How to increase profits by streamlining shipping processes

A recent Australia Post report revealed that more than 900,000 Australian households shopped online for the first time between March and August 2020, which has created even fiercer competition for retailers.

Organisations need to ensure their shipping processes are streamlined and efficient so that customers receive goods quickly and in good condition, according to Pitney Bowes.

“The increasing volume of parcel sending activity in Australia could cause challenges for retailers and office shippers, as well as increase the complexity of the process,” Pitney Bowes head of shipping for Australia and New Zealand, Ben Seal said.

“Businesses should review their processes to optimise shipping practices to continuously deliver excellent service to customers.”

For many companies, automating the different steps of the parcel sending process will be crucial. For example, automating parcel sortation can help reduce the time and cost involved in sorting deliveries, as well as improve accuracy, visibility, and tracking.

Integrating solutions that automate time-consuming and repetitive tasks, such as reviewing and recording package weight and size information or updating labels, can simplify processing. Overall, this can lead to more efficiency for the sender and, in turn, deliver more revenue as more parcels can be processed and shipped in less time.

“Companies should look for solutions that can simplify order fulfillment, or they risk losing productivity due to unnecessary complexity and delays due to manual processes,” Seal said.

“Deploying solutions that provide access to multiple carrier options, or facilitate easy price and delivery time comparison, empowers users to find the simplest solutions for their needs quickly, and efficiently.

“Automating the parcel sending process can bring benefits for the wider business. Staff will have more time to spend on higher-priority tasks, leading to more efficiency across the business. This, combined with increased customer loyalty and top-line revenue, will contribute to more profits for online businesses.”