E-commerce shipping and distribution

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People who buy in a hurry expect the goods to be delivered in a hurry

too. This is no problem for digital products like music, software and

images where delivery can be made electronically. It’s harder when you

have physical goods to be shipped to the customer. Distribution is an

area where bricks and mortar companies may even have an edge. If you

already have a warehouse and make mail-order sales, then you are better

placed than a startup company that only has a e-commerce web site.

As a merchant, you need to be clear with your customers what

you offer and then live by it. If you outsource, be aware that you can’t

outsource responsibility. Buyers don’t care why you have failed or whose

fault it is - all they care about is getting what they have paid for.

So here are some tips for making a success of your distribution.

Manage customer expectations

In an ecommerce store you need to make sure that customers know

exactly what they will get, and when. Amazon tell you that a book

‘normally ships in 2-3 days’ so you aren’t too upset if it takes four.

If you offer ‘24 hour delivery’ then when do the 24 hours start?

What are the time constraints, e.g. ‘Orders received by 4pm normally

ship the same day’.

surprises for the customer.

Make sure that you calculate shipping charges as part of the

whole deal. You may need to charge by weight, by volume or by value of

order. If you offer free shipping on orders over a certain value, make it

clear whether that value includes tax.

Living with back orders.

Back orders are a fact of life if you accept fax or mail-orders,

so expect them in internet selling too. Allow the buyer the choice of

waiting for a complete shipment or taking part orders. Only charge

shipping once - it is irritating being charged extra shipping when it is the

merchant’s fault that the item was not in stock. If this can’t work

economically, cancel back orders and inform the customer. Make it clear

on the site how you will deal with these sorts of situations. If your e-commerce

store has live stock information make sure it is up to date. More and more

customer expect only to see items displayed in your store that are in stock.

Give plenty of feedback

Placing an internet order may feel risky for some buyers. Make

sure your buyers are told that you have received their order, and keep

them up to date with its progress. If you have to make a back-order, let

the buyer know when the rest of the order is expected.

Pick a reliable carrier

There are lots of carriers and they compete heavily. Value

reliability over price. A lost buyer will probably cost you more than the

difference in shipping cost. Pick a carrier that can track goods online.

Give the tracking reference to your customer as part of the order

processing feedback. Monitor the performance of your carriers.

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