Product shipping mistakes cause all sorts of troublesome problems for your business. They increase shrink, waste your time, and frustrate your customers. Thus, they ruin your reputation as a reliable business.
Worst of all, these problems are very common. But the good news is, they’re also very avoidable.
In fact, we’re going to show you just how to avoid them with the following tips. First, we list the most common product shipping mistakes companies make. Then, we’ll teach you the practices you need to know to prevent these issues from happening.
Keep your shipping efficient, your customers happy, and your reputation safe with these tips.
1. Improper Packaging
Always defer to Murphy’s Law when shipping a product. That is, assume that those handling the package won’t “handle with care” or “keep this end up” or obey any other labels you slap on the box. Even the recipient may drop the package, then blame the damage on you, and then send back the package at your expense.
Besides, in a way, they’re right to blame you. Instead of putting your trust in labels, you should put your items in very secure packaging that allows for a few fumbles.
2. Improper Weighing of Shipped Items
In addition to the item you ship, all the packaging we just talked about has a weight of its own, too. Plus, the way you package certain items will change from time to time.
When this happens, some companies don’t bother to reweigh the item and, instead, assume the original weight is still correct. As such, the weight of the newly packaged item is incorrect, and every order of that item is returned to the sender. In addition to costing a ridiculous amount of time and money, half of these orders will probably be canceled because of the inconvenience.
And, by the way, this is only one example of not being careful to determine the accurate weight when shipping items. Shipping multiple items packaged together for a single order is another common example.
3. Failure to Check Labels
Don’t just check the weight. Check the address and customer information, too. Failure to do so will result in all the negative outcomes we just described.
4. Trusting the Wrong Shipping Company
Don’t assume that the shipping company you hire will be any better than the average business at avoiding the mistakes on this list. Do some thorough research and hire a highly-rated, reliable shipping company like VRR.
Also, make sure you have a way to keep track of your shipments. You should also have a quick and easy way to communicate with the shipping company and your recipients regarding any shipping problems that do occur.
Don’t Let These Product Shipping Mistakes Tarnish Your Business
Even if all other aspects of your business run smoothly, product shipping mistakes will still ruin your image. Keep this guide and follow this advice to prevent that from happening.
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