One of the more complicated industries around is the shipping industry. It’s pretty complex, and yet, retailers seem to handle their own shipping, they are cutting out the middle man, and working hard on doing this part on their own. Take a look at this short article and see what we actually mean.
Not meeting demand
First of all, carriers are not really meeting demand. There is simply not enough of them, and they don’t seem to be doing as quality a job as they usually do. Consumers are doing their online more and more, which means more and more packages are being shipped. This, in turn, leads to a serious and unexpected boost and need for shipping companies (i.e. shipping activities), which is not being handled completely. Companies are struggling to meet demand, making them also struggle to deliver quality work.
Just to give you an example, FedEx had 15% more packages to deliver in 2015, then in 2014. A similar increase was seen by UPS, with another 10% increase. In fact, in 2015 shipping volumes were so severe that UPS barely delivered 91% of its packages on time before Christmas day. FedEx fared a bit better, but still, missed the mark, being at 95%.
The Blame Game
All of these issues than getting switched over to the retailers. Even though the shipping companies are the ones that are in fact failing to meet demand and send out packages and goods on a regular, appropriate basis, it’s the retailers that get all the ire consumers send on social media and elsewhere.
This same goes for poor customer service and slow delivery. Consumers are willing to spend more money on companies that give good customer service. Many customers actually won’t even complete a purchase if they feel they received subpar customer service
Growth and benefits
The parcel industry is growing solidly thanks to this eCommerce boom. It’s a segment of the shipping industry, but it still works on its own. Furthermore, some companies in this sector are getting their act together. Hiring a good company like General Carrying that can take on the workload is a great choice. Small companies, companies that aren’t the size of FedEx for example, are also getting their time in the limelight.
Next, transportation and logistics are fantastic industries that are full of opportunity. The global shipping market itself can be worth trillions of dollars. There is a lot at stake when it comes to shipping companies. Namely, there are twenty companies that are working with amazon for its shipping. Of course, FedEx, USPS, and UPS carry the vast majority of this work, but these smaller companies are taking some shares of that pie.
How retailers handle their shipping
Now, there are specific ways retailers approach and handle shipping. As a retailer you need to know how to assemble the right team for your shipping needs, you need to set the appropriate goals, and to actively think about what you are going to ship.
A strong team
You want to identify the right people who can help you make the first step when it comes to new shipping work. So, one of the first things you need to do is talk to stakeholders and see what they have to say. You have to meet them prepared, you have to have a setup strategy, with clear systems, tasks, and goals in place if you want to convince them.
Next, the actual team. Somebody has to be in charge of this entire section. Get an employee you trust, or get a call going. Be very specific with your needs and wants. Try to get somebody with some experience in logistics, or shipping.
Your shipping goals
You also need to identify and to define the core points of your company. Get the right team players, see what they have to say, establish your strategy, define what you want to do. Are you interested in conversions, decreasing costs, expanding your market, or just keeping your company as efficient as possible?
You want to offer the right shipping options and rates to get you some extra clients, and to seal any deals you don’t seem to get completely. You can also expand the market, get some more customers on board. Decreasing costs should also be a core goal, which you can do by simply finding more efficient and cheaper options than those a shipping company might resort to.
Get the right strategy
Look at the team and the goals for your business. So, what are you shipping? How heavy, big, large, small, light, frail is it? Are you going domestic or are do you want to branch out overseas? What is the shipping option that you need? Will you branch out immediately onto another continent, or are you sticking to a couple of countries? Do you prefer overtaking one market, or do you want to infiltrate several markets at first…?
Conclusion
And there you have it folks, an intro to why online retailers actually prefer taking shipping into their own hands, as well as some steps on how they actually do it. Shipping companies simply can’t handle the workload that has been handed to them, they are providing you with low quality work, and poor service. Smaller companies, and retailers doing it themselves, seems to be working gloriously. So, why not jump on this trend, and see where it takes you?
