eCommerce is an exciting industry, but it’s also a fiercely competitive one. Customers have more options than ever before, and they’re not afraid to take their business elsewhere if they don’t get the experience they want. One way to ensure your customers keep coming back is by ensuring that your products arrive on time. This article will explain why timely delivery matters so much in eCommerce and how you can achieve this goal as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Why Is Timely Delivery Important for eCommerce Businesses?
There’s a reason that the saying “time is money” exists. It’s because time is essential and can be valuable if you use it wisely. Timely delivery of orders is critical to growing and maintaining a successful eCommerce business. Here are a few reasons why:
- Customers will be happy when they receive their orders on time—they’ll know that you care about providing them with excellent customer service, making them more likely to return to buy from you again. In fact, according to a PWC survey, 41% of customers are even willing to pay extra money to get same-day delivery.
- You’ll build a good reputation as someone who takes care of your customers and doesn’t let them down or leave them hanging without what they want or need when they need it most.
- You will not lose customers if you ensure timely delivery. Delivery delays can lead to bad experiences, costing you lost customers. A Northridge Group Study reveals that 72% of customers are willing to switch to a competitive brand after only a single bad experience.
How to Ensure Timely Deliveries
There are many ways to ensure timely delivery. You should always try different strategies to find the one that works for you and fits well in your delivery model.
Stay on Top of Inventory
A study shows that a third of businesses will miss a shipment deadline because they took an order of an unavailable product. Hence, inventory management becomes vital. Keeping track of your inventory is one of the most important aspects of running an online business. You need to know how much product you have, where it’s located, how much inventory is on hand, and how much more you need to order.
The first step in ensuring timely delivery is providing your inventory data is always accurate. Here are some tips:
- Your systems should automatically update when something changes—such as when a customer purchases an item or returns something they bought. This eliminates your employees’ need for manual updates, leading to mistakes and unnecessary delays in delivering products to customers.
- You can use multiple systems for tracking different types of goods (for example, barcodes or QR codes), so you don’t have to export data from one system into another every time there’s a change in stock levels or location information for each product line that exists within your organization.
Leverage 3PL Fulfillment Services
Third-party logistics (3PL) companies are a great way to streamline the fulfillment process. 3PL fulfillment is a process by which a third-party company fulfills orders on behalf of another company. This can be done in several ways, including picking and packing items for shipment, shipping items using the company’s resources, or acting as an intermediary to connect buyers and sellers.
They can help you manage your inventory, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. 3PL companies can also handle shipping, which means they’ll ship products directly from their warehouse instead of first shipping items to your store location and then back out later. This saves time and eliminates the cost of storing products in two places (i.e., in your warehouse and at an off-site location).
When choosing a 3PL fulfillment provider, it is vital to consider the company’s experience and track record in order fulfillment. The provider should also have the necessary resources to handle your order volume and be able to ship products quickly and efficiently. Finally, it is essential to ensure that the 3PL fulfillment provider you choose complies with all relevant regulations governing package shipping.
Stay Ahead of the Curve With Technology
There is a lot of technology out there that can help you stay ahead of the curve. Thanks to technology, businesses can now track their packages more efficiently and ensure they are delivered on time. They can also give access to this information to customers in real time. GPS tracking systems can help businesses and customers keep track of their packages, and email or text notifications can let them know when a package is out for delivery. This allows companies to plan and ensure that their packages are delivered on time, despite unexpected delays.
Technologies like AI are also becoming increasingly popular in the logistics domain. According to Statista, over 40% of survey respondents say that AI can help improve inventory management. AI can aid inventory management by predicting when and how much inventory will be needed. It can analyze historical and real-time data to draw patterns. Based on these patterns, AI can predict the increase or decrease of a particular product. This can enable eCommerce businesses to manage their inventories accordingly to prevent understocking or overstocking.
Communicate With Your Customers
You should let your customers know when orders are being shipped and how long it will take for their packages to arrive. Your clients may be concerned about your business if they do not receive any updates from you regarding their shipments, so it’s vital that you share shipping information as soon as possible after placing an order.
You can also provide status updates on more than one channel via social media, email, or even text messages if necessary. If there are any delays in processing orders due to high demand or other reasons, let people know, so they aren’t worried about where their packages have gone! Communicating clearly with customers is key—people will appreciate knowing what’s going on with their orders and how long it will take before they receive them.
Final Thoughts
If you’re shipping a product, make sure it arrives on time. Keep your inventory in check to ensure timely delivery, and use 3PL fulfillment services to consolidate shipments. Communicate with customers about their orders’ status and ensure they are informed before making a purchase decision. Stay ahead of the curve with technology that allows you to plan out routes for drivers more accurately so that they can deliver packages on time every time!
