Use shipping automation to save time this holiday season (with 3 examples)

Peak season is nearly here. From Black Friday through to Christmas, retailers big and small can expect to see higher order volumes, more website traffic and more opportunity to create loyal customers.

As always, the same advice holds true: Take the time now to make sure your business is up to scratch and ready for the busy period. Ensure your website can handle the increased number of visitors and set up your shipping and fulfilment to save time, cut down on costs and get more orders out the door.

Optimisation – especially when it comes to shipping – may be more important this year than ever before. Ongoing economic uncertainty may mean that 2022 isn’t the gangbusters year that 2021 was. For retailers, now is certainly the right time to make their businesses as lean and efficient as possible.

In this article, we’re going to look at how shipping automation could make a world of difference to your shipping and fulfilment as we head into peak season.

The risks of the status quo

Make hay while the sun is shining.

Pandemic-related issues aside, wise is the retailer who looks for ways to improve their business before they’re forced to. When moving goods online, shipping automation is perhaps the most effective way you can make huge positive changes in your business.

Why? Because automation helps you do more with less. You can:

• 📍 Reduce manual errors – Automatically correct invalid addresses.
• 👷 Reduce staff workload – Automate document generation, including shipping labels, packing slips, and customs documents.
• 🌐 Save time and increase oversight – Run your shipping, online orders and couriers all from one dashboard, even if you ship from multiple locations.
• 📊 Gain new insights from your data – Using a fulfilment automation platform lets you access the analytics, meaning you can identify areas that are letting you down, like a particular courier.
• 📈 Scale easily – Software scales with you, especially when it’s cloud-based. Growing your order volumes? Simply change your plan and keep growing.
  
  

Keep reading to learn how real businesses put shipping automation in place to achieve exactly what we’ve just outlined.

How can you automate shipping?

Introducing a shipping automation platform is as easy as signing up online, using ready-to-go integrations to plug in your couriers and eCommerce platforms, and then shipping your first label.

With the right software, your team can save up to 80% of their time by automating fulfilment tasks such as generating labels, selecting couriers, validating addresses, custom forms and sending tracking notifications.

Fulfilment automation software can also serve as the one link between your eCommerce platform and couriers, saving you jumping between courier websites as you try to track down orders. Instead, you can have one dashboard that automatically pulls through orders and writebacks the necessary information.

Removing manual tasks eliminates human errors, which keeps your orders moving. As your order volumes increase, automation will be the reason you’re able to continue to dispatch orders.

What’s more, shipping automation helps you deliver items quickly and without any hiccups. It's important to get this right because the shipping experience has a direct impact on a customer's decision to return to your store.

See shipping automation in practice: 3 examples from retailers

There’s no shortage of shipping automation platforms available, but it’s important to select one with the right mix of features and integrations with the couriers and platforms you’re using. If possible, try and select a platform that also offers an API – allowing you to build out your own integrations if required.

Here’s how three different retailers use Starshipit to automate their shipping and fulfilment.

Starshipit: Automate your shipping and deliver great experiences across peak season

Save time and money on every order this holiday season. When you use smart shipping software, backed up by a knowledgeable team of shipping experts, you can reduce stress and get more orders out the door.

Why use Starshipit? You can access industry-leading automations, integrations and workflows to create world-class shipping, no matter the size of your business. Give your customers a choice at checkout, simplify your returns process and create a branded delivery experience that’s sure to bring customers back.