Do you have a small business that has a growing online retail presence, or is your business expanding from shipping parcels to needing to outsource to a delivery firm? No matter where you are in the growth cycle of your business, if shipping is an essential part of your business, then you need to get it right.
As any successful entrepreneur knows, you need to focus the limited amount of energy that you have on the most important parts of your business, including generating sales or long-term planning, and outsource the rest, like your shipping or accounting, to other people or tools. In many cases, making use of the right tools can make all the difference to your success.
Package your shipments properly
Whether you’re shipping parcels or pallets, or need specialist shipping like temperature controlled transport, packaging your shipments correctly is essential, both to protect your goods that you’re shipping and to make sure your brand identity is effectively communicated to your customers receiving the shipment.
Here are some easy tips for packaging your shipments like a professional:
- Use packaging that looks professional such as boxes, packaging tape, and fillers. These will not only protect your products but will also show a professional brand image for your business to your customers.
- Choose the right box and packaging material. This includes using proper internal protection (fillers) to keep your products safe in transit.
- If you’re shipping a pallet, make sure the pallet itself is not damaged. If your pallet has already been damaged, even the proper palletization of your products won’t help, and your order is sure to arrive damaged.
- To help prevent any loss or damage, it is important to pack your goods as tightly as you can in the box or on the pallet to avoid empty space and the risk of your goods shifting around while in transit.
- If you are shipping a pallet, make sure you wrap the pallets very well. It is always better to overprotect an order being shipped than under protect it.
Avoid extra charges by having the correct measurements
Shipping rates will depend on a few different factors: weight, dimensions (volume), distance, quantity and the type of product.
When you get a shipping quote, it is important that you provide accurate dimensions and weights so that the shipping charge matches the initial quote that you were given. Couriers will verify your data and change your invoice if they need to if the weight and dimensions that you gave were incorrect. This can result in extra charges.
The same is true for shipping pallets. Make sure you have the right address, shipping hours, dimensions and weight of the shipment. Remember that if there is an issue in transit or with delivery, for example, if a customer is given the wrong package or an order is damaged, the responsibility will fall on you to provide proof that the shipment was not sent in that condition. Take pictures of your package or pallet before you send it out.
