01 Feb
Effective order fulfilment is key to building a successful supply chain process for your business. Delays and errors with order fulfilment can cost you both money and customers, as well as causing untold damage your reputation.
Getting it right the first time should be top priority for all ecommerce business owners – so below are some quick tips to help you create an effective process.
Following these few tips should help you to navigate common order fulfilment problems.
Only Promise what you can Deliver
It’s tempting to make big promises about delivery to your customers, especially if you are trying to become ultra competitive with other businesses. However, over-promising and under-delivering is a fast way to ensure your customers are left disappointed and likely to make complaints.
Make sure you don’t promise delivery dates and times you can’t meet – failed or late delivery times almost always lead to negative feedback.
Don’t compromise on quality to try and meet unrealistic delivery times. Poorly packaged and delivered parcels will lead to a much higher return rate as items arrive damaged or incomplete.
It might be tempting to bump up the cost of delivery – but overcharging is likely to prevent your customers from completing their order or returning to buy again. No-one wants to spend the same amount (or more) on delivery as the item itself!
Keep on top of Communication
Once your customer has placed their order make sure you keep in regular touch to give them as much information as possible about their delivery.
Let your customers know when their item has been processed and dispatched and make sure you are available to answer questions about delivery.
Plenty of issues can be solved with great communication – don’t leave your customers waiting around and getting frustrated with a lack of information about their delivery. Make sure you have detailed information about delivery on your website that’s up to date and that you answer any individual customer queries promptly.
Have a Clear and Consistent Returns Policy
Dealing with returns is part and parcel of any Ecommerce business. How well you deal with returns can play a huge part in how your company is viewed by your customers.
Make sure your company return policy is clear and easy to understand. Provide a step-by-step guide that lets your customer know what to do if they aren’t satisfied with the item they receive.
Because buying online can lead to errors and confusion for customers, providing deals such as ‘free returns’ or ‘money back guarantees’ can be an excellent way to reassure your customer and tempt them into pressing the ‘buy’ button.
Ensure you have an effective process in place for dealing quickly with these returns and you have accounted for the cost of returns in your business projections.
