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Hearing online entrepreneurs go to lengths to describe their ecommerce logistics woes is a common thing. We all know that logistics can be the game changer in the success of an online site and a wrong choice can completely ruin your business. However, despite volumes being written and discussed  across online support groups, forums and review sites entrepreneurs often make some avoidable mistakes that cost them time, money, resources and brand image as well.

If this sounds familiar and you are also an ecommerce entrepreneur working to establish a streamlined and efficient supply chain for your products then a thorough analysis of your logistics requirements becomes a necessity.

Beginners often make mistakes due to their lack of understanding of the basics of successful logistics.

Here is a set of the common mistakes made which every ecommerce entrepreneur should try to avoid:

Inhouse logistics

Mistake- Often ecommerce startups choose in-house logistics to deliver the products to their customers. In the initial days, this may look like an affordable idea. However, for a long run when the number of orders goes on increasing, managing the logistics in-house requires the involvement of more resources and the costs are comparatively higher.  

Solution- Choosing a third-party logistics provider which consists of a team of ecommerce experts is a better way of delivering to customers across various locations. These  providers own the complete responsibility for product delivery along with features like shipment tracking. This makes it easy to, maintain the live status of the shipments for customers.Also, no resources from the ecommerce firm need to intervene in the process thus the time and efforts are saved.

Choosing a single delivery partner

Mistake- One shipping partner is sufficient for fulfilling all the logistics needs! This is one myth which online retailers often believe. The consequences of believing the myth may not have fruitful end results as a single delivery partner comes with limited features and may not deliver to the locations where you wish to expand in future.

Solution- It’s always better to have your options open. Thus, the best solution for correcting this mistake would be getting integrated with multiple logistics partners. Choosing ecommerce logistics solution integrated with multiple shipping partners allows you to expand your reach to various locations. Having a backup for processing a number of shipments at any point of time becomes easier with the assistance of more than one shipping partners.

Assuming the shipping rates

Mistake- Various factors are involved in the calculation process of a shipment like an origin pin code, destination pin code, weight and size of the package. Hence the shipping rates may vary for every shipment that is processed. Assuming the shipping charges and choosing an ecommerce shipping partner is not a good option as some research may help you save the cost involved in shipping.

Solution- Third-party logistics providers like ShipKaro provide the rate calculator feature which easily allows to calculate the shipping costs and fetch the real-time rates. You can easily view the rates for various shipping partners and choose the most cost-effective option for your shipments.

Avoiding automation

Mistake- Managing the entire documentation process of shipments that include shipping labels, invoices, and other things can become a hectic task if done manually. This may result in delayed order dispatch and ultimately delayed delivery of products. Moreover, manual intervention may lead to errors at times which becomes difficult to trace further.

Solution- Automation becomes a necessity for making the order shipment process easy and fast. Synchronizing your orders automatically can reduce manual efforts and help in eliminating the logistics error. Thus, the risk factor of manual errors is not involved.

The listed points are some of the most common mistakes that online retailers make. Finding a full-fledged solution for avoiding these mistakes is an easy task. ShipKaro one of the best third-party logistics providers in India offers all the features necessary for avoiding these mistakes. ShipKaro also offers cost-effective solution for all your logistics problems at a discounted price. Therefore, ShipKaro ultimately helps in expanding your reach and also saves time throughout the process. You can sign up at ShipKaro and make the most of all the amazing features to ensure growth and ease in your business.