eCommerce Shipping Checklist
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eCommerce Shipping Checklist
Set your eCommerce logistics up for success.
Steps to take when creating your shipping strategy
Use this checklist to guide your eCommerce business in creating a shipping strategy. By committing to provide your customers with a seamless delivery experience, you can build trust in your brand and effectively retain customers.
Set your eCommerce logistics up for success by doing the following:
- Step 1. Set your shipping policy.
- Step 2. Find the right couriers for your business.
- Step 3: Purchase shipping supplies
- Step 4: display shipping rates and information on your store
- Step 5: Delivery a smooth post.purchase experience.
Step 1. Set your shipping policy.
A strong domestic shipping strategy takes the following into account:
- Understand where your customers are & choose which destinations to ship to.
- Research shipping restrictions and how it can affect your shipments.
- Common products with restrictions include liquids, alcohol, batteries, and CBD.
- Determine if your shipments require special handling.
- Get special labels for fragile items and dangerous goods.
- Consider purchasing shipping insurance if your products are valued over $100.
- Decide what packaging you will use.
- Popular choices include poly mailers, padded envelopes, and boxes.
- Create shipping automations to save your preferences and make fulfillment faster.
- Program software with product dimensions and weights to automatically find the best shipping solution for each order.
- Opt to use flat rate solutions for shipments over a certain weight to save on shipping.
- Choose solutions with frequent tracking updates for difficult destinations.
Step 2. Find the right couriers for your business.
Partner with reliable couriers so you can efficiently and affordably reach every customer. Setting up your shipping strategy early can help define how and what to charge your buyers.
- Research & compare different shipping providers.
- Choose from postal services, express couriers, and regional couriers.
- Decide what rates to offer.
- Couriers offer rates based on actual weight, volumetric weight, and flat rates.
- Negotiateshipping rates with your courier of choice.
- Alternatively, create an Easyship account for instant access to multiple courier solutions
- Link your own courier rates, or leverage our global pre-negotiated rates to automate your shipping process from store order to label generation on Easyship.
Step 3. Purchase shipping supplies.
Invest in packaging that will protect your items during transit.
- Consider using free packaging supplies provided by major couriers such as USPS, FedEx, and UPS.
- Buy proper shipping supplies.
- Basics include a thermal printer, labels and pouches, packaging fillers, boxes, padded envelopes, poly mailers.
- Consider using your 3PL's custom packaging solutions if you're looking to provide a branded, unboxing experience.
Step 4. Display shipping rates and information on your store.
Use shipping as a marketing tool by promoting effective shipping policies and competitive shipping rates.
- Connectyour negotiated shipping rates to your store checkout.
- Include time-sensitive, economical, and best value solutions.
- Create your shipping policy in minutes with Easyship's Shipping Policy Generator.
- Publish your shipping policy on your website.
- Include shipping information on your product pages to build trust with customers.
Step 5. Deliver a smooth post-purchase experience
It's crucial for SMBs to provide a positive post-purchase experience to prove they can deliver on their promises – in turn, building trust in their brand.
- Sync all sales channels to a shipping software such as Easyship to automatically generate shipping labels for every order.
- Personalize your packing slips. This utilitarian document can help you get user generated content by encouraging customers to leave reviews or share your brand on social media.
- Continue the conversation with branded order confirmations and tracking emails to keep in touch with customers during delivery.
- Increase revenues by upselling on your tracking page. While customers track their order, take advantage by promoting new product launches, upcoming sales, and special promotions.
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Articles & Guides
- Holiday Shipping Guide - Here's everything you need to prepare your business for the most wonderful time of the year!
- Domestic Shipping Guide - Exceed your customer's high expectations when shipping domestically with this guide.
- International Shipping Guide - This resource explains everything you need to know to start shipping internationally with confidence!
- Free Shipping Policy Generator - Get a free customized shipping policy for your business within minutes!
Shipping Glossary
Additional Resources
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Steps to take when creating your shipping strategy Step 1. Set your shipping policy. Step 2. Find the right couriers for your business. Step 3. Purchase shipping supplies. Step 4. Display shipping rates and information on your store. Step 5. Deliver a smooth post-purchase experience
Shipping Internationally? Unsure What Tariffs or Duties Apply?
Trying to stay up to date on the latest cross-border shipping and import requirements? Get an instant estimate of all applicable taxes and duties for every country across 220+ global destinations or sign up and take advantage of our in-built HS Code lookup tool.
Calculate Tax & Duties Instantly (Free Tool)
Ready to Stop Overpaying for Shipping?
Looking for the cheapest way to ship a package? Get an instant shipping quote and compare rates from 550+ courier services across the United States, Canada, UK, Australia, and more. Simply add your package size and delivery location, and you'll find the best deal in seconds.
Calculate Rates Instantly (Free Tool)
Planning Your Campaign?
Get in touch with us now and our shipping consultants can give you a detailed quote and additional info to help with your campaign.
The Cheapest Shipping from USPS, UPS & FedEx
Find the guaranteed cheapest rates for any courier in seconds with Easyship’s free shipping rate calculator. Compare discount rates from USPS, UPS, FedEx, and 250+ couriers at a glance.
The Cheapest Shipping from USPS, UPS & FedEx
Get in touch with our fulfillment experts!
We believe simple pricing is the best pricing. Get a quote with a simplified pricing structure and no hidden fees.
Need help fulfilling your crowdfunding campaign?
We provide the necessary tools needed to keep you on budget for shipping and to safely deliver your product to backers around the world.
Try our duty & tax calculator!
Need to estimate your shipping duties & taxes? Our calculator can give you an idea of what to expect.
Save up to 91% on Shipping. Try for free.
Compare 550+ courier services with one global account. Start in minutes.
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Looking for great rates from a top courier?
Save up to 74% on UPS shipping rates by shipping with Easyship. You can run a quote and generate your first shipments in literally minutes!
The cheapest way to ship for eCommerce
Get instant access with volume-discounted shipping rates. Save up to 89% off on USPS, UPS, FedEx, and more. Easyship is free for 50 shipments each month.
Find your perfect fulfillment partner with expert help
Let Easyship connect you to the largest shipping and fulfillment network on Earth. You’ll find trusted partners for all things logistics. Guidance is free from our global shipping experts.
Don’t miss our money and time-saving features!
Explore the powerful features that 100K+ merchants use to ship smarter, not harder. Shipping automation, live rates at checkout, live duty and tax – all free to try with Easyship.
Start saving on shipping in seconds
Create your free Easyship account to streamline shipping and save with discounted rates. No hidden fees. No minimums. Just savings.
Create Your Shipping Policy Free
Use our guided walk-through to build the perfect shipping policy for your eCommerce business.
Looking to intergrate your Shopify store?
With 550+ pre-negotiated shipping services available with discounts of up to 91%, you can save time & money today when you integrate your Shopify store with Easyship
Use Easyship Free Every Month
Easyship is free to use for 50 shipments every month. You’ll save big on our discounted shipping rates up to 91% off, and save time with smart automation. Signup is fast and free.
Don’t miss the key steps to fulfillment success
Follow the easy path to fulfillment success. Easyship’s free fulfillment checklist provides a proven step-by-step so you can ship at scale without the guesswork.
Ship for less with any courier, guaranteed
Save up to 89% off all shipping rates. Easyship offers the guaranteed cheapest volume-discounted rates on the market from USPS, UPS, FedEx, and 250+ global couriers.
Don’t miss all our money and time-saving features!
Explore the innovative features that 100K+ merchants use to ship smarter, not harder. Shipping automation, live rates at checkout, live duty and tax – all free to try with Easyship.
Want the cheapest rates?
Register for an Easyship account today and you will gain access to the cheapest rates, instantly.
Watch out for international duty and tax!
What exactly does it cost to ship cross-border? Use the free duty and tax calculator from Easyship to view accurate import costs for any shipment to anywhere.
Discover the Cheapest Shipping from USPS, UPS & FedEx
Find the guaranteed cheapest rates for any courier in seconds with Easyship’s free shipping rate calculator. Compare discount rates from USPS, UPS, FedEx, and 550+ courier services at a glance.
Discover Your Cheapest Way to Ship
Find the guaranteed cheapest shipping in seconds with Easyship’s free shipping rate calculator. Compare discounted rates from USPS, UPS, FedEx, and 250+ global couriers at a glance.
Compare the best rates in seconds
Get an instant estimate of the cheapest shipping rates with our free calculator tool.
Save money on every shipment
Save up to 91% off shipping with Easyship’s discount courier rates. Create your free account to save instantly on 550+ courier services, including USPS.
Ready to ship internationally?
Get help from our global shipping experts on warehousing, global shipping and to connect with our network of trusted 3PLs.
Try Pre-generated Return Labels For Free
Register for an Easyship account today and get 30-days access to a Premier plan with access to Pre-generated Return Labels.
Discover the Cheapest Shipping from USPS, UPS® & FedEx
Your Perfect Shipping Policy, Ready in Minutes
Use Easyship’s free shipping policy generator to formulate your perfect holiday shipping policy for returns, tracking, and more. Just follow the prompts and you’re done!
Scale Your Growth Internationally With Pro Tips
Learn how to ship internationally without missing a step. Our case studies show you proven tactics for shipping worldwide from Easyship users who did it right.
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Download the 2021 Shipping Trends Report
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8x
More Shipments
Process 8x more shipments per day with a 3PL
-25%
Less Spending
3PLs can reduce shipping costs by as much as 25%
43%
Ship Faster
3PLs process orders quickly, resulting in faster delivery times
67%
Sales Growth
Global eCommerce sales are expected to increase from $2.4 trillion to $4 trillion USD by 2020
warehouse-and-fullfilment-guide
25%
YoY Growth
Cross-border sales have grown 25% YoY, outpacing domestic sales
20%
Global Purchases
About 20% of online sales are cross-border and worth over $200USD each
12.5%
Boost in Sales
International sellers have roughly 12.5% more volume compared to domestic shippers
67%
Sales Growth
Global eCommerce sales are expected to increase from $2.4 trillion to $4 trillion USD by 2020
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