In the past, the majority of small businesses catered to their local communities. However, nowadays, with the rise of Ecommerce, it’s grown increasingly simple to reach a global audience, simply by altering your delivery options to include international shipping. This is a huge benefit. After all, it means your brand and products are more widely available to a much larger audience – a global audience. What you do need to consider, however, is how to manage your company’s shipping so that you can cater to everyone’s needs and get your products to whoever may have ordered them safely, in good condition and in good time. Here’s a little information that should be able to help you along the way.
Packaging Your Products Correctly
The first step that you need to take in the process of getting your products from your stock or storerooms to your customers is to take care of packaging. Everything you send needs to be carefully and correctly packaged. There are a number of different options on the market. The most basic option is basic parcel paper and tape. However, there are plenty more secure options out there that will prove less time consuming to package too. This includes mailing bags and boxes. Just aim to use environmentally friendly options where possible. Cardboard bags and boxes are great. You can also find cardboard or paper stuffing and packaging that replaces the need for bubble wrap. It’s important to make sure that the recipient’s name and address can be clearly read. Generally speaking, it’s best to print postage labels rather than handwriting them to prevent illegibility and items getting lost in the post. You should also make sure to write your return address on the parcel as well. This will make sure the item comes back to you if it isn’t delivered. You can then reship to the customer after checking their address is correct or refund them without making a significant loss.
Different Shipping Methods
There are a number of different shipping methods you can use. As you start out and are only making a few sales, you can use the post office to ship sold goods. As you expand, stores may begin to want to stock your product. You could buy a van from https://www.manchestervansales.com/used-vans and get the products there yourself. As you begin to expand and have larger orders, you might want to use a courier.
Tracking
High value products should be shipped with tracking. This will make sure you definitely know the product has arrived. This can help to retrieve and resurface lost items that may not have found their way to the customer, or can give you proof that a customer may have received and signed for a parcel and is simply trying their luck pretending it hasn’t arrived for an unnecessary refund.
Of course, these are just the basics of shipping for small businesses. But getting to grips with them will help you to get off to the best start possible!
