Automating business processes like shipping can save you valuable time and money while equipping you with the necessary tools to scale. This article discusses how to automate shipping and label printing to eliminate repetitiveness in fulfillment processes and boost operational efficiency.
What Does it Mean To Automate Shipping
Shipping automation involves streamlining logistics procedures by incorporating software solutions, technology, and infrastructure into your order fulfillment operations. The process aims to keep shipping errors to the barest minimum. This happens by eliminating the need for human input in the performance of repetitive tasks like sorting orders, picking, checking carrier availability, etc.
Automated shipping can be anything from purchasing expensive autonomous mobile robots (AMS) for package inspection and picking to simply installing a software solution on your ecommerce platform that provides instant FTL or LTL freight quotes from the most affordable carriers. It expedites the shipping process, allowing you to focus on other aspects of running your business like branding, marketing, etc.
Benefits of Automating Shipping
Automated shipping is highly beneficial to businesses of all sizes. Some of the benefits it offers include:
Quicker packing & printing
Mundane tasks like picking/packing and label printing can be time-consuming. Using automated shipping systems like mobile robots to sort, pick, and pack orders makes the process faster and more efficient. You can also use shipping applications to compile your orders and print multiple labels at once. Automation eliminates these mundane steps in your order fulfillment process, resulting in shorter delivery times and higher customer satisfaction. This spells good news for your overall revenue because the happier your customers are, the more profitable your business becomes.
Simplified international shipping
Scaling your business to serve an international market is no easy feat. It would help if you prepared for the additional processes peculiar to international shipping. Some things to prepare for would be customs clearance, payment of duties and taxes, etc. Automated shipping technology can simplify these procedures by generating custom forms, compiling all the necessary documents, applying harmonization codes, and finding the most affordable couriers in different countries to ship your orders. This saves you time, boosts overall efficiency, and enables you to handle large international order volumes in less time.
Less risk of human error
Human error can have unpleasant consequences in shipping. For example, entering incorrect information on labels can lead to shipping delays that will take a lot of time and resources to rectify. By reducing the need for human input in order fulfillment operations, automated shipping lessens the risk of errors and improves the accuracy of your logistics processes. It frees up workers that would otherwise be stuck with repetitive tasks and allows them to focus on tasks that cannot be automated. It also helps you save money on labor costs since you won’t need as much manpower to ship orders to your customers.
How to Automate Shipping?
When you automate shipping, your business becomes more productive and profitable. Although the plethora of available automation options can seem overwhelming at first glance, it’s important to remember that starting small is essential for proper implementation. As your business grows, you can incorporate more technology or infrastructure to assist with its increasing needs.
Automatically Apply Shipping Services
Automatically applying shipping services in your ecommerce platform allows your customers to get instant freight quotes. Customers can get quotes based on items they selected at checkout. It saves you the stress of manually entering shipment details like size, weight, destination, and estimated delivery time for each order to determine the shipping rate. In addition, automatic application of shipping services also helps you find the best carriers for your packages. This process happens by comparing rates from multiple companies and selecting the most affordable option to ship each order.
Automatically Send Orders to Shipping App
When you copy information from your selling platform to paste into a shipping platform, it not only creates room for costly errors but also eats into valuable time that can be used to complete crucial tasks. Modern shipping apps allow you to automatically import orders from multiple ecommerce channels, including popular ones like Amazon, Shopify, Wix, and SquareSpace, and complete the order fulfillment process without stress. Additionally, these apps can handle anything from order processing, intuitive carrier selection, tracking, pickup scheduling, insurance, etc.
Bulk Print Labels
Individually printing labels for different orders is a repetitive and time-consuming task that hampers workflow and decreases overall productivity. Automated shipping technology gives business owners the tools to design, create, and print labels in bulk for multiple orders. This slashes fulfillment time and results in faster deliveries. Print automation also reduces human touch points in the labeling process and minimizes errors. Most automated label printing applications can be integrated with existing business software. Software like ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning) can help you run all aspects of your business from one place.
Use GoShip for easy and affordable shipping
GoShip is a digital shipping platform that assists businesses in meeting all their logistics needs. It directly connects companies to over 45,000 certified and affordable carriers without requiring the services of a broker. The platform allows you to get instant FTL or LTL quote on all kinds of shipments, regardless of destination. Visit the GoShip freight marketplace and enter your order details in the free quotation to receive instant quotes for FTL or LTL shipping USA or international shipping to and from Canada.