It is rare for an online consumer to know which carrier will be delivering their package to the door. They typically only notice when the package fails to arrive. However, regardless of the customer delivery experience, the retailer is held to account because they are responsible for choosing the carrier. The issue retailers face is how to fulfill consumers’ delivery expectations fast and still make a profit.
The obvious solution is to automate the process – but not all systems are created equal. With so many moving parts in the shipping process getting complete clarity of a parcel’s journey can be challenging. So how fast do carrier management systems (CMS) need to be in order to drive efficiencies where it matters most? In this article, we look at the key attributes of modern CMS’s that are designed to accelerate shipping processes.
Faster Delivery
Post pandemic consumer online shopping is predicted to continue to grow. Overall good news for businesses but bad news when customer expectations for low to zero shipping are considered. The combined impact poses a risk to profitability that few retailers can afford to ignore.
There are of course a number of ways businesses can lower shipping costs from packaging, shipment type, weight, and more. All can help cover the costs, but it’s only part of the solution.
Effective application of cloud-based carrier management software can also contribute to scaling efficiencies in the delivery process. They allow seamless access to valuable data for every order from a single touchpoint. They also integrate with all major carriers and sales channels making it easier for the business to manage the overall operation.
They enable faster delivery options by providing data tracking and monitoring of every stage of the journey in real-time. In truth, when backend systems work together, the operation runs faster.
Faster Bulk Consignment Processing
For retailers who are generating 100,000+ consignments a month, the challenge is multi-faceted. Meeting carrier collection times the same day or night for example is just one crucial aspect of delivering the customer promise. Often when processing large volumes of data, anomalies occur that add further delays in the process.
Advanced CMS’s like SmartConsign RapidX is designed to process high volumes of labels and trouble-shoot anomalies faster. This allows businesses to scale faster as well as offering them more flexibility and control.
Faster Carrier Rate Shopping
Conceivably, one of the most useful attributes of a modern CMS is the ease and speed of access to multiple carrier rates. A powerful feature, allowing fast discovery of the best rates and effortless management of carrier performance.
Once carriers are integrated into the delivery system it automatically scours carrier data to find the best deals for the order. The data is delivered instantly saving the business valuable turnaround time.
Faster Customer Service
We know retaining customers is exponentially less expensive than finding new ones. It’s also much better for brand reputation. A bad delivery experience can have major repercussions on driving repeat business or brand reputation.
Cloud-based multi-carrier management systems can help improve customer service in a number of ways. Firstly, they help provide complete clarity of the delivery process from a single touch-point. They also provide detailed real-time tracking information, that the team can use to manage customer queries faster.
Best of all, carrier management system integrations connect retailers with all the important data they need to ensure successful fast delivery. They also provide valuable insights that can be used for product development as well as enabling faster response to customer queries.
Is your CMS fast enough?
With over 10 years’ experience in the SaaS space, SmartConsign is one of the longest-running providers of smart shipping software. The company is constantly innovating it’s CMS solution to help businesses remain relevant to the growing need for faster delivery.
The company’s latest innovation SmartConsign RapidX is a first in the sector and is 10X faster than any other CMS.
If you’re ready to find out how we can accelerate your parcel delivery services, contact us today for a demo.