4 Tips for Choosing the Right Shipping Software Before Next Peak Season
by EasyPost
Choosing the right shipping software can make or break a business's peak season – let alone the rest of the year. If a company decides correctly, their shipping software will enhance their ecommerce platform for customers and employees. However, if they choose wrong, they could experience extended downtime, encounter more supply chain challenges, and increasingly have orders arrive late.
Here are our best tips to help you choose the right shipping software that will carry you through the long haul of peak season and beyond.
Consider customer support
While customer support might not be the first thing that comes to mind when choosing shipping software, it should not be forgotten. A bad customer service experience isn't only detrimental to business, but it may sometimes even cause a company to restart its search for new shipping software. The Microsoft Dynamics 365 Global State of Customer Service report found that 58% of consumers are willing to sever their relationship with a brand over poor customer service. So if your shipping software isn't giving you the support you need to operate successfully, it may be time to start looking around for alternatives.
With the lengthy time and resources that go into implementing shipping software, businesses should be confident that their shipping software's customer support will help them actually solve problems, rather than simply reading from a script. Customer service representatives should know the ins and outs of their product and be available to help users integrate the software and overcome any hiccups they encounter down the line.
Take note of software integrations
It can be time-consuming to integrate shipping software carrier by carrier. This, combined with outdated documentation and incompatible software, can become a time suck that continues even after your initial integration.
The more integrations your shipping software has, the more it will accomplish for a business. When choosing a shipping software, a company should consider their current carriers and ones they may want to start using in the future. Also, ask if the platform is compatible with your existing ERP or WMS. The more end-to-end automation a shipping software offers, the smoother operations will be for a business. Even if integration isn't currently available, features you're looking for may be in development, so don't be afraid to let a software company know your business needs.
Reliability is a must
We rely on technology more than ever in the modern workplace, especially in the shipping industry. A reliable shipping software or API will return accurate information consistently without significant interruptions. In most cases, downtime is caused by system failures, human errors, and network outages. When this happens, customers may not make orders, labels cannot be printed, and revenue is ultimately lost.
When considering platforms, research how many outage events they've had and total downtime during regular and peak seasons. This insight will point out which software is the most reliable and what you can expect when using the platform. Keep in mind the scale of businesses that each platform typically works with and give yourself room to grow into your shipping software.
Save on shipping costs
Many shipping software platforms offer incentives to save on shipping costs. Whether they provide pre-negotiated rates, help you find the lowest rates, or offer other perks, be sure to consider these cost-saving features. Look at your current logistics operations and consider where you can save.
Perhaps multi-carrier shipping will help you find better rates. Maybe you love your carrier and want to ensure you're getting the best price from them. Shipping software companies often work with these carriers to integrate their platforms, so they already have pre-existing relationships. Take another glance at the features and perks of the shipping software you're considering. Compare their offerings to your current business practices and see where you will save.
Making it easy
Switching to another shipping platform is never easy. It can take weeks or even months to implement new technologies into a business's logistics setup fully, but that's where EasyPost comes in. Our shipping API quite literally lives up to its name. We make our customers' shipping operations simpler, faster, and more reliable – and we'd love it if you gave us a try.
You can sign up for EasyPost today and speak with one of our shipping experts. They can show you how our platform will make your next peak season even more successful.