COVID-19 has a huge impact on communities and on our economy. Since the quarantine, retailers have closed their locations and people stay home to social distance, there has been an increase in online shopping and package deliveries. In this new normal, businesses are adapting but still using online shopping and package deliveries.
While shipping carriers continue to operate as an essential service, there may be some changes that could temporarily impact the way you fulfill orders. To keep your business moving during these uncertain times, we’ve put together a list of strategies to help you ship orders and communicate with customers.
Optimizing your shipping strategy
Getting products to your customers
Communicating with your customers
1. Optimize your shipping strategy
Free packaging materials
Many carriers offer free packaging for use with a specific shipping rate. Although there is no cost for the materials, you might need to create a free account with the carrier in order for them to send it to you.
Shipping rates at checkout
Now more than ever, customers are expecting fast and affordable delivery options.
While shipping times can’t be controlled, you can consider pricing options like free or flat-rate shipping. If you choose to offer free shipping, you can include the fee in your product prices, or you can absorb the shipping costs. If you choose to offer flat-rate shipping, customers will pay one consistent rate depending on where they are located.
Save time buying shipping labels
Adding weights for your products and packages will ensure you get accurate label prices and save time when purchasing a label.
2. Get products to your customers
Due to COVID-19, some carriers have temporarily changed their shipping services and policies. Shipping delays should be expected due to canceled flights, governmental decisions, and staff reductions. Consider offering local delivery for customers who are located nearby.
3. Communicate with your customers
Stay in touch with your customers to communicate shipping delays and encourage engagement through updates and promotional offers.
Communicate shipping delays
Send an email to your subscribers and/or create an announcement bar to share shipping updates with customers on your site.
Leverage social media
With many people staying at home, now is a good time to communicate using social media. Let your customers know how they can continue to support your business, whether through online shopping, local pickups and deliveries, or with gift cards. You can also share promotional codes to boost sales and communicate safety measures your business is following.
For more resources to help you navigate your business during the COVID-19 health crisis, visit our blog and check out our Instagram account @asiacommerce, or you can join our membership so you can import products easily, just fill the form here: https://asiacommerce.net/import-export-request/
Most companies begin to fulfill their own orders, while some eventually use a third-party logistics solution as they grow. Thing is, sometimes it’s difficult to know when to switch, especially when you build your own company from the ground up with nothing but personal savings.
Businesses with various sizes can get benefit by using warehousing and fulfillment services. There are variety of companies that offer warehousing and fulfillment services, some of which specialize in smaller or larger-scale operations
However, there are clear signs that it’s time to switch to outsourced fulfillment.
Cyclical or uneven sales
If the number of orders you process fluctuates throughout the year, it’s probably difficult for you to handle to running and staffing your own warehouse. A logistics company will be able to adapt to your needs.
Besides, unexpected spikes in sales can interfere your delivery promise. An expert can handle times when your daily order volume peaks so you can focus on your delivery consistency and make efficient experience every time.
You’re too busy
Source: Freepik
If you’re too busy dealing with order fulfillment and thus distract your growth focus, it’s probably time to outsourcing it. As a business owner, you need to be able to devote time to sales and marketing, expanding to other e-commerce platforms, sourcing new products and ideas, and improving your business for the long term.
Lack of infrastructure
Source: Kit8
If you’re expanding your business geographically, you may outgrow your current infrastructure before you can adapt. Shipping to locations across the country or even the world comes with logistical challenges that increase expenses and shipping times. This can inhibit large-scale growth.
When you outsource to a global fulfillment partner, they’ll be better equipped to serve a growing customer base, leveraging multiple locations, and optimizing fulfillment accordingly.
Third-party warehousing and fulfillment isn’t right for everyone, but if you find yourself in one of these situations, it might be time to start calling around and chatting with logistics companies.
Warehousing, shipping, and fulfillment can’t be separated when you begin to establish an e-commerce business or selling products.
Even though making sells is always the exciting part, you need to make sure your products end up in customers’ hands.
There are three options you can choose to make this happen:
Sell your product through a drop-shipper who will place orders for you
Place your order independently
Collaborate with a logistics company that will handle your warehousing and fulfillment
There are certain advantages from packing and shipping your own orders: it’s cheap and flexible. Often times, businesses that are just starting out, and businesses that have extra packaging needs, usually handle their own logistics.
And regardless of age or industry, any business struggling with cash flow will be better off handling things in-house. Sometimes you have more time to spend than money.
But if your business has expanded and growing quickly so you have the cash on hand to outsourced, you may consider for using third-party warehousing and fulfillment.
There are many logistics companies that will store your product and take care of packing and shipping your orders, but not all logistics companies provide fulfillment services such as AsiaCommerce.
But What is fulfillment service?
A fulfillment service is a third-party warehouse that prepares and ships your orders for you. It does this from its fulfillment center. E-commerce fulfillment services are ideal for businesses that don’t want to deal with shipping or have outgrown existing warehousing capabilities to a point where they’re unable to ship orders themselves anymore.
If you’re scaling fast and looking to optimize your fulfillment strategy, working with a provider that offers a central view of your data and smart inventory allocation across multiple warehouses will give you the most flexibility. To learn more about the AsiaCommerce fulfillment services, visit us here
What does a fulfillment center do?
Source: All Things Supply Chain
While each fulfillment center operates slightly differently, they all accomplish the same thing: they act as a command center for all your order prepping and shipping needs. Fulfillment centers also double as warehouse spaces for inventory storage, allowing you to hold onto product.
Some fulfillment service providers have multiple fulfillment centers, allowing them to serve different geographic locations more quickly than if they were to have just one. This allows e-commerce companies to deliver fast and affordable shipping to a diverse customer base.
What do fulfillment services cost?
Source: Shipware
Fulfillment services typically charge by the hour or per unit/pallet. Providers add up costs for receiving, storage, pick and pack, shipping, kitting or bundling, returns, custom packaging, gift services, and setup. They then apply transactional (e.g., receiving, shipping) and recurring (e.g., storage) fees.
If your business has big goals, fluctuating sales, but not enough time to take care of things in-house, AsiaCommerce will help you! Just fill the form here
Internet and Technology advancements have made doing business across countries easier and faster than before. Now, you can do business anywhere in the world. Yes, by anywhere it means you can do it in the comfort of your home and office. Indeed, e-commerce has changed the way people do business.
Dropshipping is one of the business models that you can do internationally. Dropshipping means that you partner with a wholesale supplier or manufacturer who will directly package and ship the products to your customers. Or, you can be the wholesale supplier and be the one to ship the products to customers of your partner wholesale vendor.
In this article, we will discuss 10 things dropshippers need to know about international dropshipping.
Shipping Carrier
Source: More Than Shipping
You must partner with a shipping carrier who will meet your specific shipping requirements. If you choose to dropship, you need to consider the coverage of the dropshipping supplier. Most especially if you offer worldwide shipping, you need to partner with a supplier who offers international shipping.
These are the factors that you need to consider in choosing a shipping carrier:
Shipping options,
Rates,
Coverage,
Tracking or Mapping tools,
Delivery Timeframe,
Fees,
Package size,
Policies
When you will offer dropshipping, you will be the one to ship the products directly to the customers of your partner wholesale buyers. So choose a reliable and trustworthy shipping carrier that fits your shipping requirements and that you can do business with for the long haul.
Destination Country Regulations
Source: Shutterstock
Every country has its own regulations, clearances, and restrictions for packages coming from abroad. You need to be familiar with importation laws and regulations for every country that you will ship your products to.
Get an Insurance
Source: The Economic Times
Shipping carries a lot of risks. As you can imagine, cargoes containing the packages have to travel by land, sea, and air to get to their destination. Depending on the destination country, there will always be risks involved such as shipment delays and errors that are not controllable.
Thus, it would be wise to get insurance so that losses can be covered. There are different insurance companies so you need to study and compare their policies, requirements, and coverage. Choose the best, most reliable insurance that offers a lot of coverage.
Shipping Rates
Source: Elegant Themes
The shipping rates can vary depending on a lot of factors:
Shipping Carrier;
Size and Weight of the Package;
Country of Origin and Destination Country;
Custom Regulations.
Delivery Time
Source: GPS Tracker
Depending on the destination country, shipping carrier, and customs regulations, delivery time will vary from country to country. You need to take into account the delivery time to get the package across to the shipping address of the customer. Give allowance in the delivery date so that you can provide proper expectations to the customer.
Electronic Invoice
Source: Due
International shipping requires you to have a sales invoice which is part of the documentation.
Shipping carriers also offer paperless or electronic invoices. This way you will be able to transmit the invoice to customs and obtain clearance from them.
Customs Clearance
Source: Janio
In shipping, you must take into account customs at the destination of the cargo and at the origin of both imports and exports. The documentation requested with internationally transported goods is vital to prevent delays and additional charges from occurring.
You need to deal with customs fees, which will be based on the value of the item you are shipping out and its destination.You also need to deal with taxes such as shipment fees, warehousing fees, and other additional charges. One company may also have different tariff computation depending on the scope of their services and locations.
Tracking
Source: Search Engine Journal
There are a lot of international shipping carriers that offer tracking services for shipped goods. So you need to also consider that when choosing what carrier to partner with. Once you can track the shipments, you will know whether the parcel or package has arrived at the shipping address or not. You will also know if there are shipment delays and issues or if the shipment is being held at customs.
Packaging
Source: Shutterstock
Most consumers value the packaging and presentation of the products as much as the product itself. Aside from ensuring that products are neatly packaged, the packaging is also an important factor in shipping. Depending on the package size and weight, shipping rates will vary.
You can choose the materials for the packaging of your products to make them more presentable to customers. You can have your own creative packaging design that showcases your brand.
Terms and Conditions
You also need to be aware of the terms and conditions of the shipping carrier as well as the dropship supplier.
Make sure that you know their return policies and exchanges, payment methods, insurance, guarantees, to name some.
By knowing these 10 things, you will be better equipped when shipping your products to customers while maximizing your profit margins.
Import business is certainly the most interesting business by all young enterpreneurs who just already start their business. The problem at the beginning is what kind of goods you want to import? Where is it from? And How? Surely these such questions are always poppingup your mindasyou plan to start your business. Solution? Let’s try China import business. Then what kind of China’ goods you look for so that it is right for your business? Check these following reviews out!!
Benefits of China Goods Business
At first, to convince you about China import business, we will talk about the benefits of China goods production. If you talk about its benefits, it will absolutely relate to your business profit in the future.
Highly efficient
The first benefits of China goodsbusiness is very efficient. One thing you have to know that many China factories are sought all over the world because of its amazing speed and effectiveness. When the production line is set up, the manufacturing process can be started by either less interuption or no interuption at all. It will be more beneficial when the goods demand is very high and you cannot waste your time even for one day. So, your goods demand will be processed faster without waiting for a long time.
Worldwide shipping
Although the goods are made in China, it will be very easy to ship them all over the world. Further, you are not only focusing on the domestic market but also international market.
Less production cost
Look for China goods by using friendly business rules. You can get the result you want without spend a lot of money by a low cost for spare parts and labor. In addition, if you can choose China’s import partner for your overseas business, you can save costs upto 20-30%.
China Goods quality
China goods quality is growing every year by so many businesses turning to China. Most consumers want the low-priced and long last products or goods. It makes China as the most ideal place to produce the goods.
There are many amazing benefits when you choose China goods business. Cheap production costs can make the lower price that make your consumers and investors happy.
Then, what kind of China goods right for you?
It will be very challenging when you find China goods especially goods which come from abroad. Here is the list of imported goods from China which are the most interested by people.
Fashion products
Fashion products coming from overseas especially China are more attracting Indonesian people’ attention when they are seeking for trendy products. It has many variations of types and prices. Most people are interesting to buy fashion products especially clothes and its trinkets. It is a great pride when you use trendy and up to date fashion products that come from abroad especially China products.
Householdproducts / Home daily
Find cheap imported goods from China such as household goods or home daily is a challenge. You should know what kind of household goods that will attract buyers to buy your products. However, once if you can sell, there are many more buyers come to find the same items. These items include to the most seekable products by Indonesian people especially for kitchen utensils. There are always some innovations that can give convenience way in working on kitchen. Many types of kitchen utentils we can purchase from China goods. For instances, various types of fruits and vegetables cutters, food warmer to a special sterilizer rack for baby bottles. Everything is on imported China goods, so what are you waiting for? Let’s find your favorite China household products based on your taste.
Unique and cute products
This product is also sold out well to be imported from the top two products above. If you ask “ is there any unique product or China imported good?” the answer is “SO MANY..” As mentioned before that producers in China are always making innovations to improve their goods’ quality. Not only that but also many producers in China are developing many unique and cute goods that can be marketed to all over the world with a low price. Others, if you choose to import unique and cute China goods, it will be the right target because there are many types and designs of products. In addition, many enthusiasts are quite enough to start and grow your business. Goods such as mosquito repellent pin for baby, phone holder for your car’s dashboard to unique apolo bag for your cat or dog and many more interesting goods you can find!
After you find some common China goods that are sought by most importers. Now, let’s consider these following tips and tricks for starting China goods business right for you.
Tips and Tricks for China Goods Business
Tips 1, 2, and 3 – Know what kind of market you want
This first step is very important for you to know to pick China imported goods is that “You have to know what kind of market you target!” the biggest mistake from newly importers is picking up the goods they think can be sold very well. However, the fact is totally WRONG.
You cannot only see from your competitors then copy the way to sell their products with the same product. It’s sure that you will get fail. You have to understand what kind of market you want to take.
If you do not understand what kind of market you want to sell at the beginning, at the end you will not get effective marketing, you will not know how to give price at your goods or you will not know how to do quality inspection, etc. Even if you can earn the income in a short time, you will be lose toward your competitors who know their market type and can do it so well.
Our advice: most people exactly have a hobby or something that attracts them. This is your starting point to start identifying good China imported goods. If you do not have certain hobby or something suitable to you then try to identify areas you can learn.
So, if you don’t have a hobby or something attracts you as the candidate for the source of imported product, try to look for a hobby or an interest!
Tips 4 – Choose low risk goods
The scariest thing for someone who imports China goods is that importing goods that will hurt others. You will not only experience moral burden of hurting someone but also you can be in court because of all the money you get. Many new importers start their business by opening their company individually or personally, so you will have unlimited responsibilities.
We suggest you to look for low risk China goods such as furniture products which have small risk. We live in a law country, so it is better for you to obey the regulations about imported products. Remember that!! Better for you to prevent than cure, right?!
Tips 5 – Choose original goods
Hopefully that this next tip is make sense without need any more explanation but for some people may not. Just do not import unoriginal goods! If there is a well-known branded name listed in a China goods. Furthermore, when you know that the brand is not made by Asia especially China, so it can be known easily this product is unoriginal. Even there is a trademark such as ® or ™ in the unoriginal one, it cannot make sure that the goods are original. Most people are unconsciously importing branded goods, we hope you are not!
However, usually most importers unconsciously import branded products but all of them are unoriginal. Due to the law of patent rights is very low especially in China, so it ease the importers to make unoriginal goods which is not belong to their patents.
It makes the suppliers will not hesitate to sell unoriginal products or in other words, it has been patented in other countries. They will not find out what branded goods are patented, so it is your own job to find it out.
Tips 6 – Prioritize experience rather than standard
When you start importing China goods, business owners usually make mistake by looking for some companies that can produce in very high quantities. By doing that, they will not afraid if the stock runs out when their business starts growing.
However, they do not realize that it is not exactly better. Quality standard is vary drastically and the best way to ensure a successful supply is working with experienced producers. In some cases, exerienced producerscan add their productions based on your demand.
Find Cheap China Goods
Finding cheap goods especially for China goods surely will make you very satisfy when you successfully got it. Especially, if the products include to high-quality products from China which not everyone can have (unique and cute products). You can browse on the online shop to find overseas products from China with low price or consult it directly to the parties who receive China imported goods services.
You can find suppliers of imported China goods that you need who offers very achievable price for you. When you have found it then you can compare which one is the cheapest price of all. Interested in starting China import business!! Find your China stuff right NOW!!
