This is part one in a two-part series. Read part two here.
It’s no secret that good order fulfillment is a key to keeping your customers happy.
Unfortunately, according to UPS’s 2015 “Pulse of the Online Shopper,” only 83 percent of online shoppers are happy with their experience. That leaves almost 20 percent of online shoppers that your eCommerce business still needs to figure out how to delight. It’s a big chore, but partnering with a 3rd party logistics (3PL) company can help smooth out the buying process so your customer base has a better experience with your business.
Improving Customer Happiness Before Shipping
A full 66 percent of the online customers surveyed by UPS said that a retailer’s reputation was important in the decision-making process when deciding to purchase online. If you really want to build your reputation as an online retailer, a 3PL can help in these ways before your orders even ship:
- Creating secure order fulfillment. Credit card security is still a really big deal to online shoppers, they’ll be hesitant to shop with anyone that they don’t feel they can trust with their card information. Choosing a 3PL that is fully PCI-compliant means that your customers’ data is secure and they don’t have to worry about their credit cards being used without their permission simply because they went online to make a purchase.
- Increasing pick, pack and ship Bar code scanning and shopping cart integration with your 3PL will speed up orders and make them dramatically more accurate. SKUs are unique to each product in the warehouse, enabling both humans and machines to be absolutely certain they’ve picked and packed the right product before the box is sealed. Integrating your shopping cart speeds up the process even more, allowing a 3PL to have an order sent to the warehouse floor the instant that your customer pays for it.
- Improving inventory control. Your product fulfillment is only as good as your inventory control. If your inventories are out of date or inaccurate, customers may choose items that are actually out of stock or end up being forced to choose a less preferred item when they’re looking for an item in a hurry. The inventorying process at a 3PL like ShipWizard is accurate in real-time. Each item that enters and leaves the facility is scanned and added or subtracted from inventory. This way, you know exactly how many items are left in your warehouse and when it’s time to order more to avoid backorders.
These are just three of the ways a 3PL can help make your customers happier, which will ultimately help you build your business and expand your influence online and off. We have three more helpful ideas for you in the second part of this two-part series.
