Reading gives you superpowers

Summer is a great time for margaritas and digital marketing. By focusing on the digital platforms that people visit most frequently in the warm months, your ecommerce business should be marketing the summer vibe with sizzling deals and scorching offers. Sunny weather makes people happier in general, so ecommerce business owners, especially in the dropshipping domain, need to be on the ball when it comes to customer experience. If you are not up-to-date on the latest trends in customer experience, your competitors will be.

With ecommerce margins already stretched thin for small to medium sized businesses, it is vital to capitalize on the latest tech and tools to win and retain customers. Especially during summer months, because customers spend less time looking at their devices as they do in the cold depths of winter.

It’s necessary to put in some extra work to grab the already limited attention span of your audience. Once you have it, how do you convert the sale? This article details the main customer experience trends in ecommerce going into the summer of 2021.

Create a Summer 2021 Strategy for Improved Customer Experience

The latest ecomerce trends for improved customer experience are the following:

• mobile optimization,
• micro-influencers,
• email marketing, and
• voice search.

The commonality found here are summer-savvy, ‘on-the-go’ styles of consuming information. From looking at a shopping app on the beach or checking email by the pool, your company should intelligently spend resources where people are looking.

Strategy 1: Mobile optimization

When people are on holiday, camping, or out sunbathing beside a swimming pool (must be nice), the summer months tend to be downtime for PC usage, and uptime for mobile devices, smartphones, and tablets.

Increased mobile usage also draws more people to social networks such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, which creates added opportunity for ecommerce merchants to sell or advertise on those platforms and makes it easier to reach your target audience. Depending on the age demographic of your products or services, create optimized ads and campaigns to suit summer buying behaviors.

Also, don’t be afraid to churn some marketing budget on running promotional campaigns geared specifically for the summer months. You can run these in isolation or try some re-targeted ads to your email database subscribers. Hitting people with the same message on multiple platforms is a proven approach to generating more attention and conversions.

Strategy 2: Utilizing the power of Micro-influencers

If you run a new company or are launching a new product, people usually require more convincing to buy, compared to a big brand or known entity. With ecommerce specifically, customers need to trust in what they’re buying to be convinced to open their wallets. The younger the potential customer, the more important it is to find a way to show them your product in all its glory.

Enter: Influencers. Showing people how things work is even more effective when the person doing the demonstration is someone they know.

Some surveys show that influencers or bloggers promoting your product can increase sales by upwards of 30%. This doesn’t mean you have to spend tens of thousands to enlist a d-list celebrity on Cameo. In fact, many survey respondents indicated that they respect and associate with micro-influencers more than celebrities that are just in it for the paycheck.

Beyond their effectiveness, another advantage of micro-influencers is that they are a lot more cost-effective than traditional online advertising channels. Some influencers will even agree to be paid in different ways than just cash, like free or discounted product.

Try negotiating with these influencers to give them product samples in return for promoting your products. Also, you could consider an ambassadorship, offering a percentage of sales instead of a flat fee agreement.

Strategy 3: Email marketing

Summer is not the time to overlook your hard-earned database of email subscribers. In fact, it’s the ideal time to catch people checking emails on the go, during an idle moment in an airport, ferry, or at their hotel.

While social media may create a buzz of activity and noise, it doesn’t come anywhere near email marketing regarding conversion rates. Email marketing is one of the best-performing of all digital channels in terms of creating conversions. More than 65% of users polled indicated they had purchased the back of an email campaign. That rate is more than double that of the combined social media platforms.

Email marketing is highly targeted since it enables you to send specific messages to people that have already expressed an interest in your products. Utilize a basic CRM and email marketing tool to track what your subscribers are interested in. You can update their preferences and send them only the most relevant products.

Ensure your email marketing campaigns show a clear ‘call-to-action’ button at the end. Summer sales, discount codes, and personalized recommendations are particularly effective. You can also use email marketing to clear overstocked products or discontinued seasonal lines.

Strategy 4: Turn up the volume on voice search.

Voice search accounts for around 50% of searches, by some reports. This varies by country, but there is no denying voice search is a growing trend.

Virtual assistant devices are present in an increasing number of homes. This creates a new opportunity for ecommerce retailers: Voice search optimization. Voice search does not directly compare to search engines optimization (SEO) and must have specific content.

Ensure that your website, and especially your product listings, are optimized for voice search. Voice search responds more to search phrases than it does to traditional keywords, so you should customize searches based on answers to questions.

Wrap It Up

Successful ecommerce retailers need to be leaders in customer experience along the shoppers’ journey. Creating a smoother customer experience means making it easier for people to buy from you wherever possible.

Position your products where people will see them during the summer months, mainly mobile devices, smartphones, and social media. When you’ve piqued their interest, ensure that the buying or decision-making experience is a smooth one. From showing color options to tech specs, your potential customers should locate and see more information quickly.

Always protect the goods! 1 in 100 packages shipped annually by UPS or FedEx are reported as lost or damaged. Considering together the two carriers ship almost 8 billion packages per year, that’s almost 8 million packages on the receiving end of some extra tough love.

In general, the main risks that cause damage to goods are:

1. Getting dropped
2. Heavy vibration from conveyor belts and trucks
3. Getting compressed (i.e., squished) from stacking or sudden movement
4. Humidity and temperature changes

Depending on the fragility of your goods, you should first evaluate what is required for full protection. Take into account the type of box material, packaging materials (e.g., styrofoam aka ‘packing peanuts’), etc., and compare that to the cost of repair/refund for a damaged item. Note that while you can save some money using cheaper alternatives for packing, you may pay more in the long run if items are frequently damaged on their way to customers.

Tips to Avoid Damaged Goods

Whether it’s thrown around in transit, dropped down chutes and conveyors, or subject to the harsh elements, retailers must consider these packing tips to avoid the headaches of customer refunds and returns caused by lost or damaged goods.

Tip #1 - Fragile Product? Double Up.

Fragile products must not have room to shift around during transportation. To prevent fragile products from breaking, we recommend one of the following:

• Use ample amounts of packaging materials (see below) in a right-fit box,
• Ship multiple items in one box using compartments
• Box-in-a-box packaging for added protection and branding opportunities

Consider the following packaging materials for impact protection:

• Polybag: Cheap, sealed plastic bag. Prevents water damage, but no structural strength.
• Jiffy bag: Like a polybag with added cushioning
• Bubble wrap and air cushions - although it can get expensive, bubble wrap and air cushions provides total coverage
• Brown paper and void fill materials - the cheaper alternative, brown paper and styrofoam packing peanuts are easily scrunched up to fill voids in packaging; however, it can collapse easier than bubble wrap on long journeys
• Single-ply corrugated roll - Line thin cardboard boxes and wrap bottles with this to increase impact resistance

Tip #2 - Heavy Products? Wall Up.

Heavy products could deform or collapse weak boxes when stacked. That’s why it’s important to know a box’s ECT (Edge Crush Test) rating, which is the amount of weight that can be stacked on a box wall before it deforms and collapses. When shipping small and medium sized products, single-walled boxes provide enough support. As for larger, heavier products, only use double- or triple-walled corrugated boxes depending on the fragility and value of your items.

Tip #3 - Shipping Liquids? Bag up.

For liquids, perfumes, aerosols, especially those that come in easily breakable containers, most carriers advise that they are shipped separately when possible, using padded poly bags or jiffy envelopes.

Tip #4 - Take a Picture of Your Package Contents Before You Ship

Before handing off any package to a carrier, we recommend taking a picture of the package contents and condition. That way, you have proof in case a carrier tries to shift blame to your warehouse processes.That’s why ShipHero created a feature that allows warehouses and fulfillment centers to seamlessly take snapshots of packages before completing the packing and shipping. Simply set up a camera and scan a barcode, and the image is automatically uploaded to the order. It fits right inoto your pick and pack processes and gives you the liability protection you need.

Tip #5 - Create a Best Practices Guide

Depending on the item value and size, create a playbook for your warehouse workers and pick-and-packers so they can use the correct packaging every time. This ensures that products aren’t damaged in transit and also saves you money from over-packing.

Wrap It Up

By following these 5 tips, you’ll effectively reduce the likelihood of your goods getting damaged in transit from your fulfillment center or warehouse. This will not only help your bottom line, but will also avoid complications from returned products. Goods, protected.

Fresh Format Alert

It’s officially summer (almost) and we’re gonna shake up The Packet format this week because we all need some change. If you’re loving The Packet so far, just wait for what we have in store. Also tell your friends and coworkers to subscribe so you finally have something in common. Let’s unpack it.

Amazon and MGM Merger

The giant e-commerce company has announced a new blockbuster deal. For a whooping $8.45 billion, it will acquire MGM Studios, which famous for classics like James Bond, Rocky and more timeless franchises, as well as 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV shows. Can’t you just smell the future product placement? After purchasing Whole Foods, this is Amazon’s second large acquisition in their journey to become the “everything e-commerce” store. Read more about the merger and what this means for the Entertainment industry here.

Cryptoh-no.

Just when it seemed like Bitcoin and cryptocurrency were finally embraced by Wall Street and Main Street, with companies like Tesla, WooCommerce and even Shopify accepting Bitcoin as payment, this month the entire cryptocurrency market has experienced huge swings of volatility, with prices dropping over 20% of all-time highs practically overnight. Speculators have taken a bleak stance on the future of cryptocurrency, and Mark Cuban has even coined this latest downturn “The Great Unwind.” Read more about Crypto and E-commerce at our blog here.

Charlie Bit My Finger NFT

The viral video “Charlie Bit My Finger” will be removed from YouTube after the creators sold it as an NFT for $760,999. Learn more about NFTs and why people are clamoring to throw money at them here. Where are the Charlie Bit My Finger kids now you ask? Check out the riveting journey of their 10 year anniversary here. Warning: Graphic Content. Oh how child stars shine bright and fast. On a high-protein diet? It’s almost cicada season so check out a nice cookbook here.Ever wonder why freight railroads are separated into classes? It’s not smarts, but the annual revenue. Sounds like Harvard. Find out more here.

Cool Online Brand of the Week

Giving new meaning to their ‘garden unit’, indoor farming is having its time in the grow lights. The vertical farming startup Bowery just announced a $300 million round of funding for its indoor “post-organic” farm, which grows pesticide-free leafy greens inside a New Jersey warehouse. Mmmm fresh. And now, its products are sold in 850 stores nationwide. Learn more about the indoor farming industry here.

ShipHero News

A Case Study That Reaches New Heights

“Finding high-quality, well-tailored men’s clothing online can be a tall order—especially for men who are 6’3” or taller. So demand was really high when American Tall, a men’s apparel brand for tall men, launched their direct-to-consumer ecommerce site. American Tall is a direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand for tall (and extra tall) men. They create quality, tailored clothing and accessories for men between 6’3”–7’1” with a Medium to XXL tall build...”Continue reading and learn how American Tall scaled their fulfillment Operations by 400% with ShipHero in our latest case study!

Introduction

Canadian Tire Corporation Limited has been operating an efficient retail logistics and supply chain since its founding in 1922, making it one of Canada’s most trusted and iconic Canadian retail brands. Canadian Tire manages a network of 1,700 retail locations across a large family of brands such as Canadian Tire, Mark's, FGL Sports, PartSource, and the Canadian operations of Party City, ranging in the automotive, sports, hardware, leisure and home goods industries.

“We set a service level of 99% shipped next-day, and I’m happy to say not only did we hit that, we constantly hit that. And on the cost side, I would say the rate shopping component has actually saved us about 25% on the freight expense…” -- Carmine Bosco, AVP Supply Chain at Canadian Tire.

Canadian Tire had been operating under a traditional ecommerce fulfillment model for nearly a century. With their executive team offering full support, this organization’s supply chain team decided to challenge their old way of doing things in order to find a better balance between service and cost. a better service with

The Experiment

Customers across the world are demanding better service. The true challenge, as noted by  Canadian Tire AVP of Supply, Carmine Bosco, is to find the perfect balance between offering a good service while maintaining costs. One way companies have found this balance is through optimizations in the logistics and supply chain. With the full support of their executive team, Canadian Tire decided to launch an experiment.

‍The Hypothesis:Applying an agile approach to ecommerce fulfillment, the team would be able to stand up a new solution quickly with incremental and tangible benefits, without any impact to costs or service quality.

‍Setting up the Experiment: Canadian Tire decided that there were four crucial factors that would dictate the success of the experiment. These four success factors were:

1. Executive Sponsorship - Fortunately, the Canadian Tire executive team was ready and willing to challenge the status quo for their logistics and supply chain organization
2. Controlled Environment - Canadian Tire already had warehouses. All they had to do was clear out space in these warehouses , then designate them specifically for ecommerce fulfillment.
3. A Test Subject (aka guinea pig) - One of the brands under the Canadian Tire family banner, Pro Hockey Life, had been operating a traditional ecommerce fulfillment model for a few years. Due to its success and growth, the Pro Hockey Life team was struggling to keep up with demands. Consequently, their service was suffering and their costs were getting higher. Carmine mentioned that during influxes of shopping like Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday shopping, it would take several weeks to fill orders. Due to this, the Pro Hockey Life team happily volunteered to participate in the pilot.
4. “Slick” Technology - In order to influence the larger organization on how to build out ecommerce fulfillment operations, the logistics and supply chain team needed to implement a brand new technology not in a couple years or even months, rather in a couple weeks. This technology needed to be flexible, innovative, scalable, AND agile - or as Carmine put it, “slick.”

So Canadian Tire already had the executive sponsorship, the controlled environment, the guinea pig; and after scouring the web, they finally settled on the slickest technology on the market: ShipHero.

Why ShipHero

Canadian Tire had several key considerations for this experiment in order to declare it a success, and ShipHero checked all the boxes. These considerations were:

1. Quick Connection to the Website and to Couriers - With ShipHero’s easily integrated platform and dedicated team of experts, connection to Canadian Tire’s website was a matter of hours, not months or weeks. Also Canadian Tire uses various courier companies for printing labels, and again, ShipHero was able to integrate with these couriers within a few hours.
2. Easy Training and Implementation - ShipHero doesn’t require any special tools or gadgets to work. An iPad and bluetooth scanners; those are the only two devices that ShipHero employs and are two devices that everyone is comfortable with and uses regularly. So, Carmine and the Canadian Tire employees found the training to be fast and easy, meaning the system could launch even quicker.
3. Immediate Cost Savings - With ShipHero’s rate shopping capabilities, each and every shipment is rate shopped across your courier connections and the cheapest option is automatically selected. Due to its highly configurable order management rules, there’s no need to get IT folks involved to make these changes.

In addition to the above, the ShipHero website offers a plethora of useful information to maximize your ecommerce fulfillment experience, complete with explanatory how-to videos along with in-depth descriptions of the ShipHero processes. For all the above reasons, Canadian Tire chose ShipHero to launch their ecommerce fulfillment experiment. So, the teams got to work, rapidly standing up a warehouse and setting up ecommerce fulfillment operations, from racking to packing stations, networking / systems setup and team training.

The Launch

In just 4 months, the service launched and began shipping ecommerce orders for the first brand to come online, Pro Hockey Life. This was accomplished by working closely with the logistics and supply chain team, and by ShipHero’s agile, flexible, and scalable roll-out strategy that consisted of:

1. Defining an MVP - Using a phased rollout approach, a Minimum Viable Product (also known as MVP) was quickly developed for the warehouse launch.
2. Speed with SaaS - Without the constraints of a complicated software solution, ShipHero was configured within days.
3. Team Collaboration - Canadian Tire and ShipHero teams worked in unison to gather and satisfy the MVP requirements needed for launch.
4. Training & Launch - Through onsite workshops and meetings, ShipHero personnel conducted train-the-trainers sessions, as well as role-based training for the larger Canadian Tire team.

Now with the experiment underway, Canadian Tire just had to sit back and watch the results.

The Advantages of Scale

The ShipHero service also successfully started shipping ecommerce orders and because of the team’s due diligence with setting up the shipping rate shopping features of ShipHero, the Canadian Tire team saw an immediate ROI realized through the rate shopping tool.

So with the initial experiment a success, Canadian Tire wanted to go beyond the experiment. Another part of the Canadian Tire family with no ecommerce presence, Family National Sports, was able to simply move their inventory to the specified warehouse. Due to the SAAS model and flexible cloud capabilities, in a matter of weeks, National Sports launched their logistics and supply chain operations. Capacity for scale was proven, and Canadian Tire added more a few more of their retail banners.

With the successful launch of the D2C fulfillment warehouse now serving multiple brands, the next step in the experiment was unlocking retail in-store inventory, increasing available to sell inventory as well as new product offerings.

Unlocking Retail

Through ShipHero’s highly configurable order management rules, Canadian Tire was able to use their existing brick-and-mortar locations to fulfill ecommerce orders, instead of building new facilities. Through leveraging curbside pickup, buy online pickup in-store (BOPIS) capabilities, and other omni-channel logistics, Canadian Tire made smart fulfillment decisions, whether the order would come through the store or the DC.

“So what we did is we started thinking about: how could we unlock retail inventory? I mean, it’s sitting there. Why not? Could we put it on the web while we have the warehouse doing fulfillment. So we found with ShipHero it had order management rules that were robust enough to make decisions on where we should fulfill orders; whether it would be the store or the DC. And this is actually quite a powerful feature because it allows our supply chain to use as a lever, if one or the other: store or DC, and we’ve had several stores actually up and running get over capacity, so we could turn the lever and change and switch the nodes on where to fulfill orders.” -- Carmine Bosco, AVP of Supply Chain

Canadian Tire held all the levers to success in terms of logistics and supply chain, with a consistent goal of 99% of orders shipped next-day and a 25% reduction in freight expense. Life was good. And then, a pandemic hit.

Handling a Crisis

Canadian Tire was able to leverage their newfound capabilities from ShipHero to accommodate the ‘new normal’ of post-COVID retail shopping. In-store D2C fulfillment such as curbside pickup and contactless checkout has proven to be an extremely viable solution to the challenges presented by the COVID crisis.

Retail stores are not open for retail, but those that were able to adapt quickly are meeting the increased fulfillment demand of customers who are now buying at home. Our mission at ShipHero is to use agile problem-solving to make the most out of a challenging situation and keep our hard-working clients in business, no matter what.

With the buzz around cryptocurrency, Web 3.0, NFT and the blockchain, you may have considered taking Bitcoin as payment for your eCommerce business. Even if you don’t, it pays to familiarize yourself with how crypto changed the eCommerce landscape.

While cryptocurrency prices have been relatively volatile, many companies support crypto payments. Major eCommerce service providers like WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Shopify accept crypto payments through digital wallets like BitPay and Coinbase Wallet.

In this article, we cover the advantages and disadvantages of implementing cryptocurrency payments in your eCommerce business. We also provide a guide to accepting cryptocurrency on your eCommerce website.

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency (i.e. lines of computer code) not issued by a bank or government, allowing users to spend money anonymously. Bitcoin is one of the most prominent cryptocurrencies, which can be traded on crypto exchanges like Coinbase. Some businesses also accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment.

Bitcoins are stored in a digital wallet, available online through cryptocurrency exchanges or offline in a flash drive-like device. You use this wallet in crypto transactions by transferring funds from your digital wallet to the vendor.

Top 4 Cryptocurrencies to Know

According to the major cryptocurrency exchanges, these are the four most popular cryptocurrencies:

1. Bitcoin: The most well-known modern cryptocurrency
2. Ethereum: An energy-efficient alternative to Bitcoin and the second-most valuable cryptocurrency
3. XRP (Ripple): Boasts lower transaction fees and often used for international fund transfers
4. Bitcoin Cash: Offers an unlimited supply unlike Bitcoin, which makes it a better choice for transactions

Stores That Accept Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general has been widely adopted these past few years. Here are some businesses that accept crypto:

1. Magento
2. Overstock.com
3. eGifter
4. Shopify
5. WooCommerce
6. BigCommerce

Is Cryptocurrency a Viable Option for eCommerce Stores?

Many large eCommerce companies accept cryptocurrency as payment, but is it a good idea? Let’s discuss the advantages and disadvantages.

Why Should Your eCommerce Brand Adopt Crypto Payments?

Adopting crypto payments for your eCommerce brand helps you reach more clients and finish transactions faster. Here are four reasons to start taking cryptocurrency payments:

Reach a Broader Market

Taking digital currency payments means reaching a new market of tech-savvy clients. Moreover, accepting crypto means you don’t have to go through the hassle of converting currencies when doing business with international clients.

However, expanding your client base to other countries means you may need to make international deliveries, so make sure your shipping and last mile delivery solutions can handle them.

Process Transactions Faster

Credit cards and bank transfers take hours, sometimes even days to process. Cryptocurrency transactions only take minutes to arrive in your digital wallet, letting you access the money faster.

Get Lower Transaction Fees

Credit card companies and most payment processors can charge up to 5% in transaction fees. Crypto transaction fees tend to fluctuate, but they generally don’t go higher than 1.5% per transaction. This number may seem small, but it stacks – giving you considerable savings in the long run.

Reduce Risk of Fraud

Cryptocurrency transactions are transparent because they’re recorded on a publicly viewable digital ledger called the blockchain. Additionally, crypto transactions are very hard to reverse, so clients can’t ask to withdraw money from your account without your consent, preventing fraud.

Online Merchants That Accept Bitcoin

Many major brands accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Here are several examples of online retailers and stores that take bitcoin as payment:

• Microsoft Store
• Overstock
• Namecheap
• NewEgg
• ExpressVPN
• AMC Theatres
• Shopify
• Rakuten

Benefits of Cryptocurrency in eCommerce

Lower Transactions Fees

Credit card companies and payment apps like Stripe or Square charge transaction fees anywhere from 3-5% on each transaction. Many eCommerce companies build these fees into their online store prices. Cryptocurrency transactions often don’t have fees or are as low as 1%. However, there are cryptocurrency conversion fees when transferring cryptocurrencies to national fiat currencies like USD.

For Anonymous Transactions and the Bank-Averse

Cryptocurrency allows for anonymous online purchases by using encrypted wallet addresses — it’s basically like using unmarked cash. This allows your clients to purchase items without compromising their personal information and allows you to do business without worrying about any privacy regulations.

Reduce Fraud and Chargebacks

Contrary to popular belief, developers built cryptocurrency's blockchain technology specifically to reduce fraudulent activity. By accepting cryptocurrency, money is exchanged immediately, it cannot be rescinded and it cannot be forged; therefore, the ability for fraudulent chargebacks or returns is drastically reduced.

Disadvantages of Cryptocurrency in eCommerce

Price Volatility

The value of cryptocurrencies tend to fluctuate wildly, compared to the relatively stable movements of fiat currencies. If crypto values drop, you may experience cash flow issues and difficulty in daily operations.

Lack of Buyer Protection

Credit card companies and banks usually have strong client protection measures to safeguard you from unauthorized spending. However, cryptocurrencies have no buyer protection, so you may need to build trust with clients before they warm up to crypto payments.

Environmental Concerns

Bitcoin is produced through mining, an energy-intensive task that consumes more electricity annually than the entire country of Argentina and has a large carbon footprint that equals New Zealand. These issues can hurt crypto prices, like the bitcoin price drop that happened after Elon Musk and Tesla refused to accept bitcoin as a form of payment because of its environmental impact.

Cryptocurrency Taxes

Although Bitcoin isn’t subject to regulations, the government requires you to report your Bitcoin transactions and the revenue/loss from holding the “property” – as declared by the IRS.

According to the IRS, “a taxpayer who receives virtual currency as payment for goods or services must, in computing gross income, include the fair market value of the virtual currency, measured in U.S. dollars, as of the date that the virtual currency was received.”

Accepting Cryptocurrency Payments on Your Website

If you’re planning to take cryptocurrency as a payment method on your website, you need to prepare these things first:

Digital Wallet

You need a digital wallet to receive, send and store many cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum. For eCommerce users, we recommend cryptocurrency exchange wallets like Coinbase because they let you make transactions faster.

Shipping

Adopting cryptocurrency means you're opening yourself to international clients. Review your shipping capabilities to prevent any delivery issues and ensure you can handle orders from abroad. If not, upgrade your 3PL software, and don’t promise two-day shipping unless you can guarantee it.

Payment Processor

Many eCommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce already offer cryptocurrency payment integrations. If your platform doesn’t offer it, look for a crypto payment gateway that suits your needs.

Marketing

You need to announce that you’re accepting cryptocurrency payments. Do this through your eCommerce website, social media and other marketing tools at your disposal.

How to Accept Bitcoin on Your Site

To start accepting Bitcoin on your eCommerce site, simply integrate a BTC payment processor into your store. Many major eCommerce providers like Shopify and WooCommerce already have BTC payment processor integrations, so you can implement them immediately.

Different BTC payment gateway solutions offer different features, so examine the following when making your pick:

• Cryptocurrency transaction fees
• Batch payout frequency
• Supported cryptocurrencies
• Supported regions and countries
• Client Support

Once you accept BTC as payment, market your progressiveness and tech-savviness to your consumer base. You can display signs on your site that say, "Bitcoin accepted here."

What If Direct Integration Isn’t Possible?

If a direct integration isn’t possible, consider alternative options such as the following:

• Payment buttons: Add a payment button to your website; consider using the Coinbase API to create your Bitcoin buttons.
• Custom cryptocurrency payment integration: Create a custom-made Bitcoin API that integrates with your eCommerce platform’s shopping cart
• Invoices: Invoice your clients instead of using shopping carts. Coinbase even has an invoice generator tool.

Wrap it Up

If you decide to accept Bitcoin and cryptocurrency on your online store, you'll want to ensure that your system, transaction and funds are all as secure as possible. So, use strong passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for your crypto exchanges and wallets. Also, regularly update, backup and encrypt your systems and crypto wallet.

To keep your cryptocurrencies safe, buy an offline Bitcoin wallet and put your funds into it regularly. This way, you won’t lose a lot of money if something happens to your crypto exchange account.

While new technologies can be confusing and a bit scary, cryptocurrency has the opportunity to transform eCommerce and international trade as we know it. So while you may not be comfortable with this, at least you'll have a deeper understanding as the internet and eCommerce landscape continues to evolve.

Cryptocurrency and eCommerce FAQs

How to accept cryptocurrency payments on your eCommerce website?

You must integrate a payment gateway on your eCommerce website to accept cryptocurrency payments. Some eCommerce platforms have built-in integrations, but, in some cases, you may need to make custom buttons or build your own integrations.

Where did cryptocurrency come from?

The first modern cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, created in 2009 by a pseudonymous programmer, Satoshi Nakamoto. As the cryptocurrency space developed, more digital assets like Ethereum and Cardano started appearing.

How is crypto changing eCommerce?

Crypto is changing eCommerce by enabling fast transactions with low fees and improving fraud protection. Additionally, adopting cryptocurrency lets businesses reach a larger market of tech-savvy clients.

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‍About ShipHero: We make it simple for you to deliver your eCommerce. Our software helps you run your warehouse, and our outsourced shipping solutions eliminate the hassle of getting your products to your customers. With over 5,000 brands and 3PLs relying on us daily, we’re here to help with all your logistics needs.

Introduction

Finding high-quality, well-tailored men’s clothing online can be a tall order—especially for men who are 6’3” or taller. So demand was really high when American Tall, a men’s apparel brand for tall men, launched their direct-to-consumer ecommerce site. American Tall is a direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand for tall (and extra tall) men. They create quality, tailored clothing and accessories for men between 6’3”–7’1” with a Medium to XXL tall build.

When the company first began operations, the not-so-small family business relished picking and packing each order by hand. They even enclosed personalized ‘thank you’ cards with each order to make the unboxing experience feel as personal as possible. But as their business grew, keeping up with order fulfillment became a challenge.

Manually keeping tabs on inventory levels, order information, and shipping information all on an Excel spreadsheet became impossible tasks to manage.

Challenges

Scaling fulfillment with rapid business growth

• American Tall needed a warehouse management solution
• Free software solutions weren’t scalable with rapid growth
• Too many SKUs made outsourcing shipping to a 3PL unfeasible

“It got to the point where we were spending hours writing thank-you cards each night. It also became more and more challenging to pick the orders,” explains Jake Rajsky, Vice President at American Tall. “We’d have items in stock and people were buying them, but there were none on the shelves for our pickers. Our warehouse manager was spending her entire day pulling down skid after skid to replenish the shelves and we couldn’t get ahead of it.”

To ease the workload, they decided to adopt free batch picking software. But they soon realized that the solution wasn’t scalable with the volume of orders they were receiving.

“The software wasn’t scalable with our business’s growth. It only allowed us to queue up a hundred orders at a time. And there was no way we could do it by hand anymore,” Jake says.They considered outsourcing shipping to a 3PL, but realized that wasn’t feasible either.

“We couldn’t outsource shipping to a 3PL. We have way too many SKUs— 3x or 4x what most retailers have. It would have been impossible for us to pay the crazy-high rates,” Jake says.With order fulfillment falling further and further behind, American Tall needed a solution that was scalable and affordable. That’s what led them to ShipHero.

Solution

ShipHero for fulfillment & shipping

American Tall demoed a number of different warehouse management software solutions, but ShipHero stood out when Jake began using ShipHero to implement more efficient pick and pack workflows. “Out of all the different solutions we tried and tested, ShipHero was the most intuitive,” Jake says. “Picking and packing works well with ShipHero. It’s way more efficient than we were used to, and it forced us to start thinking bigger,” he explains.

American Tall used to only have barcodes on cartons, not individual hang tags. Having ShipHero pushed them to request barcodes on individual items, create a detailed map of their warehouse, and add barcodes to each bay location. With these changes, American Tall started using ShipHero’s Multi-Item Batch, which made it easy to pick multiple orders with different quantities of products into unique tote bags.

“Multi-Item Batch picking and packing was huge. Now, each picker could walk through the warehouse once and get what they needed. I can’t imagine doing it one at a time,” Jake says. “Sending out the wrong item is a waste of money and it damages your brand identity. Now, if a picker pulls the wrong item, scanning the barcode gives them an error message. With Multi-Item Batch, everything’s more accurate.”

It was Shopify-approved with numerous positive reviews. It offered plenty of different features that would help American Tall streamline warehouse management. Its user interface was clean, simple, and intuitive.

“Before, we might have had 1,000 units of size ‘medium’ somewhere in the warehouse, but we had no way of knowing how many were available to pickers. Maybe only 20 of those were on the shelf and the other 980 were packed away on skids in overstock,” Jake explains.“As of two months ago, we can finally track everything. With Dynamic Slotting, we can see our pick-face—anything up to six feet—and the three rows of racking above are for overstock. It’s very easy to see what’s stored on each skid, pull it down, and transfer it from that location to an active one so our pickers can access it,” he adds.

“Picking and packing works well with ShipHero. It’s way more efficient than we were used to, and it forced us to start thinking bigger.”

Results

Software that scaled with 4x growth

• Streamlined inventory management for efficient pick & pack workflows
• Multi-Item Batch to simplify picking multiple orders with different item quantities
• Dynamic slotting to track how much inventory is in stock in each location
• Warehouse management software scalable with 400% business growth
• 275% increase in picking efficiency
• Mis-shipments reduced by half

In less than two years, American Tall’s orders increased by over 400%. They now receive thousands of orders every month and they’re even busier during holiday seasons. ShipHero helped them keep up with order fulfillment while their business grew—and it continues scaling with them. Even better, Jake says that ShipHero has helped them improve picking efficiency by over 275% and reduce picking errors and misshipments in the process.

“We realized there was no way we’d be able to continue filling orders one year down the road at the rate we were growing. We were excited by the growth, but we needed a software solution like ShipHero,” he says.

Having a barcode on each product results in fewer mispicks, improved order accuracy, and more satisfied customers. More recently, American Tall has also been using ShipHero to improve inventory management. ShipHero’s support team helped them implement Dynamic Slotting to track how many units of stock they have in each location in their warehouse.

“Speaking of efficiency, there’s no contest. Manually, two people used to pick around 80 orders per day. With ShipHero, two people can pick over 300. We also reduced misshipments by half, if not more,” Jake says.

More efficient warehouse management has helped them deliver a better experience to their end users. Next, American Tall is planning to expand its use of ShipHero to receive Purchase Orders. This extra functionality will allow them to navigate Purchase Orders on their devices, print barcodes, create flexible location flows, and more.

“Our inventory system used to be Shopify. There was no editing orders or customization. Now, our customer service agents can edit orders, add items, and provide our customers with an overall better ecommerce experience,” he says.

“If you’re planning to scale up your business, you need a solution like this. ShipHero’s customer service is great and they’ve helped make us incredibly efficient,” Jake says.Your fulfillment solution should scale with your growing business. Let’s talk.

Front and Center

Google I/O

On Tuesday, Google held their first developer conference in over two years since the beginning of the pandemic. The otherwise annual event, named Google I/O, is a way for Google to engage and excite its developer network, with landmark updates for their “moonshots” -- their seemingly impossible undertakings -- for software, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and most importantly, shopping!

Google-Shopify Partnership

One major takeaway from the conference has to be the deepening of Google’s partnership with e-commerce platform Shopify. The search giant announced that Shopify’s 1.7 million merchants will now be easier to reach through Google Search, Maps, Lens, Images, and Youtube with “just a few clicks”. And in a blog post, Google said this will make Shopify merchants’ products more discoverable across its various properties.

Never Amazon

The Google-Shopify partnership is aligned with the companies’ joint effort to compete against Amazon in the e-commerce space, while Amazon is also increasingly competing with Google on search ads for commercial queries -- this means that a consumer is actively shopping and is expected to buy. Currently, Amazon earns 19% of all search ad revenue this year, while Google hauls in a whopping 57%.

ECOM 30 for 30: The History of the Dream Team

Way back in the pre-pandemic era, Google previously waived fees for its “Buy” program, which allowed consumers to search and purchase retailers’ products directly on its platform without being directed to retailers’ sites. Google also opened its platform to third-party providers, including PayPal and Shopify, to allow retailers more buying options.

“We believe you deserve the most choice available and we’ll continue to innovate on shopping every step of the way,” says Bill Ready, Google’s President of Commerce and Payments, during the presentation at I/O.

Google’s eCommerce Push

Google also announced enhancements to its e-commerce functionality. Notably, Google Chrome has a new feature that will persistently display shopping carts across tabs so you can easily return to shopping at any time. Thanks Google ????

Back of the Packet

Oracle? No, Google

Welcome to Quantum Supremacy, a future Jason Bourne movie title and also what Google achieved last year. Now on Tuesday during Google I/O, the search company announced a massive milestone in quantum computing, being able to perform a calculation in 200 seconds that would have taken 10,000 years or more on a SUPERcomputer… This extra processing power could be useful to simulate molecules, and hence nature, accurately, Google says… then whispered “gesundheit” a second before an audience member sneezed.

Big Twin (not Danny Devito)

Move over Winklevoss’s, there’s a new Big Twin in town. The e-commerce boom has propelled Amazon to create the world’s largest twin-enginge cargo plane, being dubbed “Big Twin”. While the move may seem like a step backwards in terms of sustainability, it remains unclear whether using one massive cargo plane will be more energy efficient than multiple smaller cargo planes.

Internet Explorer Takes its Final Expedition

Microsoft is taking Internet Explorer out to the “family farm”, where it will be able to run free alongside Netsuite and AOL. Effective June 15, 2022, Microsoft will no longer provide support for the antiquated yet nostalgic web browser. We salute you IE.

Cool Online Brand of the Week

For the fiscally responsible. Her First $100K began as a personal chronicle for Tori Dunlap’s journey to saving $100,000 by the age of 25. It now serves as a blog to share advice on spending, saving, and negotiating for more at work, and further grew it into a personal finance education platform for women, especially for millennials and Generation Z.  The platform brought in half a million in revenue last year.

ShipHero News

Case Study: How to BURST onto the scene, with ShipHero

Masks are coming off and that means one thing… time to take care of your teeth again. Thankfully, the folks at BURST, a long-time ShipHero customer, are here with the affordable subscription service for oral care, championed by thousands of dental professionals across the USA.

“Since switching to ShipHero, we’ve reduced our fully-loaded costs by 35%. At the volumes we move, that’s huge.” Brittany Stewart, President and COO, BURSTContinue reading at our blog here.

PostHero — The Free Shipping Evaluation Tool

PostHero was built as a response to the growing need from ShipHero’s community of business owners to bring transparency into their supply chain. Because traditional shipping carriers make more money off of business owners who hardly understand their supply chain, PostHero has been dubbed “the app that shipping carriers don’t want you to see”.

Pick and Pack Guide for Warehouses

Effective supply chain management is vital for any business, big or small. Without the help of proven, efficient supply chain management strategies and practices, your company may suffer from poor workflows, high costs, unreliable order fulfillment, and major losses. Check out ShipHero’s Pick and Pack Guide for Warehouses including the tips and tricks you need to run an efficient warehouse.

Ecommerce shipping is a key link of the supply chain that can make or break your business. Think that's a bit of an overstatement? Well, last-mile delivery is recorded as the most costly part of the order fulfillment process - it's one of the most pressing logistical challenges. Moreover, if order inaccuracies occur, and items are shipped to the wrong location, then have to face the additional costs of returns and refunds.

This is why it's so important to optimize the shipping process. You need to cut down labor costs, transit times, fuel costs, and establish a seamless workflow. Easier said than done, though, right?

In this article, we're going to take a look at how you can optimize the shipping process from different angles. Questions such as how much to charge your customers, what sort of hits your business should absorb, how to protect your own investment, and which data-driven tools to use, will be addressed and answered.

What is ecommerce shipping?

Shipping is a vital part of the order fulfillment process for ecommerce merchants. It consists of order receiving, order processing, and order fulfillment.

Fulfillment starts as soon as your customer hits the checkout button on the ecommerce platforms and purchases the products in their shopping cart. Once the site confirms the order, the chain moves forward. Small-scale ecommerce stores often store their inventory in their garages. At the same time, as you go up the scale, vendors usually employ the services of inventory storage facilities and warehouses. Upon confirming the purchase, service providers package, label, and ship the products to the destination address.

Shipping can be pretty challenging to handle on your own, especially if you have a growing business. This is the point where third-party logistics companies can be of big help. They optimize the fulfillment process and cater to your needs, and even help you minimize logistics costs. Various companies have different shipping policies and shipping rates, such as Amazon Prime, which offers overnight shipping.

ut not every business can pull this off. This is why your company’s shipping policy should be based on a combination of your budget and your customers’ needs.

What to keep in mind when shipping

There are many factors that ecommerce merchants have to account for when it comes to shipping. All the seemingly small details contribute to your overall shipping costs and total transit times. These factors ultimately determine customer satisfaction and directly impact your business’s reputation and future growth. Since your company’s ecommerce shipping strategy is so important, it's worth investing time and resources to conduct proper research. Here are some of the best practices that online stores employ for shipping, to help you decide which one may suit your business best.

Offer Free Shipping

An effective way to reduce shopping cart abandonment is to provide some incentive to your customers. Companies usually use discounts and coupons to their customers for this purpose. Offering free shipping to your customers makes them feel more comfortable about placing an order.

Contrary to what the name might suggest, free shipping isn’t actually free. Either you take the hit and pay for the fees outright, or the fee is absorbed in a way that customers pay for it. You can do this by incorporating shipping costs into the sale price of your products. This way, you can offer free shipping without compromising on your own profits.

Charge Real-Time Carrier Rates

Another popular shipping strategy among online vendors is charging real-time carrier rates. This process is transparent and gives your customers a little wiggle room. How? Well, let's say you partner up with multiple carriers. You can now let customers pick and choose the shipping option that best suits their need.

Shipping labels like FedEx, USPS, and DHL have different shipping costs, and no one carrier offers lower rates across the board - the pricing depends on numerous factors. Ecommerce platforms such as Shopify integrate real-time shipping rates of these carriers into their dashboard so that they are easy to handle. Customers can then choose what works for them, whether it is overnight shipping, two-day shipping, or flat-rate mail.

Charge a Flat Rate

If you don’t want the hassle of calculating shipping prices for each package, then flat-rate shipping is another reliable option. As the name suggests, this shipping option charges a single rate for each shipping order, regardless of the size or nature of the product.

This option is most suitable for businesses that sell a small variety of products with similar dimensions and weights. However, be sure not to set a very high flat rate for the items- it might scare away the customers. Postal services like USPS usually have several flat-rate shipping options.

Offer local delivery

If your customer base is near to your inventory storage facility, then offering local delivery is one way to go. Keep in mind, though, that this only works for local customers. You can set up the local delivery zone through the use of zip codes - customers within this area qualify as local customers.

Suppose you are catering to a large customer base outside your local area. In that case, you can still offer the local customers this option by putting an appropriate button at the checkout. The local delivery option can be set to be free of charge or at a low flat rate, depending on your budget. This option is best for strengthening your local customer base.

How to calculate shipping costs

An essential part of devising your shipping strategy is determining your shipping costs. If you partner up with a shipping label, couriers base their shipping rates on a number of factors. These factors range from the package weight and size to the origin and destination address. The bigger the product is and the farther away you have to send it, the more you'll typically end up paying for shipping.Before settling on your company’s shipping rates, be sure to assess the following factors.

Consider your margins

One thing ecommerce merchants should focus on is their profit margins- they determine the success of your business. Shipping fees are a significant part of the total fulfillment expenses- deal with them improperly, and you could end up losing money. Before you set up the total price of a product, consider all the little expenses like shipping costs, credit card fees, and packaging, in addition to the cost of the product. Your sale price should leave room for profit after taking care of all of these expenses.

Packaging and marketing

From a historical perspective, packaging and shipping were just ways to get the products to the customer. The up-gradation of technology and the evolution of business strategies have now transformed packaging and shipping into a marketing opportunity. And why not - telling your brands’ story with your product packaging and creating a memorable unboxing experience is a brilliant opportunity.

Packaging inserts and other items could take the whole experience up a notch when the customer unpacks their order- think of unboxing videos online and the publicity they gather! Of course, this type of marketing is another shipping expense and would add to the total costs.

Packaging options

While you can utilize packaging for marketing purposes, don’t lose sight of its original purpose - the package still has to securely hold all the goods. Of course, the safety level for each product depends on its nature. For example, you can ship sweaters and other clothing items in poly mailers, and they would be secure. But for fragile items with higher value, you might need to invest in sturdy boxes and maybe even packing peanuts.

While the nature and size of the product help determine your packaging needs, your customers’ values and preferences also need to be accounted for. Eco-friendly packaging options are often pricier than the standard options, but they appeal to the growing number of eco-conscious consumers. This is why it pays to at least provide eco-friendly packaging as an option to customers.

Insurance and tracking

Insurance and tracking help increase customer loyalty among online shoppers. They help secure your products and provide you with a safety net in case of any mishap. Shipping labels often provide relatively inexpensive or even free options for insurance and tracking. Like UPS and USPS Priority Mail, some carriers offer free coverage for mail orders above a specific price limit.

Customs declaration and forms

International shipping requires proper customs documentation that details the nature and the size of the shipment. More often than not, international shipping also comes with specific regulations and tariffs. Of course, these fees add up to the total shipping cost. Suppose you are catering to a global customer base. In that case, it’s wise to set your shipping policy so that it includes these costs. If you let the customer know of the customs fee beforehand, they won’t be surprised at the unexpected charges once they receive the parcel.

Should you offer free shipping?

Now that you have an idea of what constitutes the shipping expenditures, the next step is to determine whether to offer free shipping or not. Free shipping options are attractive to customers and directly impact conversion rates, but can your business afford to eat the costs and offer them? Well, several factors determine the feasibility of this decision.

The most important factor to consider is your company's available budget and revenue. If your profit margins are high, offering free shipping probably won’t hurt you. Moreover, package dimensions, and the destination’s zonal distance are also factors to consider. Don't forget to further account for the shipping rates of the shipping company you have partnered up with.

So far, we have discussed costs on the business owner’s end. Your customers are another critical determinant of your decision to offer free shipping. For example, if your target audience isn't really interested in free shipping, then you won't have to offer it in the first place. Of course, you can only determine how important free shipping is to them after doing some A/B testing. To sum things up, every company’s needs are different. As such, their decision to offer free shipping may vary.

How to Offer Free Shipping without Reducing Profits

Offering free shipping to your customers might not be feasible for every business. Sometimes, you end up losing more money than you make by taking this route. So, how can you realistically offer free shipping without breaking the bank?

‍Here are some pointers:

Decide if shipping is a marketing expense or COGS

If you want to offer free shipping, first determine how it affects your business. As stated earlier, you can utilize shipping as a marketing opportunity. If so, then free shipping expenses can be considered as marketing expenses. This is a profitable investment if it drives your sales up.

If free shipping isn't doing much for your sales though, then the shipping costs might be an addition to the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), and you may need to adjust your sale prices accordingly. Of course, new businesses might realize that this is more of a hit and trial procedure. You will have to test it first to determine whether the shipping expenses are a marketing expense or COGS.

Offer free shipping to limited shipping zones

One way to realistically offer free shipping is to limit the free shipping to specific zip codes and areas. For example, a US-based business might offer domestic free shipping. Still, since shipping to other countries like Canada and Australia comes with tariffs and customs fees, the free shipping offer might not extend to those countries. Shipping carriers base their rates on the zonal distance of the shipment, so it might be expensive to offer free shipping to far-flung areas. The point is to establish your free shipping policy on your carrier’s shipping rates and limit free shipping to nearby areas.

Surcharge your expedited rates

To offset your free shipping expenses, you can increase the rates of expedited shipping. This only works if your expedited shipping option is attractive enough. As an example, between free shipping with 10-day transit time and expedited shipping with 2-day transit time, chances are both options will attract a fair share of customers. So, you’ll be able to offer free shipping to the customers by surcharging the expedited shipping rates.

Offer free shipping with a minimum purchase amount

Setting a shopping threshold for free shipping is among the best practices employed by eCommerce platforms that offer free shipping. Amazon Prime is such an example. The logic behind it is simple enough. Customers must have a fair number of products in their carts before they can avail free shipping. The profit margin from the sold goods covers the free shipping expenses.

Ecommerce shipping FAQs

How do ecommerce sites calculate shipping?

Ecommerce sites like Shopify have integrations or built-in shipping cost calculators that determine the total shipping costs based on several factors. These include the shipping partner, package dimensions and weight, the zonal distance between the point of origin and the destination, and the transit time.

How is shipping calculated?

You can calculate the total cost of shipping through several determinants - some companies use shipping software for these calculations. These shipping costs include packaging fees, transit fees, and in the case of international shipment, tariffs and customs fees. The transit fees depend on the carrier rates that differ for normal, flat-rate, and expedited shipping options.

How does ecommerce delivery work?

Ecommerce stores either go for self-fulfillment or employ the services of a third-party logistics company. In the latter case, the fulfillment partner handles shipping by teaming up with different couriers. Once the eCommerce store confirms the order, the fulfillment partner sources the product from an inventory storage facility, packs it, and sends it out for shipping. The courier then ships the product to the destination.

What is the cheapest way to ship for a small business?

The cheapest shipping option for a small business is the mail service. USPS is a great shipping carrier with affordable rates. If you want to cut down on the transit time, you could partner up with a third-party logistics company-they also sometimes offer discounts.

Let ShipHero handle shipping for you

ShipHero is a powerful warehouse management solution that seamlessly integrates with your online store and handles warehousing and shipping for you. Shopify merchants can add ShipHero to their existing store on the platform; it is the #1 Warehouse Manager Software on the Shopify app store.

ShipHero integrates seamlessly with major ecommerce platforms such as eBay, Amazon, Shopify, and more.ShipHero aligns its goals with your own, to ensure that your customers are receiving the best services.

Reduced shipping costs

With ShipHero, you can enjoy great discounts on shipping rates from our partner carriers. The ShipHero integration on your online store dashboard lets you compare the shipping rates of different carriers like UPS, USPS, and FedEx. You can then determine which option works the best for you and eliminate the chances of overpaying for shipping. The fulfillment software allows you to save on shipping costs by identifying orders that you can merge. Furthermore, our algorithm picks out the fastest shipping routes, saving both on transit times and shipping costs.

Ecommerce integrations

ShipHero’s eCommerce integrations make the whole order fulfillment process a breeze. ShipHero’s mobile app lets you manage your operations from anywhere- you can track the inventory movement of your store in real-time. You can set rules to simplify packing and shipping tasks. Inventory synchronization and warehouse automation increase the efficiency of the supply chain - meaning that your customers ultimately receive their orders faster. Additionally, ShipHero sends order shipping confirmation and tracking data to customers when their orders are shipped, earning you the brownie points.

Reporting & analytics tools

You can access ShipHero’s premium reporting and analytics tools and use the data to enhance your brand's growth strategy. The reporting tools give a comprehensive insight into shipment expenses, sales history, inventory stocks, cost of goods, and team performance. Essentially, it allows you to keep track of everything from one central place.

Ecommerce shipping is a vital part of the supply chain, and one of the most expensive stages too. To avoid hefty transit costs, delayed orders, and unhappy customers, optimizing the shipping process is vital. A powerful ecommerce shipping solution like ShipHero can help you meet your business goals and optimize your shipping process.

Effective supply chain management is vital for any business, big or small. Without the help of proven, efficient supply chain management strategies and practices, your company may suffer from poor workflows, high costs, unreliable order fulfillment, and major losses.

One of the most vital parts of the order fulfillment process is the pick and pack stage. If the pick and pack stage is not optimized, then a number of issues may arise. This includes order delays, order inaccuracies, delivery of damaged goods, and more.

So, to guarantee the success of your business operations, optimizing the pick and pack process is vital. This is easier said than done, and there is no single 'right' way to do it. Business owners must consider different strategies and methods, and determine which one suits their needs best.

What is pick and pack?

Pick and pack is a three-stage part of the supply chain management process. The process is pretty much exactly what the name suggests. Pick and pack involves the following:

1. Receiving an order: Your warehouse system is connected to your online store sales page. So when a customer places an order, the warehouse system is notified and generates a packing slip.
2. Picking the order: This part is done manually. A warehouse worker will take the generated slip and find the items listed from the warehouse. Different warehouses employ various inventory strategies to help ease this process by making it easier to find the items
3. Packing the order: The order is now sent to a packing station, where it is packed using necessary equipment and the required documentation is placed alongside it. It is now ready for the delivery stage.

How does pick and pack work?

Pick and pack fulfillment can be done in many ways, depending on the warehouse. Here are the different methods of picking and packing.

Piece picking

This pick and pack strategy is most commonly employed by small businesses. It involves taking the packing slip of one individual order at a time as they come in for the pick and pack process.

Batch picking

In batch picking, different items from various orders are grouped together because of a common similarity. For example, if they are located close to each other in the warehouse. This method is used when there are many small orders to fulfill at one time and to do so, a pick and pack software is required. By grouping items together in this way, you save time for your order pickers. This is because they now only have to go to a designated place in the warehouse once to pick up an item that is required for several orders. Pack workers can then redistribute said items to the specific order during the packing process.

What are the Challenges to the Pick and Pack Process?

As with any part of the supply chain, the pick and pack process may face certain challenges. Below are some challenges that may come up.

Inaccurate inventory counts

An inaccurate inventory count can make it difficult to manage the pick and pack process. This is because an inaccurate count can lead to further problems such as scheduling errors. With an incorrect count, the inventory stock is incorrectly recorded, and shortages may occur when the orders are meant to be picked, causing order delays.

Inefficient warehouse layouts

An inefficient storage layout may negatively affect your turn-around time (TAT). TAT is the overall time it takes to pick orders and pack a customer's order. If you have an unorganized warehouse, it is difficult to efficiently find the desired items as orders start to come in. This inevitably leads to delays.

Missing Product Information (or lack of integrations)

Inventory data is an essential factor when it comes to the pick and pack process. For example, in the picking process, inaccurate recording of the average number of lines per order or improper listings of complementary goods may cause problems to arise. This leads to order inaccuracies or order delays. Similarly, in the packing process, if factors such as the weight or fragility of the items are not recorded, then problems in the delivery process arise - such as customers receiving damaged goods.

How to Optimize the Pick and Pack Process

Here are some methods to help increase the efficiency of your pick and pack process:

Design Your Warehouse for Efficiency

There are ways to organize your warehouse facility that minimize your turnaround time. By performing an ABC analysis, which categorizes your inventory into 3 parts, based on factors such as sales, the most popular items can be made easier to access, quickly. Also, you can place items that are usually ordered together in the same place. This will be beneficial for your warehouse in long term, as it will not only increase the efficiency of the pick and pack process, but reduces operational costs too.

Keep Your Warehouse Well-Organized

A tidy work environment can make all the difference. This is especially true for warehouses. Make sure your warehouse is free of as much clutter as possible to avoid accidents or problems in maneuvering around the premises. Also, keep the packing station organized, with any and all supplies needed to pack different items for shipping.

Program Your WMS for Easy Picking

Your Warehouse Management System, or WHS, makes for easy picking, by listing the items of an order in terms of where they are located. This will reduce the time it takes to find a complete order, and is less manual work for a picker.

Double Check Each Order

Although technology is becoming increasingly efficient, you should still have a person assigned to double-check orders after they are picked, packed, and made ready for shipment. This will reduce the chances of mistakes occurring and corresponding needs for reshipment. Reshipment is pricey and decreases revenue, so the likelihood of it should be minimized.

Keep an Accurate Inventory Count

Having a detailed inventory organization system can make all the difference to your pick and pack process. For large companies especially, spreadsheets are not the best choice. They can get messy and complicated.

For accuracy, opt for barcodes and RFIDs. A perpetual inventory management system will also help - as it's technology-enabled. A perpetual system keeps a record of stocked and sold items as they change, and continuously updates your accounting system when sales are made or new stocks are bought.

Start using ShipHero pick and pack warehouse fulfillment services

Warehouse fulfillment can be tricky to optimize. The goal for any business is to minimize labor costs, optimize quality control and order accuracy, and maximize customer satisfaction. E-commerce fulfillment can be difficult though, especially if you lack the right resources. This is where warehouse fulfillment companies can really help retailers grow their businesses.ShipHero is a data-driven warehouse management system that optimizes workflows and even handles order fulfillment for you. Here's how ShipHero helps optimize your business operations and logistics.

Distributed inventory

ShipHero provides users with a distributed inventory, which means that your inventory is divided up and stored at different storage facilities. This means that when a customer places an order in a specific area, the order is fulfilled and shipped from the nearest location, reducing delivery times and costs simultaneously.

Order management

ShipHero's warehouse management platform optimizes order management through technology. The advanced software integrates effortlessly with your business systems and provides you with multiple customization options. Users can create custom workflows to cater to their business's specific needs, and set automation rules to make the processes more efficient. When an order is placed, ShipHero's system automatically assigns them to the nearest warehouse.

Done for you fulfillment

ShipHero has evolved into more than just a warehouse management system - we also offer efficient order fulfillment, just for you. For as little as $5.58, ShipHero will pick, pack and ship your orders. ShipHero's order fulfillment is also especially reliable, thanks to our distributed inventory and network of fulfillment centers across the country. When orders are placed, the WMS has them routed to the nearest location, minimizing transit times, costs, and the possibility of order delays.

Bulk shipping discounts

ShipHero's warehouse management solution comes with built-in shipping multicarrier shipping options and automated label generation and shipping quoting. The advanced software determines the cheapest shipping option for individual orders, making sure you always have the most cost-effective option.

Conclusion

Getting your pick and pack processes right can be tricky, but it's well worth the time and effort. After all, the success of any ecommerce business comes down to happy customers, and efficient picking and packing are necessary to achieve this. Late orders, high shipping fees, and order inaccuracies won't keep your customers coming back for more.

Effective warehouse management and the best pick and pack strategies can help improve your workflow and optimize the order fulfillment process, but this isn't always enough. Sometimes, you need a third-party with a team of experts to handle the logistics while you focus on growing your business. This is where a warehouse management solution like ShipHero can help you out.

ShipScore -- The Free Shipping Evaluation Tool

ShipScore was built as a response to the growing need from ShipHero’s community of business owners to bring transparency into their supply chain. Because traditional shipping carriers make more money off of business owners who hardly understand their supply chain, ShipScore has been dubbed “the app that shipping carriers don’t want you to see”. After realizing just how critical this information was for brands, ShipHero made the decision to offer this tool to anyone with a Shopify store, free of charge, whether or not they are an existing ShipHero customer. ShipHero CEO and Co-Founder Aaron Rubin explains: “Our industry has a bad pattern of obscuring costs and performance. Merchants should understand how their warehouse and shipping carriers are performing. They should have access to that data without needing consultants or expensive software. We built the software to provide that data and we made it free for everyone, whether they’re a ShipHero customer or not.”Users with a US-based Shopify store can filter their shipped orders by state, by shipping method, and by date range to see a clear dashboard of recent orders. E-commerce business owners can identify gaps in their supply chain and get a clear picture of how their brand compares to their peers in terms of order picking, packing, and preparation. Based on this data, owners can better allocate resources like budget, talent, and time to the areas that matter.ShipScore is the first app of its kind to offer visibility into shipping carriers that are known for vague and complex retail supply chains. All recommendations are tailored to the specific Shopify stores and provide real, actionable insights into the retail supply chain.Rubin adds: “Giving e-commerce businesses the insights they need to make intelligent shipping decisions is a no-brainer. If we can help businesses save money while getting products to customers in record time, then we’re going to make it happen.”

Getting Started with ShipScore

To get started, simply download the ShipScore App from Shopify, import your order data from Shopify with the click of a button, and your shipping performance is automatically analyzed and aggregated into a single ShipScore. With your ShipScore you can brag to your customers and friends if it’s good, or to find areas of improvement if it’s... not so good.Get at-a-glance performance by region, carrier or shipping status to identify the bottlenecks and poor shipping performance that costs you money! Use the interactive map to visualize the product journey and see how long your products have to travel to get to your customer’s doorstep, allowing you to make better inventory distribution decisions.Not only that, ShipScore lets you dive into each step of the shipping process, like dispatch and delivery times, to create more actionable steps towards improving your logistics. You can also track your performance over time with interactive graphs, and adjust the date filters to see how your shipping performance changes over specific events or holidays.All that with a free tool? That’s right. Saving money on shipping costs is all about finding the right data to make intelligent decisions. So let our free evaluation tool give you all the data you need, in an easy, intuitive interface, to help you unlock better logistics. Click the link below to get started.

ShipScore Benefits

With ShipScore, identify areas for improvement and discover quick win opportunities to improve your shipping performance and revenueQuick WinsLet ShipScore help you devise easy growth opportunities to improve sales and shipping pricing based on your order data.How Do You Stack UpFind out how your business compares with pick, pack and order preparation, so you can better allocate time, budget and talent. Understand Shipping, Save $$$Track shipping times and performance week-by-week to see how long your orders are in transit, what regions are more costly, and how your shipping improves over time.

About ShipScore

Does your shipping cost you revenue and lost sales? This free tool is specifically designed to help you evaluate your supply chain, and give you powerful data analysis to make intelligent decisions and lower your shipping costs.

ShipScore FAQs

Can I use the same ShipScore account for multiple shops?Yes! We support multiple stores per account. You can see the overall stats or per shop by selecting the shop you want on the top left.What carriers do you support?The carriers we support currently are:

• USPS
• UPS
• DHL Ecommerce
• Fedex

Where are all the orders that are going internationally?ShipScore is currently US only, so we won’t show international orders. We currently have no plans to use international orders.Do you count working hours or total hours? We count working hours. So if your order shipped on a Friday and arrived on Monday, we count that as 1 day to arrive. While that varies from warehouse to warehouse, for now we are assuming Monday through Friday, from 7AM to 5PM (10 working hours).If the carrier for the order is unsupported, we won’t get tracking information for that just yet.

Wrap it up

Be sure to check out ShipScore on the Shopify app store.