Shipping is a major expense for any eCommerce business. It’s an important part of your business. Having fast, reliable, and accurate shipping is important to keep customers happy and for keeping your business successful. 

 Avoiding shipping errors and mistakes is important. This prevents unnecessary additional expenses for your business. Preventing shipping mistakes is better and more cost-effective than correcting errors in shipping. There are some common shipping mistakes you will want to avoid. One easy way to avoid shipping mistakes is to use shipping automation software.

Common Shipping Mistakes

Common shipping mistakes include:

• Incorrect Shipping Address
• Wrong Package Weight
• Only Using One Shipping Carrier
• Not Packaging Orders Correctly

Another common mistake for new eCommerce store owners is not having a clear and visible return policy. Streamlining your shipping process is important to avoid shipping mistakes. However, sometimes an item is damaged during shipping or the customer ordered the wrong item. Having a transparent and visible return policy helps you and the customer. Make sure your return policy is easy to understand and detailed. This gives customers more confidence when placing an order and can increase sales while saving you issues in the future. 

Incorrect Shipping Address

An incorrect shipping address means an order will not reach the correct customer. The package may be returned to you. This means you will have to re-ship the package and pay postage again. If the package is not returned to you, you will have to refund the customer unless you have the inventory to ship the same product twice. 

Manually shipping packages increases the risk of making a mistake in the shipping address. Shipping automation software like ActionShip by Teapplix helps prevent address errors with features like Address Validation. Shipping packages to the correct address saves you time and hassle. Keep your customers happy by avoiding this mistake.

Wrong Package Weight

Some business owners don’t have the right tools to weigh products and so they estimate the weight. Estimating weights can create more issues for your business. Shipping carriers weigh packages before shipment. If there is a difference between the package’s actual weight and the weight listed on the label, there will be extra charges. It’s important to get an accurate weight when shipping any packages.

ActionShip by Teapplix can remember weights and shipping methods. This saves eCommerce business owners time. With ActionShip, you can print labels that have the accurate weight and shipping method. Letting you ship packages accurately without having to weigh items constantly. 

Only Using One Shipping Carrier

As your business grows, it’s important to have multiple shipping options. Often, businesses find a shipping carrier they like and rely on that carrier. It’s especially important for eCommerce business owners to have a variety of shipping carriers. This allows business owners to ship to more countries and to find cheaper shipping rates. 

Shipping automation software can help you find the best shipping rates by comparing several carriers. eCommerce business owners can save on shipping and offer faster delivery dates for their customers by using different shipping carriers. ActionShip by Teapplix offers Automatic Rate Shop to find you the best price. Shipping internationally can be intimidating. This is why shipping automation software is so helpful. Shipping automation software can help you find the right customs information and remember custom declarations for specific orders. This saves you time and lets you ship international orders accurately.

Not Packaging Orders Correctly

Manually packaging multiple orders that have multiple parts can result in mistakes being made and parts being left out of the order. Shipping an order that is missing a product or has the wrong quantity of products will annoy your customers. It’s important to make sure each order has the right products and the right quantity of products. 

Software automation can help you package orders correctly. ActionShip by Teapplix has a Scan and Print feature to help you package orders correctly. With Scan and Print, you can generate a pick list and the UI will guide you through all the steps to package that order. 

Conclusion

Shipping automation software can help you avoid common shipping mistakes. This saves you time and money. Shipping mistakes can anger and frustrate your customers. Avoiding these shipping errors is important for the success of your eCommerce business. 

Try ActionShip free for 30 days and see how shipping automation can help your business.