How Starshipit helped VetShopAustralia save time and reduce dispatch errors

Online retail has traditionally been dominated by fashion, and health and beauty. But one vertical that’s enjoying an upward eCommerce trajectory is pet care…because if online shopping is good enough for your wardrobe, it’s good enough for Fido too.

VetShopAustralia is one online retailer that’s enjoying growth in this topsy-turvy market. Founded 20 years ago by brothers Steven and Mark Perissinotto as a side project to Mark’s veterinary clinic, VetShopAustralia now serves over 475,000 customers across Australia and internationally. During COVID-19, the business has seen an upward swing in sales as pet owners head online to care for their furry (and scaly) friends during lockdown.

The fast-growing nature of their business has prompted director Steven to look for automated solutions that streamline key parts of the business, particularly fulfilment. After many years of manual, hands-on dispatch processes, Steven partnered with Starshipit to automate his fulfilment – and instantly saw value.

“We started using Starshipit just over a year ago,” he says. “Before then we relied on a complicated mix of data and spreadsheets, and a lot of human intervention and decision-making during dispatch.

“Since signing up to Starshipit, dispatch has definitely been faster and a lot easier to manage, and we’re making far fewer errors too.”

Steven estimates that his staff are saving 5-10 hours a week on picking and packing orders. Starshipit also helps them save money on delivery charges and makes fulfilment efficient and streamlined.

“Getting the orders out the door quickly and accurately and making sure we’re using the ‘best’ delivery option is complicated. Sometimes what the ‘best’ is might vary too. Is it the cheapest, fastest or some other variable? Starshipit helps us coordinate and respond to these questions in a very efficient way.”

Steven’s favourite Starshipit feature is that he can send notifications to his customers at every stage of the delivery process.

“Many customers are nervous about their orders. Is it on the way? When will it arrive? Starshipit’s notifications functionality allows us to allay their concerns, which has also reduced the interactions these customers have with our customer service team.”

For other online retailers looking to streamline their business, Steven suggests putting the customer first.

“Think about what’s important for your customer and focus on improving those processes first. Customers don’t care about how you unload or store your inventory, but they do care about how fast you can get orders out the door and into their hands.

“Streamlining your dispatch processes using fulfilment automation is a sure-fire way to keep your customers happy.”