Introduction
Research indicates that since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, shipping volume has increased dramatically, making the Shipper’s role in the shipping process increasingly demanding. Shippers have to manage a variety of tasks on a daily basis such as taking orders, monitoring inventory, and organizing delivery, all of which must be performed in a coordinated manner to prevent any issues from occurring. Hence, a shipper should always keep track of the end-to-end processes involved. The right technology will automate as many processes and steps as possible, thereby reducing shipping complexity and potential errors.
First, let’s take a look at the most common shipping challenges:
The Top Challenges Faced by Shippers:
- Inefficient and time-consuming manual processes
Manual processes slow down shipping, leading to delays and increased costs. Shipping software can automate and streamline these processes.
- Difficulty tracking shipments and monitoring delivery status
Tracking shipments, and monitoring delivery status and POD(Proof of Delivery) without shipping software leads to delays and poor customer service
- Shipping rates are constantly changing:
There is a calculated-assigned charge for every shipment. This varies from carrier to carrier, and from time to time. This makes the selection of carriers and choosing the most cost-effective option a tedious process.
- Having to reach out to team members for approval for minor alterations:
Many shipping tools are configured such that if any errors arise, the Shipper will be unable to address or workaround the problem themselves and must contact the administrator. This slows down and complicates the shipping process.
- Server issues:
When many people are trying to access the same server, it may overload or crash causing delays to shipment. This can halt both the shipper to ship packages on time and the customer from being able to track delivery status.
- Lack of Resources:
During peak season, or when the delivery volume is higher than normal, the shipper may have to overwork due to the lack of technology automation, personnel, or equipment.
Eliminate NetSuite Shipping Challenges using Right Multi-Carrier Shipping Software
Optimize your NetSuite Shipping Process with the Perfect Shipping Software. The appropriate software will empower shippers to compare and select the most favorable shipping rates for every order, ensure timely shipment without any delays, monitor orders in real-time, and access POD (Proof of Delivery) and shipping spend and carrier performance analysis through reports and dashboards. The outcome is a streamlined shipping process, leading to shorter shipping times, cost savings on shipments, increased transparency, and Customer satisfaction.
Implementations by ShipConsole that Ease the Shipping Process:
ShipConsole has incorporated the following features to facilitate the shipping process:
- Automated data fetching process. Shippers can either scan a shipment number or order number and details from the Oracle ERP system will be populated automatically into the software. Due to this, all that a shipper needs to do is review and click once to ship a package successfully.
- Shippers can choose from multiple carriers, and ship single, or multiple packages.
- Access to many profile options lets the shipper configure each delivery to the fullest. For example, they can easily ship a shipment in the category of HazMat if the package contains any hazardous material and all respective documentation can be generated automatically.
- The Consolidation feature allows the consolidation of multiple packages to one airway bill and address, thereby saving on costs. This feature also reduces handling costs associated with express services.
- Freight Shopping helps the shipper choose the best carrier for shipping while taking both the price and time of delivery into consideration.
- ERP Sync will sync data in ShipConsole with the organization’s ERP system in real time.
- When a shipper has to manifest a lot of deliveries at the EOD, they can easily check with
the Batch form to simplify the process. - Adhoc Shipping lets the shipper also ship out non-ERP shipments. This can be done for
urgent shipments and when the item doesn’t exist in the inventory. - Importing large orders is made simple. The shipper can have data in a specific order to import them and does not need to spend a lot of time importing them manually.
ShipConsole puts the data security and privacy of its customers as a top priority. ShipConsole has been successfully verified by the AICPA for its ability to comply with new security requirements. We are SOC2, GDPR, ISO 27001:2013 Compliant.
Conclusion:
Shipping is an essential part of many organizations’ day-to-day activities. Ensuring that items reach the customer on time and without other issues, is the ultimate goal for a shipper. Utilizing software with the latest technology allows shippers to maximize shipping potential and customer success. If you are interested in end-to-end Oracle Shipping Software Solutions, please contact ShipConsole by submitting a form on our website or by emailing us at info@shipconsole.com
Pavan Telluru works as a Product Manager at ShipConsole. He brings over a decade of experience to his current role where he’s dedicated to conducting product demos to prospects and partners about how to organizations can efficiently manage their shipping execution process. He also leads marketing efforts at ShipConsole.
