Top Three Facts You Should Know about E-commerce Fulfilment Services in 2019

The holidays are always a busy time for e-commerce retailers, and your business is probably no different. You may have had your fair share of e-commerce orders over the 2018 Christmas holidays, and if you have found it increasingly difficult to fulfil your orders and deliver to your customers promptly and efficiently, then it might be a good time to take a closer look at your e-commerce fulfilment process. This is also the perfect time to make changes to your e-commerce fulfilment process – it’s the beginning of 2019, and the future looks bright for e-commerce as more and more shoppers go that route. When it comes to e-commerce fulfilment, the dynamics are changing fast, and you need to keep up if you want your customers to be satisfied. Here are the top facts you should know about e-commerce fulfilment services in 2019.

1.   There is a continuous rise in the cost of shipping

Most major couriers and carriers continue to increase their shipping rates, and this isn’t set to change anytime soon. What’s more, the size of the package or parcel will always have a big impact on the rate you pay when shipping your goods. For instance, in 2018, most couriers introduced or launched dimensional pricing, which means that if your package or parcel takes up more space while being transported, the more it will cost.

One result of this is that Amazon is now driving many companies to redesign or remodel their packaging to remove extra space. But guidelines are becoming more complicated as well, so for you to be able to deal with the complexities of shipping (including the cost of shipping), it’s best to turn to an e-commerce fulfilment partner. Many fulfilment companies are experts at distribution and have their own centres for distribution as well. They will have the proper knowledge about dimensional formulas for weight used by couriers and will be able to come up with new ways to fulfill orders and pack them so that you can save on the cost of shipping. You can benefit from custom packaging and boxes which allow you to save space, and you can also take advantage of competitive prices for shipping since fulfilment providers ship with high volumes every single day.

2.   The faster the order is fulfilled, the better

Everyone already knows the importance of fast and quick delivery and order fulfilment. But in 2019, it plays an even more critical role, as confirmed by packing and fulfilment specialists such as cannonpacking.co.uk. Today’s shoppers want even faster delivery today, thanks to Amazon’s efforts as well. If your brand is not able to process and ship orders from one central location, then you could very well end up with a slow order fulfilment process, and shipping at low costs can be an impossibility. But the good news is that most e-commerce fulfilment services have central locations or have distribution centres in different areas so they can offer faster delivery throughout the country and around the globe. Also, since they are experts in fulfilment, e-commerce fulfilment services will know which shipping method is best and which can offer the best price.

3.   A more convenient return policy results in happier customers

Product returns are one aspect of e-commerce which not many businesses are happy about, but they have to contend with it, nonetheless. And returns have actually increased in the last few years, be it due to product damage, a wrong order, or simple customer dissatisfaction. But because the rate of returns is high (and will probably continue to increase), you should also pay particular attention to your process of dealing with returns. If you deal with your returns properly, it shouldn’t result in such a significant loss. What’s more, if you make it easier for customers to return items, they will be happier – and may end up buying from your brand again. For a better process of returns, more companies are turning to e-commerce fulfilment partners as well. E-commerce fulfilment specialists can handle your returns seamlessly and efficiently, allowing for better customer satisfaction overall.