In an era where the majority of purchases are conducted online, shipping has become an increasingly important department for many retail companies. However, it’s also a department that does not always receive as much attention or development as other internal business operations. Many consumers place a high importance on quick and worry-free shipping. As such, it’s important that this department streamlines operations as much as possible. These tips to improve your business’s shipping department will help you prioritize organization and efficiency within your company.
Bring more processes in-house
One of the best tips to improve your business’s shipping department is to bring as many processes in-house as possible. This may seem slightly excessive, but it allows you far more control over operations than outsourcing different elements in the shipping process does. By bringing operations in-house, you can more closely monitor different steps of the process, allowing you to know which parts work well and which could use improvement. One of the simplest aspects of shipping to bring in-house is the printing of shipping labels.
Printing your own labels allows you to more easily customize labels for specific products or orders, ensuring that your consumers receive the correct items every time. It is also a good way to shave costs when shipping and streamline the overall process.
Prioritize communication
Communication is key in all aspects of business, including shipping. Preparing an order for shipment often requires the cooperation of several different teams. If communication between said teams is not as clear as possible, the risk of the order being shipped incorrectly increases significantly. The best way to streamline communication at different points in the shipping process is to appoint a lead to each team and encourage all communication to go through them. It is also beneficial to create a paper trail for all communication between departments. This way, if there is an issue with an order, members of your shipping department can accurately track the package’s journey from start to finish and clearly mark the exact point of error.
Establish a stable organization system
Reorganizing your warehouse may seem like a tedious task, but it can significantly improve shipping efficiency in the long run. Creating a stable organization system will help your warehouse operate like a well-oiled machine. Employees will know exactly where to go and who to speak to regarding specific orders and potential errors will be resolved much more quickly. Create a catalog for all items in your inventory and update it with every new order that’s input, filled, and shipped. The more organized your warehouse is, the more quickly and accurately your orders can be filled and shipped.
