to adopt ‘frequently bought together or ‘you might also like’ options to persuade customers to select more products that eventually help reduce the cost of shipping. 

3. Transparent E fulfillment Service and Shipping Operations

Once order e commerce order fulfillment gets done, the next step is shipment transit. Regardless of the customer locations, the shipping service should help their customers access the transit status of items right from the pickup to the delivery point. Customers want reliable service irrespective of the modes of delivery they select. When customers opt for same-day or next-day delivery service, a shipping company should ensure that their orders arrive at the specified time. 

However, it is not as easy as it seems. There may be delays due to unforeseen circumstances or any other disruption that affect the delivery schedule. When time is of the essence, meeting the delivery time window becomes much more difficult under such situations. Offering the facility of real-time tracking is one of the criteria the customers always look for while shopping online. Helping customers to monitor the shipment status adds to the trustworthiness of the shipping service. If shipping services can provide customers with the facility to track the transit status, it helps reduce the number of WISMO (where is my order) calls. Besides, it provides them with complete knowledge of the shipment status. 

The challenges in eCommerce shipping are aplenty. However, proper decision-making tools that facilitate data analysis remove the lion’s share of constraints. Now, technology is helping shipping companies to offer optimisation in all interrelated tasks and are instrumental in fixing challenges in order delivery. Furthermore, the use of technology not only help reduce the costs incurred but helps with time management, transparency in e fulfillment service operations, customer service and many more. 

Ecommerce Delivery Service from Ianis Cargo 

Ianis Cargo, one of the leading digital shipping platforms for cargo deliveries across Europe, also provides eCommerce delivery solutions for B2B and B2C businesses by combining fast e fulfillment service and on-time shipping. Express transport solutions being one of the services, Ianis Cargo also undertakes full truckload (FTL) and less than truckload service (LTL). Ianis Cargo uses a live shipping calculator and provides courier comparisons that customers can access at the lowest prices. 

Customers can access real-time tracking from pickup to the delivery destination; Ianis Cargo also runs a fast courier service, Ianis Courier, for shipping parcels and envelopes. Access same-day delivery or next day delivery on all orders at reasonable costs while sending shipments and documents from Ianis Cargo and Ianis Courier. We implement ecommerce shipping integration to keep e fulfillment service and shipping as fast as possible to ensure timely shipment delivery for our customers. Be in control of your shipment through the real-time tracking facility and enjoy the extra peace of mind every time you send freight and parcels through Ianis Cargo!