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By: Maggie M. Barnett, Esq., COO at ShipHero
Meeting consumers’ growing shipping expectations is critical to maintaining customer loyalty and staying ahead of the competition. 2-day shipping is now the minimum shipping speed that most customers expect. Unfortunately, as these expectations become more demanding, growing eCommerce brands struggle to keep up with them.
Here’s a particularly alarming statistic to give you an idea of where eCommerce shipping currently stands: 75% of consumers expect brands to offer same-day delivery options.
This is a lofty expectation to meet on your own, especially because free shipping is one of the most important purchase-driving factors. So how can eCommerce brands offer faster delivery times? Let’s just say there’s a reason 90% of Fortune 500 companies have partnered with 3PLs.
Third-party logistics providers help eCommerce merchants meet consumer shipping expectations without compromising on revenue. 3PLs have specialized logistics teams that optimize your inventory management, order fulfillment, and returns management, among other benefits. In short, 3PLs handle fulfillment while your team focuses on other areas of your business.
Amazon Prime set the benchmark for consumer shipping expectations with its famous 2-day delivery option. Unfortunately, consumers don’t realize how difficult it is for growing eCommerce brands to offer expedited shipping.
Partnering with 3PLs lets you offer 2-day and overnight delivery so you don’t keep losing customers to Amazon and other megacorps, without driving your logistics costs through the roof.
Building a fulfillment network lets brands offer expedited shipping by reducing travel costs and time. Unfortunately, building a network is costly and demands a larger labor force - merchants have to rent out, or purchase, multiple warehouses and distribute their inventory, and then hire a workforce for each fulfillment center.
3PL providers have their own fulfillment centers with dedicated logistics teams. You can partner with a 3PL and strategically distribute your inventory across their multiple fulfillment centers, reducing shipping times and costs, without incurring large overhead costs.
3PLs have their own specialized logistics workforce that’s equipped to help your business expand at scale. Otherwise, if you’re relying on an in-house team, you’ll need to gradually hire more workers as your eCommerce brand grows and the volume of orders increases.
Additionally, if your in-house team lacks experience, pick and pack errors and other problems increase, ultimately affecting your bottom line. 3PLs, on the other hand, have employees with years of logistics experience.
Logistics, including reverse logistics, demand plenty of human resources and management. Thus, outsourcing your order fulfillment to a third-party frees up your own workforce to focus on growing your business.
Leading 3PLs have their own warehouse and inventory management software with enterprise-level reporting capabilities, including:
And more. Having the right data and analytics just a few clicks away helps eCommerce brands streamline their fulfillment processes and identify problem areas.
3PLs solve the multiple marketplace integration dilemmas by seamlessly integrating with all platforms, and making vital information available on one centralized dashboard.
ShipHero serves more than 10% of Shopify plus stores globally and many Fortune 500 companies. We’re trusted by many leading high-growth DTC brands, which is reflected in our outstanding user reviews - Shopify merchants rated us 4.8/5 and TrustPilot users gave us a solid 4.8/5.
Here are 5 reasons that eCommerce merchants choose ShipHero.
We’ll take care of your warehousing and inventory management, pick and packing operations, shipping, and even reverse logistics. Our experienced, highly trained workforce specializes in efficiently managing logistics operations, minimizing errors, and ensuring orders are always shipped on time.
ShipHero’s leading warehouse management software (WMS) directly integrates with major eCommerce platforms and marketplaces, including BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and more.
After integrating with different platforms, you can view detailed analytics, insights, and reporting from your central ShipHero dashboard. Additionally, eCommerce merchants can set automation rules to streamline fulfillment operations.
Automation rules perform actions in response to “triggers” - for example, a shipping method could apply automatically in response to a matching zip code, or emails with order tracking links can be sent to customers after their order is shipped.
With more than 82% of online shoppers willing to say goodbye to a brand due to a bad returns experience, making the returns process seamless is critical to improving your customers’ experience and maintaining their loyalty. Poor returns management can put you at risk of losing customers to your competition.
Here at ShipHero, we process returns as they come in, which is easy thanks to our direct integrations with marketplaces and eCommerce platforms. We offer done-for-you returns processing, so you can focus on growing your brand while we handle the logistics and reverse logistics.
Additionally, ShipHero supports direct integrations with partners like Returnly and Loop, to make return processing easier and risk-free.
Fast growing eCommerce brands can struggle with managing their own logistics; as the volume of orders increases, you’re forced to expand your workforce and scale your fulfillment operations accordingly.
Keeping up with the high volume is difficult enough (especially during the peak holiday season), but the costs start adding up too as you hire more logistics personnel. However, eCommerce brands can’t afford to delay orders or deliver incorrect items; convenience is one of the primary reasons consumers have turned to online retailers.
For these reasons, many fast-growing eCommerce brands turn to ShipHero. Our fulfillment services let eCommerce brands consistently offer 2-day and overnight delivery options as you scale.
ShipHero has a network of fulfillment centers for eCommerce brands to distribute their inventory across. A distributed inventory is vital to fulfill orders faster and keep delivery costs low - when customers place an order, it’s shipped from a center closest to them.
Additionally, our integrated WMS uses real-time carrier rate shopping to minimize shipping costs. Thus, offering customers free shipping options becomes more feasible.
ShipHero’s Bulk Ship process helps brands keep up with large order volumes by streamlining the pick and pack processes. This feature is especially useful during the holiday season when your order volume spikes dramatically.
ShipHero’s industry-leading WMS arms eCommerce merchants with detailed analytics, reporting and insights. You can instantly access real-time inventory data (including inventory valuation), access team reports, or pull up order information.
Our inventory management and shipping software monitors your inventory levels in real-time and automatically notifies merchants about replenishment needs. You can also set automatic reorder points to prevent shortages or overstocking.
Online consumer expectations have evolved rapidly in recent years, especially because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers are expecting better shopping experiences, expedited shipping options, lower shipping costs, and hassle-free returns.
Meeting all these expectations on your own is challenging, which is why many leading eCommerce brands have partnered with ShipHero. We’re not sales-focused; our primary goal is to help our partners achieve their fulfillment goals and grow sustainably.
So start growing your brand with ShipHero today.
If you’re new to ShipHero Fulfillment, please schedule a meeting today with our experts to learn more about how we can help you get your orders picked, packed and delivered with our fulfillment service. No setup fees, simply pay as you go. ShipHero works to ensure that organizations invest in the solutions that match their needs, to improve productivity, revenue and success.
Click HERE to Schedule a Meeting Today
Maggie M. Barnett, Esq., COO
About the author: Maggie M. Barnett, Esq., is the COO of ShipHero. She is responsible for planning and executing the overall operational, legal, managerial and administrative procedures, reporting structures and operational controls of the organization. Barnett’s greatest strengths are leadership, risk mitigation, change management and a passion for business transformation. She is known for her expertise in delivering operational excellence and an ability to provide guidance and mitigating risk. Her leadership of ShipHero is grounded in a servant mentality, always doing the right thing for our stakeholders. Her passion for ShipHero comes from the ability to drive operational excellence throughout the organization impacting the lives of our employees, customers, and partners.
Follow Maggie on Twitter & LinkedIn.
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Imagine running a warehouse where orders are picked quickly, inventory is accurate, and all operations run smoothly without any errors or delays. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, this can now become a reality with ease.
AI is transforming warehouse management by enhancing efficiency, intelligence, and the ability to meet the rapid demands of today’s eCommerce-driven market.
ShipHero is pioneering this revolution with its AI-powered warehouse solutions, setting new industry benchmarks. This article explores ShipHero’s AI Picking feature, highlighting how it’s transforming warehouse management and enhancing operational efficiency.
The integration of AI technologies, including machine learning, robotics, and predictive analytics, is revolutionizing warehouse operations, driving significant improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and overall performance. These innovations are optimizing processes across various areas, from inventory management to order fulfillment. Below are the key benefits of AI in warehouse management.
A combination of AI technologies is shaping smarter warehouse systems to help revolutionize warehouse management.
ShipHero has taken AI integration to the next level with its AI Picking feature, designed to significantly improve warehouse efficiency. This feature automates the picking process, reducing the reliance on manual labor and enhancing productivity in ways that were once thought impossible.
Let’s dive deeper into how ShipHero’s AI Picking works and the advantages it offers.
AI Picking optimizes warehouse operations in two key ways:
The AI Picking feature delivers a wide range of benefits:
The transformative power of AI extends far beyond just picking. AI is also revolutionizing other aspects of warehouse management, driving improvements in operational efficiency, inventory management, and safety.
AI automates tasks, reducing errors and increasing speed. Automated sorting and real-time inventory tracking ensure accuracy, while real-time monitoring helps managers adapt and ensure timely deliveries.
AI plays a vital role in maintaining accurate inventory levels. By leveraging predictive analytics, AI can forecast demand and optimize stock levels, helping warehouses avoid both stockouts and overstock situations. This leads to better inventory management and fewer disruptions in supply chains.
AI-driven systems can monitor warehouse conditions to ensure safety and compliance with industry regulations. These systems can analyze warehouse data and predict potential hazards before they occur, proactively reducing risks and ensuring a safer working environment.
AI technologies are playing a transformative role in the supply chain and logistics sectors by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing decision-making.
These intelligent systems effortlessly manage supply chain processes by using data to optimize operations, predict trends, and automate routine tasks. This ultimately reshapes everything, from how goods are moved to stored and delivered.
The future of warehouse management looks promising with greater automation and efficiency, but future warehouse digitization brings challenges, such as high upfront costs and the need for skilled personnel.
AI-powered drones, autonomous robots, and IoT integration are smart warehouse technologies that are revolutionizing warehouse operations. Drones will deliver goods quickly, while robots automate sorting and transportation, thereby reducing the need for manual labor.
IoT and AI integration will enable real-time monitoring and optimization of operations. Smart technology in warehouses is leading to fully automated systems that are faster, scalable, and need minimal human input.
While AI offers immense benefits, businesses must also consider certain challenges. High initial investments in AI technology, data security concerns, and the need for skilled personnel are just a few of the hurdles that must be addressed.
However, with a strategic approach, companies can eliminate the challenges and embrace AI’s full potential to boost accuracy in picking and improve overall warehouse operations.
AI minimizes error by automating tasks like inventory tracking, order picking, and sorting, ensuring greater accuracy and efficiency.
Yes, AI-driven predictive analytics can predict demand, track inventory levels, and improve supply chain efficiency by forecasting needs with greater accuracy to help businesses stay ahead of trends and market fluctuations.
AI solutions are becoming more cost-effective thanks to cloud-based services and subscription pricing models. These options make AI technology more accessible to small businesses, allowing them to take advantage of its benefits without large upfront costs.
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When pallets roll in and loading docks buzz, your warehouse’s receiving process becomes the gatekeeper of inventory accuracy. And if that gate isn’t well-guarded with structure, speed, and oversight, errors slip in.
A mislabeled item here, a damaged shipment there, and suddenly your warehouse faces stock discrepancies, late order fulfillment, or even lost customers.
A warehouse receiving process checklist streamlines receiving operations and ensures compliance across teams, regardless of who’s on shift.
A warehouse receiving process checklist ensures every shipment that enters your facility is properly documented, inspected, and integrated into your inventory system.
Unlike ad hoc or verbal processes, this structured document verifies product condition upon arrival, checks against purchase orders to confirm accuracy, and documents all inspections for future reference.
However, ShipHero’s digital platform already seamlessly integrates this checklist into your system, automating the tracking of goods from the moment they arrive.
Because it captures critical shipment details, a receiving checklist can double as a warehouse audit checklist sample, especially when preparing for performance reviews or inventory audits.
If you’re looking for ways to improve accuracy and accountability, learning how to audit your warehouse with a structured receiving checklist is a great place to start.
A well-structured warehouse receiving process checklist is crucial for ensuring accurate and efficient inventory management. Including the mentioned key components helps streamline the process, reduces errors, and enhances overall warehouse performance.
Here’s what you must include in your checklist to maintain control and accountability:
This anchors the entire inspection. By referencing the purchase order (PO) number, warehouse teams can verify the received goods against the original order, ensuring the correct items and quantities are delivered.
Having the supplier’s full details improves accountability. If there’s a delivery issue, this info helps your team evaluate supplier performance and speed up resolution.
Timestamping each delivery helps you review delivery schedules, track shipment delays, and identify potential gaps in receiving coverage.
Here, staff will assess damage or discrepancies, confirm specifications (e.g., size, color), take photos if needed, and record all inspections in case of claims or audits. An effective inventory audit checklist incorporates these inspection protocols to ensure accuracy from the moment goods arrive.
Listing the material name (e.g., product name, SKU, or description) prevents mix-ups during inventory allocation and ensures all items are accounted for. This also helps your Warehouse Management System (WMS) update stock records correctly.
Identifying who delivered and who received the shipment establishes accountability, helps resolve disputes over damaged or missing items, and ensures proper handoff records.
Maintaining proper documentation, such as packing slips, invoices, and bills of lading, facilitates order reconciliation and supports formal audits and record keeping.
A single receiving error often ripples through the entire warehouse. A structured receiving checklist breaks this cycle by establishing clear protocols that coordinate with supply chain operations and create accountability at every step. It drives big improvements in:
This plays out in real operations. A mid-sized clothing retailer had ongoing issues with stock discrepancies during receipt. However, implementing a standardized receiving checklist significantly reduced the number of missing items and stock inaccuracies.
Employees also appreciated having clear instructions to follow, which reduced confusion and helped maintain a smoother workflow during peak delivery periods.
Before drafting your checklist, take a closer look at your existing receiving workflow. Next, identify any inefficiencies and pinpoint areas that could benefit from more structure and consistency.
Choose the data points you’ll need based on your warehouse flow, system integration, and team size. Include only what’s necessary to document key handoff moments.
You can go with paper, but digital formats (via tablets or mobile apps) are easier to scale. Software-based checklists can instantly update records and integrate with your WMS.
Use inventory management platforms or cloud-based tools to build your checklist. For example, ShipHero’s template system allows you to configure fields, set mandatory requirements, and establish workflow rules that guide staff through the receiving process. This makes sure every receiving action is consistent and auditable.
Train staff to make sure every team member follows standardized procedures. This minimizes human error, especially for new or seasonal workers.
Roll out the checklist during a test period. Assign clear roles (e.g., receiver, inspector), gather feedback, and then launch warehouse-wide. Revisit and refine it quarterly to keep up with operational changes.
Your warehouse receiving checklist works even better when paired with these best practices:
Spacing out deliveries helps reduce bottlenecks and allows teams sufficient time to track inventory levels accurately. It also allows for more accurate inspections.
Keep receiving areas clutter-free and near the entrance. This shortens the time it takes to organize storage locations after goods are received.
Invest in equipment such as barcode scanners, conveyors, or forklifts to speed up receiving operations, especially during peak seasons.
Don’t let broken items enter inventory. Flag them, document the issue, and notify procurement so the issue can be escalated quickly.
By leveraging real-time inventory tracking and barcode scanning, you can eliminate the need for manual checklists, ensuring that every received item is accurately logged. ShipHero automates the entire receiving workflow, reducing human errors and speeding up the process.
Customizable receiving workflows allow you to tailor the system to your warehouse’s specific needs, eliminating the need for paper-based checklists. Improve efficiency, accuracy, and consistency, all with ShipHero’s advanced automation tools.
At least annually, or anytime your business introduces a new product line, supplier, or technology upgrades.
Absolutely. Cross-training builds flexibility, enabling teams to cover for absences and maintain efficiency even during peak periods or periods of high turnover.
One missed check can cost you thousands of dollars. You may have a damaged pallet, a missing fire extinguisher, or a skipped safety step that can put your team at risk.
Warehouse daily checklists serve as a pilot’s pre-flight checklist. Before takeoff, every switch, lever, and system is checked. Why? Because skipping one step can lead to serious problems. The same goes for your warehouse.
Without a solid checklist, you risk delays, missed shipments, or worse, accidents and safety violations. A checklist ensures your team follows the right procedures and nothing falls through the cracks.
Here’s everything you need to include in a warehouse daily checklist, its definition, and templates you could use to get started fast.
A warehouse daily checklist is a structured form that helps warehouse staff systematically inspect, verify, and record essential tasks on a daily basis. It covers all the daily to-dos that keep your warehouse operations running smoothly and safely, such as inventory tracking and forklift inspections.
The warehousing and storage industry reported an injury rate of 4.8 per 100 full-time workers, nearly double the national average of 2.7. Following a daily warehouse checklist ensures the right procedures and safety protocols are followed and nothing important gets missed.
A great warehouse daily checklist supports the safety of your warehouse, reduces errors, and keeps your workflow on point. Here’s how to make a checklist that your warehouse workers will actually use and benefit from.
Every component of your checklist ensures your facility, staff, and inventory remain safe, compliant, and productive.
Common components include:
Instructions should be clear and structured to help your team move through inspections efficiently and consistently.
Your daily warehouse checklist doesn’t have to be very detailed and complicated. It needs to be thorough, practical, and easy to follow.
Here’s how to build a great one:
When your checklist comprehensively details the tasks in a concise manner, it becomes a tool that delivers massive impact. This ensures your warehouse operations run smoothly, safely, and efficiently.
Ready to skip the setup and just get started? Feel free to copy our Warehouse Daily Checklist Template to your Google Docs or Microsoft Word document. It’s accessible, user-friendly, and 100% customizable to your needs.
Simply plug in your specific details, and you’re set. It’s built to save time, support compliance, and help you manage your daily workflow like a pro.
ShipHero’s Warehouse Management System (WMS) boosts warehouse efficiency by automating key processes like inventory tracking, order picking, and shipping. By streamlining these workflows, it reduces manual labor, minimizing errors and delays.
The system’s real-time data updates allow staff to make quick, informed decisions, improving overall productivity. Customizable features enable businesses to adapt ShipHero to their specific operational needs, further enhancing efficiency. With ShipHero, warehouses can achieve faster turnaround times, reduced costs, and improved accuracy.
Review a warehouse daily checklist, weekly, or monthly to maintain accuracy and relevance. Frequent reviews help align the checklist with workflow changes, new safety protocols, or operational updates.
Yes, you can customize a warehouse daily checklist template. Most templates are designed to be modified based on team size, warehouse layout, and operational goals. Customization improves relevance and usability across different warehouse environments.
Yes, basic instruction and simple training on how to use the checklist ensure employees understand how to follow the checklist, report issues, and meet safety or performance standards. Training improves consistency and accountability across shifts.
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