SHIPPING

For the web-based business, selecting the right carrier can be a difficult chore. There are so many options offered that the best choice is not always clear. When looking for a shipping partner ask the shipper if it:

• Offers a full range of shipping services, i.e., same day, next day, ground, air, etc.?
• Has online real-time tracking and tracing that can integrate into your website’s back-end and warehousing systems?
• Has an automated and easy return service that is consumer friendly?
• Offers complete transportation management services, including palletized inbound shipments and small package services?
• Provides the same connectivity and tracking services when shipments move outside the shipper’s network (a commercial airline or a train or ocean container)?
• Handles orders 24x7? If not, when is the latest the shipper will accept a package or schedule a pick-up?
• How late can a package get into the shippers hands and still be delivered the next day?

It is essential that a website integrate tracking information into its systems and that it makes that data available to its customers. For example, Federal Express has a customized shipping system that allows qualified web-based businesses to track deliveries once every hour. This allows a website not only to check when a package was delivered and who signed for it, but also to track the orders that were returned because of a problem with the delivery itself. This information can be sent to the website’s customers via email.

Shipping is one of the most costly factors of order fulfillment. Keep in mind that shipping rates are determined by three major factors: travel mileage, package weight, and delivery times. To better understand the influence of these factors consider this scenario:

Let’s say you’re shipping a package from San Francisco to New York City and the weight of the package is five pounds or less. Using FedEx Standard Overnight or UPS Next Day Air Saver would cost approximately $30 (FedEx being a few pennies more), Airborne Next Afternoon Service runs approximately $21, and the U.S. Postal Service Express Mail runs $24 dollars. Second day service is more reasonable, although still expensive — FedEx and UPS both running around $16 (again FedEx is a few pennies more), Airborne runs a little over $10 and the U.S. Postal Service charges $6.50 for its Priority Mail service.

Now let’s look at how shippers earn the $6.50 to $30. They:

• Transport the package whether it is 5 miles or 5000 miles.
• Provide tracking information so that you and your customer can know exactly how far the shipping cycle has progressed.
• Deliver the package to the customer’s front door.
• Record when the package is delivered to the customer’s front door.

Speed is an expensive commodity — but the Internet is all about speed causing many web-based businesses to find themselves in a catch-22 situation — how to arrange a speedy delivery of products, inexpensively!

If you offer your customers shipping options, post clear, concise, and fair shipping choices and policies on your website. If overnight service is offered, clarify what time orders must be received for same day shipping and that orders placed on weekends and holidays are shipped the next business day (unless that is not the case).

There is help available. Several online sites provide information on the best shipping options based on origin and destination of the package as well as based on the weight and dimensions. Check out iShip.com. This website offers templates that allow you to find the best options for shipping a package based on delivery times, weight and destination with a comparison of UPS, FedEx, Airborne, and the U.S. Postal Service. Just fill out the online form with the appropriate information — shipment dimensions, postal codes and loss-protection options. It even has a place for a website to add its handling charges (if any). The iShip.com site also offers a tool for online auctions and provides an integration tool that allows e-commerce sites to provide the service directly on their web pages as a convenience for their customers.

A more sophisticated alternative is InterShipper.net. This website helps e-commerce operators and their customers manage all their shipping activities whether domestic or international. A single real-time shipping quote from multiple leading carriers allows buyers to select the shipping cost and service that suits them the best right from their desktops, and enables pre-bid or pre-purchase shipping estimates to expedite purchasing decisions. InterShipper integrates into web malls and stores, auction sites, portals, e-marketplaces, and e-commerce procurement systems, thereby optimizing shipping logistics and tracking processes.