Category

Shipping & Fulfillment

Our shipping and fulfillment coverage reflects the expectations of many consumers for free and fast delivery. We address topics that help ecommerce merchants meet those goals, including analyses of carriers, free shipping strategies, fulfillment efficiencies (including the use of third-party fulfillment companies), returns and refunds, multichannel integration, drop shipping issues, and much more.

Shipping & Fulfillment
How Shipping Methods and Policies Affect Conversions

April 7, 2015 • Pamela Hazelton

Ask any group of online shoppers their top reason for abandoning a shopping cart and they’ll likely refer to shipping. However, it’s not always about the cost of delivery. The way ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
How to Manage UPS, FedEx Dimensional Weight Pricing

March 26, 2015 • Michael Manzione

The days of being able to offer free shipping may be coming to an end for many ecommerce merchants. UPS and FedEx have implemented dimensional weight pricing for ground packages ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping: How to Manage Fulfillment

March 18, 2015 • Jeremy Hanks

Recall from my previous posts that drop shipping requires three major data integrations between the retailer and the supplier: product catalog, inventory, and orders. It all culminates with fulfillment and ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping: How to Manage Orders

February 17, 2015 • Jeremy Hanks

Drop shipping requires three major data integrations between the retailer and the supplier: product catalog, inventory, and orders. If you’re new to drop shipping, read my 4-part series on the ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping: How to Manage Inventory Visibility

January 20, 2015 • Jeremy Hanks

If you’re new to drop shipping, read my 4-part series on the basics, for ecommerce. Drop shipping requires three major data integrations between the retailer and the supplier: product catalog, inventory,
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping: How to Manage Product Catalog Data

December 16, 2014 • Jeremy Hanks

This is my sixth article on ecommerce drop shipping. The first five installments addressed the basics. This month, I’ll leave the installment format behind and discuss deeper topics and trends. Drop ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Ecommerce Drop Shipping vs. Marketplaces: Pros, Cons

November 25, 2014 • Jeremy Hanks

This is the fifth installment in my series on drop shipping and inventory supply models. In “Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 1: Supply Chain History,” my first article, I addressed basic ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Same-day Delivery by Ecommerce SMBs Viable?

October 27, 2014 • Armando Roggio

Same-day delivery has the potential to become a significant retail differentiator, potentially raising the ecommerce industry’s barrier for entry, making it harder for new, relatively small ecommerce businesses to start ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 4: Winning Strategies

October 20, 2014 • Jeremy Hanks

In “Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 1: Supply Chain History,” my first article, I addressed the basic supply chain evolution inside of ecommerce. Then, in “Part 2: The Basics,” I ...
Shipping & Fulfillment > Merchant Voice
Beware parcel forwarding services?

October 15, 2014 • Richard Stubbings

There is an industry growing up within ecommerce that offers parcel-forwarding services. It is mainly in the U.S., but there are similar services in the U.K., where I live. The ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 3: Suppliers vs. Retailers

September 17, 2014 • Jeremy Hanks

In “Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 1: Supply Chain History,” my first article, I addressed basic supply chain evolution inside of ecommerce. Last month, in “Part 2: The Basics,” I ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 2: The Basics

August 15, 2014 • Jeremy Hanks

My article last month, “Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 1: Supply Chain History,” was the first in a series about drop shipping as an ecommerce supply management technique. What Is Drop ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 1: Supply Chain History

July 24, 2014 • Jeremy Hanks

To fully address the good and the bad of drop shipping as a supply management technique, I'm going to start with the history and current state of the retail supply chain.
Shipping & Fulfillment
4 Ways Same-day Delivery Will Transform Retailers

June 17, 2014 • Armando Roggio

Amazon and Google are expanding same-day delivery services in major cities. These offerings and similar same-day delivery services from other companies could transform retailers online and off, potentially broadening the ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Pros and Cons of UPS SurePost, FedEx SmartPost

May 20, 2014 • Christopher Bosdal

If you are looking to save money on shipping, start with a call to your UPS or FedEx representative. Speak with her about UPS SurePost or FedEx SmartPost. These are ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
How to Choose an Ecommerce Shipping Provider

April 29, 2014 • Gagan Mehra

Many merchants struggle with the challenge of shipping goods in the fastest and cheapest manner. There are several variables that determine the best shipping provider for each order. These include ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
12 Apps and Resources for Shipping

March 3, 2014 • Sig Ueland

Product shipping is an essential task for most all ecommerce merchants. And efficient and reliable shipping is one of the best opportunities you have to make a positive impression on your ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
4 Tips for Better Ecommerce Returns and Exchanges

December 19, 2013 • Armando Roggio

More than 60 percent of online shoppers returned or exchanged at least one item in 2013, up from about 51 percent in 2012. Importantly, about 95 percent of customers will ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
MasterCard Enters Free Shipping Fracas

November 29, 2013 • Armando Roggio

Global payment firm MasterCard announced that its customers will receive free, two-day shipping from five of the Internet’s leading retailers. MasterCard also offered a premium service that extends the free,
Shipping & Fulfillment
Amazon Prime, ShopRunner Forcing Faster Free Shipping

November 22, 2013 • Armando Roggio

Amazon Prime and ShopRunner, which both offer online shoppers free two-day shipping with an annual membership, are changing customer expectations and forcing small and mid-sized online retailers to consider faster ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
5 Things to Put in the Shipping Box

October 29, 2013 • Armando Roggio

Online retailers have a powerful tool for marketing to existing customers, potentially increasing sales, average order size, and profit. That tool is the shipping box merchants send to customers with ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
5 Ways to Save Money on Retail Shipping

October 10, 2013 • Armando Roggio

Free or low-cost shipping is a mainstay in the online retail business. It motivates shoppers to buy more. But carriers like UPS, FedEx, and even the United States Postal Service ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
6 Order Fulfillment Extras your Customers Will Love

July 8, 2013 • Jerry Jao

Order fulfillment is a critical part of the ecommerce customer experience. As ecommerce operators, we need to ensure that our customers are taken care of even when the merchandise lands in their hands. Here are six examples of extra services to offer customers when you ship their orde...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Shipping: Understanding Time in Transit and Dimensional Weight

June 13, 2013 • Mike Sowa

In my 25 years of experience in fulfillment and operations, I've managed warehousing, order management, and shipping for large merchants, such as Wine.com. I currently am co-founder of ShipJunction, a carrier management platform for ecommerce companies. I've learned over the years that...
Shipping & Fulfillment
3 Tips for Starting a Drop-ship Online Store

June 7, 2013 • Armando Roggio

An ecommerce entrepreneur with passion and great supplier relationships can earn good profits without making large investments or holding lots of product inventory. Drop shipping allows retailers to sell products without holding actual inventory. When a customer places an online order ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
The Perfect Return Merchandise Authorization System

June 6, 2013 • Armando Roggio

Sometimes the shoe just doesn’t fit. Or maybe it was the wrong color. Most every ecommerce business deals with product returns and exchanges, and the ecommerce platform processing those returns often dictates how smoothly the exchange or return goes. A return merchandise authorization ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
7 Ways to Improve a Customer’s Shipping Experience

April 30, 2013 • Armando Roggio

Shipping can be one of the most stressful parts of an online transaction. The customer has already paid for a product, but does not actually have it in hand. And the retailer — devoted to excellent customer service — has no control over the carrier. In spite of this, there are some co...
Shipping & Fulfillment
10 Drop Shipping Resources

December 24, 2012 • Sig Ueland

Drop shipping is an order fulfillment technique in which merchandise is shipped to the customer directly from the warehouse or supplier, rather than from the retailer. The merchant can offer a greater selection of products and test new markets, without the cost and risk of excessive inv...
Shipping & Fulfillment
30 Shipping Resources for Small Businesses

December 17, 2012 • Sig Ueland

The major shipping organizations in the U.S. — UPS, DHL, FedEx and U.S. Postal Service — provide many easy-to-use online tools and resources to help small businesses meet their shipping needs. In addition to shipping-management tools, the carriers also provide educational resources, and...
Shipping & Fulfillment
3 Tips for Holiday Returns and Exchanges

November 28, 2012 • Armando Roggio

When the giddy days of holiday sales end, online retailers frequently need to deal with the inevitable returns and exchanges barrage. But when customer contacts are seen as opportunities, even returns can be a tool to improve an ecommerce business. Online returns and exchanges are a po...

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