Shipping is a pivotal aspect of any ecommerce business — after all, if you can’t deliver products to your customers, you’re limited to running a brick-and-mortar store. And you’re limited to only local customers, instead of the millions you can reach online.
Convenience is the name of the game when it comes to ecommerce, which means a seamless shipping process both enhances customer satisfaction and also elevates your brand reputation across the internet. With a solid shipping operation, you can deliver a great experience by instilling confidence that orders will arrive on time and undamaged, leading to greater long-term customer loyalty.
Needless to say, effective shipping management is a game-changer for NetSuite sellers. Let’s take a look at why.
Why Ecommerce Shipping Is So Important
Before delving into the specifics of handling shipping with NetSuite, we’ll zoom out to recognize why ecommerce shipping is so essential for any online store. In short, shipping is the crucial link that connects your products to your customers, so it’s a fundamental pillar of the overall customer experience.
Shipping, however, encompasses more than just delivering products. It involves packaging, tracking, insurance and — as every online retailer can attest — handling returns. Efficiency and organization every step of the way is key, as a well-executed shipping process tends to result in increased sales and heightened retention. Conversely, inefficient shipping costs online retailers not only their sales but also their valuable customer relationships.
Consider this: More than two-thirds of online shoppers have opted against purchasing an item due to high shipping costs. Additionally, a staggering 93% of online buyers are inclined to make more purchases when presented with free shipping options. As you can see, your shipping strategy really matters.
Seamless Shipping with NetSuite
Shipping with NetSuite is a seamless and integrated process designed to enhance overall order fulfillment efficiency for its users. Leveraging its comprehensive suite of features, NetSuite streamlines shipping operations by connecting order management, inventory and shipping processes in real time. The platform allows online retailers to manage shipping carriers, rates and service levels, so they can choose the most cost-effective and timely shipping options for their customers.
NetSuite’s integration with major shipping carriers (including UPS, FedEx and USPS) facilitates automated shipping label creation, tracking and order updates. It also supports diverse, complex shipping models like dropshipping and multiple shipping locations to meet the needs of modern ecommerce businesses.
With robust reporting and analytics capabilities, NetSuite provides insights into shipping performance, helping online retailers optimize their logistics strategies and boost customer satisfaction. Essentially, NetSuite’s shipping functionalities contribute to a holistic approach to ecommerce business management, ensuring a smooth and efficient end-to-end process for order fulfillment that has made Netsuite a go-to solution for online retailers as part of Oracle’s innovative ecommerce solutions.
ReadyShipper X Is the First-Rate NetSuite Shipping Software
In today’s fast-paced consumer landscape, the demand for swift and efficient shipping has never been higher. And while NetSuite offers diverse shipping options, integrating a shipping software like ReadyShipper X can further streamline processes. ReadyShipper X, a premium plugin for the ReadyCloud, seamlessly integrates with NetSuite and executes tedious shipping tasks so you can turn your focus to more strategic aspects of your business.
ReadyShipper X, a hybrid cloud Nesuite shipping software solution, addresses this need by offering blazingly fast, multi-carrier shipping solutions with convenient automations and money-saving features. This smart and nimble shipping software can be seamlessly integrated into your workflow, enabling you to import and ship orders from various sources, including ReadyCloud CRM, CSV files, ODBC connections or manual entry.
With ReadyShipper X, you can print up to 3 labels per second, showcasing the power of hybrid-cloud technology. The software supports diverse shipping methods, including impressive USPS rates, ensuring unbeatable access to services that align with your business needs. Managing multiple UPS or FedEx accounts is a breeze with ReadyShipper’s Profiles and advanced Automation Rules editor, allowing you to apply the right shipping account to each order efficiently.
The introduction of Profiles offers a fast and easy way to assign specific shipper accounts and default “ship from” settings to individual sales channels. Additionally, the Ship Type Converter automates the translation of shipping methods, ensuring the best method is applied instantly and automatically based on various criteria such as weight, carrier, and zone. With ReadyShipper X, you can enhance your shipping process, save money and improve overall efficiency without breaking a sweat.
To get started with their ReadyShipper X journey, users just need to create a ReadyCloud account and add ReadyShipper X from the App Store. A 14-day free trial is available and requires no credit card information. Click here to learn more.
Crafting a Successful Shipping Strategy
Now that you’re familiar with managing shipping with NetSuite and how shipping software can supercharge your operations, let’s explore what’s arguably the most important part of shipping: the strategy. A well-thought-out shipping strategy will win you sales and customers, both of which contribute to a healthy growth trajectory for your business.
Get started with these tips:
Set Your Shipping Rates
When devising your shipping strategy, determining shipping rates is the obvious first step — but it’s the foundation for a reason. Options include offering free shipping, charging real-time carrier rates, implementing a flat rate or providing local delivery.
- Free Shipping: An effective tactic to curb cart abandonment, the associated costs can be absorbed into product prices or profit margins. Research shows 80% of consumers expect free shipping if they hit a certain dollar threshold, and 66% expect it all the time.
- Real-Time Carrier Rates: Facilitated by NetSuite’s integrations, this option lets customers choose and pay for their preferred service.
- Flat Rate Shipping: This option is effective when products have consistent sizes and weights.
- Local Delivery: If you have mostly local customers, this may be cost-effective to avoid fluctuating carrier rates.
Select Your Packaging
Packaging is a critical element of your shipping strategy, influencing both costs and brand image. You can opt for free packaging from your chosen shipping carriers, or you can invest in brand packaging. We recommend the latter, as branded packaging creates the “wow” factor when customers receive their orders. Think of it like a billboard, but instead of your brand being broadcasted to cars on the freeway, it’s shared across social media platforms via your customers.
No matter what you pick, be sure to consider the weight and size of your packaging to optimize shipping costs. A variety of packaging sizes and materials may be necessary if you have a wide product range.
Incorporate Insurance and Tracking
Depending on product value, shipping insurance and tracking can provide you worthwhile peace of mind. Insurance offers recourse for lost or damaged packages, while tracking lets customers monitor their shipments and excitedly anticipate delivery.
Be Diligent About International Shipping
Does your online store sell to customers outside the United State? (If not, you can skip this step.) Ensure you’re doing your due diligence. For international shipments, proper customs documentation — which informs customs officers about package contents, cost and whether it’s a gift or merchandise — is required.
Utilize Business Accounts
It may be tempting to use your personal shipping accounts with various carriers if you already have them, but you would miss out on the business-only perks they offer. Setting up business accounts can be advantageous, offering benefits like discounts, improved expense tracking and online tools for efficient shipping process management.
6 NetSuite Shipping Features You Can’t Live Without
Savvy sellers know that any ecommerce platform’s native shipping capabilities have limits, so choosing the right NetSuite shipping software to complement their existing tech stack saves both time and money in a business where shipping is crucial for success. And they swear by these six features:
- Fast Volume Fulfillment: Meet customers’ demands for fast and reliable shipping by offering faster volume fulfillment, saving costs and enhancing transparency.
- Custom Label Options: Create custom labels at high speeds (up to 3 labels per second) to add a professional touch to packages and improve brand visibility.
- Built-in Shipping Discounts: Get built-in shipping discounts via Flat Rate Select, providing instant savings on popular USPS Priority Mail box sizes, benefiting smaller, heavier packages up to 20 pounds.
- Multicarrier Support: Choose from all major U.S. shipping carriers, including FedEx, UPS, and USPS to offer flexibility in shipping options. Multiple shipper accounts can be seamlessly managed, enhancing productivity and reducing fulfillment time.
- Better Order Filtering & Tracking: Integrated with the ReadyCloud Suite, NetSuite shipping software provides industry-best order filtering and sorting options, automatically creating customer profiles with comprehensive order data, tracking numbers, invoices, and more.
- NetSuite RMA (Customer Return Authorization): Returns are managed efficiently with ReadyReturns, a part of the ReadyCloud suite, allowing e-tailers to deliver an Amazon-like hassle-free returns experience. Custom rules and settings provide control, with options such as limiting return-by dates, setting return shipping fees and utilizing convenient pay-on-use UPS return shipping labels.
Elevate Your NetSuite Shipping!
We can’t say it enough: Great shipping and great success go hand in hand. By mastering the art of managing shipping on NetSuite and integrating tools like ReadyShipper X, you can streamline operations, enhance customer satisfaction and propel your online store toward massive success. Always remember that shipping isn’t just about delivering products — it’s about enriching the overall customer experience.
Got questions for our sales team about efficient and seamless enterprise shipping for Netsuite? Reach out at: [email protected]. Or give us a call at: 877-818-7447.
