Building ecommerce success
There are many aspects to achieving success in ecommerce. Like any retail business, you need to watch your cashflow, ensure regulator compliance, and manage your employees (if you have any). You’ll need a great website that works, compelling products, and an excellent stock management system so that you always know what you’ve already sold, and what you have available at any given time. In summary, what you require is a world class online retail shipping solution.
Shipping may not be the most glamourous aspect of online retail success, but it’s essential. Shipping is the ‘missing link’ between the seller (you) and the buyers (the people who ensure that your business survives and grows).
Online retail shipping solutions
When shipping goes wrong – which it can, if you don’t pay it enough attention – the end result is unhappy customers, poor reviews (which can impact future sales potential) and an erosion of trust. Misplaced or delayed items create more paperwork, and can cost you money in terms of refunds and redeliveries.
All of these issues can be avoided if you choose a reliable, trusted service provider to manage all your ecommerce shipping. A partner that understands just how important fulfilment is to you and your customers, and who has the technology and experience required to provide world-class online retail shipping solutions
What to look for in a fulfilment partner
This is one of the most important business decisions you’ll ever take as an online retailer, so it’s important to research all your options and make sure that your chosen provider ticks every item on your ecommerce fulfilment shopping list:
• Expertise – especially in the sometimes-challenging conditions that can be encountered in South Africa.
• Technology – software solutions that enable seamless fulfilment.
• Passion and commitment – a determination to ensure every item is delivered intact and on time, and to the right recipient.
• Communication – real-time notifications for both buyer and seller that enable tracking of dispatched items, help to build trust, and reduce the number of failed delivery attempts.
• Flexibility – the ideal online retail shipping solution should enable you to choose between multiple courier partners, and give your customers including door-to-door deliveries and secure drop-off lockers. Rates at checkout functionality ensures a better fulfilment experience for your buyers.
• Value – look for competitive rates, and savings that you can pass onto your customers.
• Automation – neat time-saving features that can boost your productivity include one-click waybills.
With all these factors in place, you’re well on the way to having found the perfect online retail shipping partner. That’s important, because weaknesses in this area of your business can undermine all your hard work and damage your hard-won reputation. By the time shipping becomes an issue, expectations have been created on the part of your buyers – they’re paying customers, and they legitimately expect to receive what they’ve forked out for.
As ecommerce in South Africa matures as an industry, customer expectations are increasing. If your competitors are getting shipping right, then you should be, too.
At Bob Go, we eat, sleep and breathe online retail shipping solutions. They are the reason we get out of bed in the morning, and if need be, the reason we sometimes go to bed very late indeed. To experience our solutions for yourself, click here to start your free Bob Go trial: https://my.bobgo.co.za/register?
