Like it or not, shipping has never been a hassle free
process because of its nature. And now when you see many lots to be shipped
with a limited time window until holidays, you might be worried about how to
get your shipping supplies on board. Surely you want to sell more to cover the
holidays in advance but you are restrained by operational shortcomings that you
face before finally dispatching the items.
You can use a few helpful tips to get a better idea on how
to make the shipping process less time consuming and more convenient.
Use a Thermal Printer
Thermal printing usually involves interaction between
chemically treated metal and the thermal print-head that transfers heat to the
metal, blackening the chemically treated areas. Working with these printers
wouldn’t require you to update the toner, refill ink and any conventional
printer maintenance task. Moreover, it brings convenience and efficiency in
printing labels. Efficiency in printing labels is the major relief as this
efficiency can help you making the dispatching process many times faster. Some
features that justify the usage of thermal printer include:
Thermal printer is dedicated to print postage. It means that
you wouldn’t need any labels to feed into the printer.
Due to simple path, jamming isn’t the issue with this
printer.
Printing labels using inkjet printers wouldn’t make labels
ready right away due to time required for ink to dry. On the other hand,
thermal printer readies labels instantly, saving a lot of time.
Batch printing
Printing the batch of a large number labels doesn’t take
much time while using thermal printer. Unlike the inkjet printing which
requires paper portions to get under the cartridge, thermal printing works like
a quick stamp that works in a dynamic way. Hence, you can easily use batch
printing software if you are dealing with thermal printing.
Include return labels
with your shipment
In case the customer reconsiders the decision to have your
product, the reverse shipping process should be efficient and free of any
confusion. For that purpose, always include return labels with your shipment.
As a matter of fact, this inclusion of return labels can give your customer the
confidence that he/she has more authority to return the product. It can surely
be defined as an aspect of customer satisfaction.
Carrier Pickup
Transporting shipping supplies to the carrier’s office
consumes time and money. There is a way you can avoid this hassle. That way is
to sign up for pickup by carrier. You can coordinate with the carrier’s
representative to finalize a schedule for pickup of your items from your office
by the carrier. Some companies charge for picking the items from office or home
but the pickup charges may vary depending upon how often you want your items to
be picked up. Some major carriers also offer free pickup.
Automation in
shipping process
Shipping process usually involves immense amount of record
keeping and calculation. Moreover, certain entities like item types, volume and
weight need to be recorded in organized way in order to avoid measurement of
shipment again and again. Since this record keeping is a complicated and
lengthy process, the best way is to use shipping software that would keep
records in its database and show simplified information by running complex
codes at the backend.
