The face of online retail is changing rapidly in an attempt to keep pace with the rising customer expectations. According to a survey by consulting firm AlixPartners, published by Business Insider, consumers in the US have become more demanding with respect to shipping times of their online orders. Amazon’s quick delivery was found to be the major reason for such buyer impatience.
Those who subscribe to Amazon Prime are even more demanding, expecting their packages to be delivered the very next day. Delivering goods faster than other retailers can definitely give a competitive edge to an ecommerce business, helping them win consumer loyalty, says an expert at Key Software Systems.
Here are three ways e-commerce businesses can compete with Amazon’s two-day delivery.
1. CHOOSE THE RIGHT COURIER SERVICE
Courier and delivery services are rapidly growing in the US. In 2015, revenues of the North American Courier, Express and Parcel (CEP) market amounted to around $69.6 billion, a number that is expected to increase at a CAGR of 5% between 2015 and 2025, according to data published by Statista. However, not all of them can be relied on for quick delivery. An e-commerce company cannot assure timely delivery if they do not have the support of an efficient courier service that guarantees quick delivery. The good news is that with effective dispatch software, such efficiency is certainly within reach.
2. STREAMLINE YOUR PROCESSES
Does locating an item in the warehouse always feel like finding a needle in a haystack? Other than choosing a reliable courier service, an ecommerce company needs to make some internal changes to improve their shipping processes. At any point of time, a business should be able to identify the location of every single items in stock. You can use barcode scanners to maximize efficiency and save time.
3. ENSURE PROMPT COMMUNICATIONS
Once you have been able to locate each item for further processing and delivery, you need to be able to access it immediately too. To gain visibility and streamline operations across your company, a comprehensive, user-customizable and cost-effective software solution is a necessity, rather than a luxury. The courier dispatch software should also feature mobile device integration for prompt communications.
One of the very interesting ways in which businesses can achieve quick delivery is by choosing a courier company that has partnered with other courier services to increase its geographic footprint. This is possible by being linked to an online dispatch software that offers seamless, real-time information exchange.
Although two-day delivery isn’t the norm yet, customers are increasingly looking at next day and even same day delivery. So, are you ready to compete in this fierce environment?
