In this article, we’ll explain how you can reduce your transport costs with freight forwarders and optimize your e-commerce delivery to offer the best possible customer experience.
Transport is a strategic axis for all merchants, and for good reason:
- Transport costs account for an estimated 70% of logistics costs.
- According to a study by LSA – Colissimo, the percentage of sales lost by e-tailers who don’t offer express or relay parcel delivery is 30%.
- 3 out of 4 consumers check e-commerce delivery terms and conditions before buying products online.
So how do you reduce transport costs and optimize e-commerce delivery to deliver the best possible customer experience?
One of the answers to this question seems to be readily available. Yet few merchants are aware that this solution exists. The answer is freight forwarders.
What is a freight forwarder?
A true “transport wholesaler“, the freight forwarder is licensed to buy transport and resell it to merchants. By committing to volumes, they benefit from more competitive rates, which they can then offer to merchants.
The freight forwarder has several attributes:
- He advises the merchant without bias
- Negotiates volumes and prices for all types of transport
- It handles multi-carrier pickup
- He can carry out injection for international sales.
Why use a freight forwarder for e-commerce deliveries?
- To reduce transport costs,
- To articulate different transport offers
- To adopt a more ecological and environmentally-friendly approach
- For competitive rates on international shipments…
- To offer the best e-commerce delivery experience4
Shippingbo integrates freight forwarders
In addition to being a technology dedicated to e-commerce logistics, Shippingbo is a real ecosystem that brings together all supply chain partners. We currently have over 200 plug-and-play integrations, including more than a dozen with freight forwarders. This network of freight forwarders enables our users to benefit from all their advantages, as well as from Shippingbo’s own.
Let’s take a look at the Shippingbo advantages for your e-commerce delivery strategy!
Three-in-one SaaS technology
Shippingbo combines three software programs in one powerful technology package to optimize your logistics from start to finish:
- An OMS (Order Management System)
- A WMS (Warehouse Management System)
- A TMS (Transport Management System)
Save time on omnichannel order processing with OMS
Order centralization means centralizing all your omnichannel orders (marketplaces, CMS, private sales) in a single back office. This represents an enormous time-saver for merchants, who are no longer obliged to process their orders manually and/or go to the back office of each sales source to retrieve their orders.
OMS also enables connect your sales channels and warehouses. Through OMS, the two can communicate with each other: the warehouse communicates the stock available for sale in real time to your sales channels, and the sales channels communicate order information to your warehouse (products, customer location, order amount, delivery information, etc.).
Optimize your order picking with a high-performance WMS
A high-performance WMS will enable you to optimize order preparation thanks to several functions:
- Real-time inventory management
- Dynamic pack and batch management
- Preparation sessions
- Location management
- …
Manage your shipments easily with TMS
Finally, the last tool to complete Shippingbo’s technology: the TMS. A true loading station, the TMS enables merchants to optimize the management of their shipments.
We integrate the carrier contracts of your choice to fully satisfy your end-customers, reduce your transport costs and maximize your sales. The TMS is in fact an agile tool that can be connected to the transport contracts of forwarding partners, direct carriers, and even the transport contracts of marketplaces, private sales, logisticians, etc.
This agility and wide choice of connectors enables merchants to address the main e-commerce delivery promises on the market, namely :
- Click and collect
- Standard delivery
- Express delivery
- Withdrawal point delivery
The TMS also automates carrier allocation. In concrete terms, this means that carriers can be automatically assigned to orders according to criteria defined by the merchant. For example:
- Package weight and/or dimensions
→ I assign carrier 1 for all parcels up to 3kg
→ I assign carrier 2 to parcels weighing 3kg or more
- Delivery address (zip code, department, city, country …)
→ I assign carrier 4 to e-commerce deliveries in the Pyrenees (which it delivers regularly) because I know I won’t be overcharged.
→ If in such and such a department, carrier 5 has a better quality of service for the same price, I give preference to that carrier.
- Total order price
→ For the highest baskets, I consider that I can pay a little more for e-commerce delivery to offer a better quality of service to the consumer. So I don’t hesitate to use carrier 6 for orders over 50 euros.
- The source of the command
→ I know that marketplace 1 is very demanding in terms of e-commerce delivery times: so I allocate the most efficient carrier to these shipments, even if it’s not the cheapest.
To find out more about shipping rules, watch the replay of our webinar dedicated specifically to the subject!
The Shippingbo plus: a 100% SaaS system
With Shippingbo, your company will benefit from a system that guarantees :
- No technological or human constraints
- No hidden costs
- 99.99% service availability
- Maintenance and updating of transporters included in the subscription,
- You can connect to the solution from anywhere, using any device!
As you can see, developing an optimal e-commerce delivery strategy, in terms of both cost and quality, is essential to maintaining your competitive edge. Shippingbo will be your ally in this, offering you a native connection to the players of your choice, in particular freight forwarders who will help you reduce your transport costs.
