With more holidays and festivities, the fourth quarter is where peak season eCommerce takes off. But are you fully prepared to handle high volumes of orders shipping across multiple carriers, not just outbound but inbound?
The best news is that there is technology out there that can help you power through this madness – and that’s eCommerce carrier management software.
This first article in our two-part series will show you how to set up your shipping software to achieve your peak season goals.
Why You Need a Multi-Carrier Management System
If time is money, investing in a system that can do both is a win-win. Multi-carrier management systems offer a single platform solution that enables access to all the crucial parcel delivery services necessary to run your business. As a result, you save time by accessing all your carriers in one place, and you save both time and money on human resources.
But that’s not all. A multi-carrier system can also help you boss your peak season goals. That’s because it’s easy to install and the best ones like SmartConsign typically go live in less than 14 days. In addition, eCommerce carrier integration and standard set-up are free.
How to Integrate SmartConsign With Your Ecommerce Platform
To integrate your eCommerce carrier. You will need the following to get started:
- A SmartConsign Account
- An account with your carrier
- An account with an eCommerce platform (click here to see our list of platforms)
From your eCommerce platform, you can access a list of shipping integrations. Scroll down until you see “SmartConsign” and click to connect. Next, you will see the complete list of carriers connected to SmartConsign. We offer a wide range of carriers, so you’re sure to find one that meets your needs.
You can create a carrier by adding your unique SmartConsign URL link (which you will receive from your platform provider). Then, the system will automatically generate a carrier token, which is used to link to your SmartConsign account.
Developer Not Required. Carrier Management Software without constraint!
From here on, SmartConsign will take care of all future systems upgrades and updates issued by the carrier you’ve connected to via our system. Our developers do all the heavy lifting, leaving your team free to work on other higher-priority tasks.
How to Create Shipments With SmartConsign
You can create a shipment in seconds with SmartConsign. Here’s how:
From your eCommerce platform, click ship to reveal a list of all the SmartConsign carriers you’ve created. Next, select the shipment services you need from your chosen courier and click ship.
A shipping label will appear post-shipment creation, and the tracking number will be imported to your shipment.
Labels fit in a 4-inch by 6-inch area in portrait orientation. The label can be printed directly to a printer or saved for printing later. Please save the label and print from a pdf application such as Adobe Acrobat for higher quality print.
What to Do if You Have Problems With SmartConsign
Our system is really easy to use. But if you’re having problems with SmartConsign, don’t hesitate to contact our support team. Read what one client had to say about us
“your whole team are brilliant, answer queries and complete setups really quickly” M Langford [DX Delivery]
In part two of this series, we will share a few pro tips and tricks to power up your operation for eCommerce peaks by leveraging SmartConsign.
In the meantime, you can contact support@smartconsign.io for help setting up, and to create a SmartConsign Account contact sales@smartconsign.io.