If you have a small business, you need to have an effective logistics strategy. Every business needs to learn to master their logistics to make it cost effective, boost customer satisfaction and stand out from the competition.
Logistics management is one of the most complex elements of the supply chain for any business. People want things quick, in good shape and on time. If you are an online seller, you need to optimise your on-time shipping and delivery. Poor delivery ratings result in a drop in rank both in the marketplace and on search engines.
To keep those orders coming in, keep in mind a few effective logistics hacks your business can benefit from.
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Keep a tracker on your inbound supplies too
It is not just about customer shipments, you need to also keep an effective track of all the materials coming into your office/warehouse/workstation.
If you are a product company that uses certain raw materials to make your products, make sure they come in on time from the suppliers.
Create a time framework and tracking tool that allows you and your team to manage the supplies coming into your company so that production does not get affected.
Invest in a good inventory management system and keep timely track of the delivery and time of your products.
It’s simple: Never be in a situation where your customer orders anything that could be out of stock. A disappointed customer is a customer lost.
Related read: Importance of supply chain management for a successful eCommerce business
Get your shipping strategy ready in time for the festive seasons
Take care of your non-time-sensitive shipping tasks outside of your busy season. Logistics management is more than simply scheduling products that need to be shipped as and when orders come in. Customers tend to place orders based on seasonality too.
The holiday season is a peak time for gifts and bulk orders. Here are a few tips:
- Make sure your inventory is well-stocked way ahead of the busy seasons
- Research customer buying patterns during this time
- Keep a close eye on your supplies
- Based on your production process, keep a track of stock that could run out soon and make sure you replenish it soon enough for your customers to place the order
This will help calculate shipping times when placing your order according to your time schedule. Here is how Instamojo sellers benefit from its excellent logistics infrastructure.
Shipping delays are a strict no-no for customers during the holiday season/wedding season. When your market is primarily within Indian territory, you need to make sure your calendar keeps track of all the important buying seasons for customers.
Related read: Increase sales during the festive season with this marketing course
Approaching Third-party logistics
In case you are tight on budget, at least invest in a good shipping partner. If you can budget for it and the orders are flooding in, employ third-party logistics that can handle more than you can for the moment.
Third-party logistics companies offer various services from warehousing, packaging, labelling, tracking, handling paperwork and even business partnership.
Third-party logistics are not cheap but they can help you manage the cost savings that help you financially in the long run. Research and invest in the right kind of third-party logistics company. This is to make sure you get the best rates and fastest delivery possible. You can get better productivity out of your storage and warehouse team this way.
Related read: 5 Affordable Shipping Services in India for Online Businesses
Stronger customer focus
Logistics is not just about delivery. You may have heard this one before, but invest in your customers from the beginning of your business to the very end. Customers are very important to your logistics flow.
Expect changes in shipment dates, and changes to the order and delivery address. Additionally, understand that your customer needs to be constantly assured of where their product is at all times.
Read this free eBook to know everything you need to do after a customer clicks ‘Buy Now’.
Once they place the order with the company, make sure that you allow them to track their order online. Invest in a good online product shipment tracker so that customers are updated on the app/website and do need not to follow up with customer calls all the time.
After-sales customer service is a good CRM tactic that helps to get your supply chain flow running smoothly.
Negotiate and get the best price
Too many times, business owners are too busy to negotiate deals or get quotes from multiple carriers. To save cost and time on the delivery of goods, you need to make sure you manage to get the best deals and prices on the supplies.
There is competition out there, so sharpen your quotes for any expenditure that may come to the company. Ask yourself this: ” What’s the best price I can get for my own product?”
Related read: How to set the right price for your product or service
Numbers and code
An important tip many small businesses ignore is the need to invest in barcodes and a number system for their products.
Delayed orders are one thing, but get the wrong order to your customer and you get in pretty hot water. Avoid any dramatic review on your website or app from wronged customers.
Make use of UPC and EAN codes to help you ensure the right products are being packed and delivered from your warehouse to the marketplace and to the customer. These codes are unique identifiers for products and are printed on most consumer goods, like electronics, clothing, accessories and other physical merchandise.
These codes are barcodes that only need to be scanned to know what’s in the packaging. If your products lack barcodes you need to be vigilant while packaging. It will reduce delays and also prevent the delivery of incorrect goods.
Ship with Instamojo
If you have an online small business with Instamojo, logistics is not something to worry about too much. Instamojo has excellent shipping partners that will take care of your shipping woes are taken care of anytime, anywhere.
Start with the Instamojo experience today!
6 comments
If you are a small business owner, you know how important it is to have good supply chain and logistics management. You can have the best website, the best employees, and the best marketing team, but if you have not done the logistics right, your business will suffer a lot.
Supply chain activities assist significantly in meeting customer needs and an accurate and relevant information system can facilitate the logistics mission.
Thank you for sharing with us such great content especially for small business owners on how to manage logistics with the minimum labour capital and space available really enjoyed reading the article and would surely share it with my friends and family for their reference as well.
Nice article on supply chain technology. Found an interesting article on reducing chargebacks in this blog.
Nice Blog! Thanks for sharing.
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