In August alone, a record 5.9 million Australians bought something online, with Australia Post reporting Christmas-level volumes of delivery during state lockdowns. That trend is only set to skyrocket as we head into the busiest time of the year for a lot of small businesses: the Christmas rush.
“With potential delays in shipping, consumers are being warned to shop for Christmas early, which will put added pressure on e-commerce businesses in the next few months,” says Stephen Darracott, Vice President and Country Manager of shipping, mailing and tracking business Pitney Bowes Australia and New Zealand.
“Small business owners should be planning now if they haven’t started already to avoid having to make significant changes during the peak season.”
Shipping delays, supply chain issues, added fees – can they be avoided? Stephen Darracott reveals to Kochie’s Business Builders how to escape the parcel pandemonium and shares his insider tips on how businesses prepare for Christmas right now.
Tip #1: Manage and exceed consumer expectations
Stephen explained that consumers are aware of potential supply chain issues, which could make them more likely to be understanding if it takes longer than normal to deliver products, but still highlighted the importance of clear communication at every step of the way.
“Businesses should be upfront with customers, providing clear delivery cut-offs and delivery time frames on the website and in their communications to ensure customers know what to expect,” he said.
“This includes providing information about stock levels and potential shortages due to the operating environment putting additional pressure on replenishing stock.”
He advised that to maintain strong customer experiences and avoid losing business, businesses must be prepared for a volatile shipping environment and put processes in place to ensure they can get their products to customers in the most reliable and efficient ways possible.
Despite the various challenges, Stephen believes this could present an opportunity for businesses to surpass customer expectations and deliver an exceptional customer experience by delivering goods sooner.
“Using a dedicated, multi-carrier shipping platform can also help businesses choose their preferred carrier and integrate online stores to make parcel sending, tracking, and order management easier and more secure,” he explained. “This can help expedite the shipping process.”
Tip #2: Be prepared and be willing to adapt
Stephen recommends that businesses should be locking in carriers, suppliers, and marketing strategies to focus on executing the best customer experience possible ahead of the annual peak shopping and shipping season.
“Consider speaking with carriers to see if there is anything that can be done to assist them when preparing orders, which will help the provider process orders faster,” he advised. “This might include additional sorting or labelling at the business’s end that reduces the 3PL [third-party logistics] providers’ processing time.”
While this might cost businesses a little more upfront, Stephen highlighted the rewards it will yield from customer satisfaction will make it worthwhile.
He also suggests putting a pause on other projects and initiatives to free up staff and resources to get the business through peak season.
Tip #3: Diversify your delivery pipeline
Stephen strongly encourages businesses engage multiple carriers for deliveries as critical to fulfil customer orders and minimise supply chain challenges that could impact deliveries to some destinations.
“Business owners should consider using local 3PL providers to bring as much stock as possible closer to potential customers to reduce transit times,” he advised.
“A multi-carrier strategy lets business owners work to individual carrier strengths and also make changes on a state or regional level if lockdowns or unforeseen circumstances arise in one particular area.”
Tip #4: Try a flexible shipping solution
Pitney Bowes recently launched SendPro™ Online in Australia, a shipping platform that lets businesses use their existing carrier rates or use the platform’s discount rates offering multiple options in one place.
“It could be used to support some or all of a business’s delivery needs, locally or nationally making it completely scalable and flexible, which is particularly beneficial during peak seasons,” Stephen explained.
“SendPro Online lets you compare shipping prices across all your connected services so you can choose the lowest cost or the fastest delivery time, whichever suits your needs.”
Stephen reiterated that by reducing the dependency on a single carrier, it will provide businesses with the best opportunity for parcels to arrive as close to on-time as possible coming into what is potentially the busiest shopping and shipping period e-commerce businesses have ever faced.
“We know that shipping parcels can be tedious, time-consuming, complex, and expensive,” Stephen added. “That’s why we developed SendPro Online. We’re aiming to take the hassle and complexity out of shipping parcels, offering real savings to customers.”
SendPro Online offers:
- Access to discounted shipping prices with special Pitney Bowes rates for Aramex and CouriersPlease.
- Ability to connect your Australia Post MyPost Business account.
- Ability to connect your own carrier accounts with Sendle, Aramex, CouriersPlease, StarTrack, and Australia Post Eparcel.
- Capability to quote and ship orders directly from Shopify, eBay or WooCommerce stores.
- Comparison of prices and delivery times to choose your best option.
- Tracking and reporting on all parcels.
Sign up to SendPro Online for free here and give it a try today.
This article is brought to you by Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with Pitney Bowes.
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