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]]>Most eCommerce companies look at international shipping the wrong way. Shipping price is a significant expense, so, understandably, online sellers want to keep costs down.
Shipping costs are charged by the carriers, not your fulfillment warehouse, but your 3PL still plays a role in shipping costs. For instance, some 3PLs, like Ship2eu, get shipping discounts and pass those on to you.
How much does shipping cost?
Here’s a breakdown of the shipping rates you can expect, how to understand the actual Shipping pricing, and hidden expenses to include when you calculate shipping rates.
Shipping rates formula
Cost = Weight * Weight_fee + Tracking_fee
- Weight_fee
Each carrier has its own specific categories and terms to describe weight and size limitations – but these will usually include envelopes for standard A4 documents, packs for larger documents and compact items, boxes and pallets. Oversized or odd-sized packages may be accepted with a surcharge. If you’re not sure which size category your shipment falls under, it’s a good idea to consult your carrier or agent.
- Tracking_fee:
The factors that affect shipping costs include
- Service level (i.e., air express line, air standard line, post line, etc.)
- Destination country
- Actual weight/Dimensional weight
Dimensional or DIM weight is a formula that carriers use to determine the cost to ship an oversized package. DIM weight pricing allows carriers to incorporate size as well as weight into their price structure. After all, the number of packages that can fit on one truck or in one container depends as much on the size of the box as its weight.
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]]>The post 5 Ways to Boost Ecommerce Sales by Working with Your 3PL appeared first on Ship2eu.
]]>Now that the holiday season is over and the flood of returns has slowed to a trickle, businesses like yours are focusing on ways to boost eCommerce sales in 2022. That’s the right target, given that experts project we’ll break eCommerce records yet again.
However, those sales and consumer habits
mean more competition than ever before. If you’re going to stand out and keep
scaling your growth, you need an intelligent plan for success. The best
eCommerce plans always come with partners, and we think a new 3PL should be at
the top of your list. Here’s why that makes so much sense.
Boost eCommerce sales method 1: Reduce sales hesitation
Some of the biggest red flags that potential customers have about an online sale are hidden fees and unclear shipping times. Your 3PL can help tackle this and boost eCommerce sales opportunities by directly integrating your store and shopping cart with shipping options and carriers.
Working together, your 3PL can help you show customers shipping costs and speeds before the checkout process starts. That eliminates surprise fees or abandoned carts due to slow shipping speeds. A great 3PL like Ship2eu takes this one step further by guaranteeing the speed and accuracy of your orders. This means customers consistently get the right products at the right time. Together, we eliminate delays that harm current sales and provide assurances and quality service that help customers buy from you again and again.
Boost eCommerce sales method 2: Enhance customer satisfaction
3PLs also help you improve your sales outlook by enabling you to serve your customers better. That comes in two main flavors:
- Outsourcing fulfillment and inventory management allow you to prioritize product development, sales, marketing, and customer support channels.
- Improved delivery reliability (time and order accuracy) reduces customer service request volume and allows you to prioritize higher-value or more complex issues.
Let Ship2eu Fulfillment manage your order fulfillment and inventory management needs so you can get back to doing what you love. Your time won’t be taken up by resolving logistics challenges, carrier negotiations, parcel testing, or other in-house logistics tasks. Instead, you can prioritize developing new colors and customizations, tackling the latest trends, and building a deeper brand story and connection.
Our experts offer efficient, accurate delivery that minimizes disruptions to the customer experience. Getting the right products in every order reduces complaints, returns, and refunds. The best news is that we can maintain this excellence even as you grow. You can’t beat that to boost eCommerce sales.
Boost eCommerce sales method 3: Scale without delay
Market demands, product availability, and the bullwhip effect have dramatically changed how eCommerce business and sales get done. If your operations are struggling to scale — up or down — with the market, you might benefit from a 3PL relationship.
You’re probably thinking: How does a 3PL help with that?
The core effort of scalability for eCommerce companies is making room for growth or shrinking inventory and not paying to store empty space when you need to scale down. That covers small fluctuations and the difference between peak and your slow season. 3PLs like Ship2eu have room and continually build out their capability to give you that space. Paired with cubic metric storage models, you only pay for the physical space your inventory uses. Not only does that mean no paying for air, but you also aren’t paying for a full pallet when it’s poorly stacked or any of the other common issues that crop up under other models.
With fixed per-order costs, too, you can grow without having to see labor and other expenses scale exponentially as you grow.
Boost eCommerce sales method 4: Improve overall service
Poor customer service can lead to an immediate request for a refund and a loss of future sales opportunities. Tackle that and offer top-notch customer service by outsourcing fulfillment (and the multitude of tracking required) to a 3PL partner.
Let us add tracking details and information to orders. Use integrations and APIs to simplify the process of status updates and information for customers and your sales team. And trust us to know the status of each order and then get it out on time and accurately. We do that every day, even at the busiest moments.
During December 2021, at the height of the busiest eCommerce holiday season on record, Ship2eu had a 99.859% on-time accuracy and 99.876% order accuracy. That blows away the industry standard. And it is what our customers deserve. That’s how we elevate excellence and empower you to give customers the best delivery and fulfillment experience possible.
When 26% of holiday 2021 shoppers are returning products because orders were late, it pays to have a partner that can keep your orders moving. There’s no better way to protect your sales opportunities than with that level of service.
Boost eCommerce sales method 5: Reach more people
One of the most effective ways to improve sales is to have a larger audience. Achieving this in the eCommerce space requires more warehouse space and locations strategically positioned to meet consumer demand. You’re targeting the people who want to buy your products and ensuring that they can get these products quickly. Use a 3PL to secure shipping methods that make it easy to have internationwide fulfillment coverage. That’s a clear plan to reach most customers quickly.
Ship2eu Fulfillment’s strategic shipping line allow your products to reach more than 95% of homes in the European countries within 10 days. And our growing network of partners can make it easier to reach international customers as well. Our coverage map overlaps with where your EU customers are right now, giving you the advantage to reach people for a repeat purchase. However, we can also deliver to new customers quickly, no matter where they live.
As a leading 3PL, we understand the best ways to get your products to people quickly. That includes International direct flight to reduce turnaround delays. And that brings us to one final benefit for your operations
Bonus tip: Reinvest more into your business
“Lagniappe” is a little something extra that people give. Typically, it’s a small gift or freebie you give to someone at the time of purchase. It also covers other benefits you receive on top of the primary exchange. In the fulfillment space, 3PLs offer some lagniappe to help boost eCommerce sales by giving you more money to put back into your business and customer service efforts. Ship2eu can offer free your branded ‘Thank you card’ for your orders.
By prioritizing efficiency, driving down fulfillment costs, negotiating better rates with carriers, and optimizing last-mile distances, you’ll typically pay less for fulfillment than if you did it yourself. Your balance sheet gets that extra bit. You can turn around and invest in a chatbot for service requests, text updates, discounts, more fantastic marketing, and a host of other things.
Bottom line, working with a 3PL helps ensure you’ve got a little more capital at the end of the day. Put it exactly where your customer needs it. Shopper demands are growing, and you’ve got a lot to monitor and track to maintain and boost eCommerce sales. Turn to Ship2eu to see where you might be able to save and reinvest a little more while offering a better order experience.
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]]>The post How To Choose Fulfillment Centre In China For Dropshippers appeared first on Ship2eu.
]]>Dropshipping is a retail strategy where brands don’t directly manage and distribute their product inventories. Many dropshippers are purchasing products from Aliepxress or dropshipping agents to ship orders to customers, the benefit of this model is that it does not require sellers to prepare large quantities of goods, and there will be no risk of the product backlog. But this model is suitable for small orders volume business, not for big sales.
Large-scale dropshipping companies will generally work with a Chinese fulfillment centre, the order processing will not be delayed to due an epidemic or peak season production. The timely performance is greatly improved, and the after-sales service is also more convenient, which can enhance the goodwill of buyers and improve the competitiveness of the store.
So how to choose a reliable Chinese fulfillment centre?
1. Price
The first thing is to refer to the price.
Many dropshippers tend to prefer lower prices when choosing a fulfillment centre, although cost savings are a good idea, there are lots of service providers in China, and many sellers have encountered problems such as hidden extra charges, poor service and frequent mistakes, which not only lead to higher costs for dropshippers but also delay the tail-end delivery time, which is especially important for E-Commerce owners. If the follow-up service is not good, it is easy to affect their brand reputation
If the service provider offers a price lower than the industry average, dropshippers should choose carefully in case of further problems. For example, the service provider’s quotation may be ambiguous, and various additional charges may follow after the goods arrive at the warehouse, or other various problems, such as poor follow-up service, difficult communication, untimely operation and so on, will appear.
Ship2eu dedicates to providing transparent pricing:
Shipping calculator helps you check price easier
Our list pricing is inclusive of receiving, order processing, picking the product, packing the order, the shipping box and postage.
We currently support 2 service levels: Standard (6-18 days), and Express(4-10days). Service levels are measured from the order placement date to the delivery date
2. Fulfillment centre's scale
The next is to see the fulfillment centre’s scale.
Many fulfillment centres are private businesses, some are in home workshop mode, goods are stored in the basement of private homes or warehouses, there are no monitoring facilities and there exist certain security risks, It may even be the operation of house family members, it is easy not to operate the goods in time to delay delivery.
Of course, it is not that small-scale fulfillment centre is not reliable, some small-scale overseas warehouse may operate more quickly. After all, the large-scale fulfillment centre itself is a symbol of strength, and the larger the company, the more it will focus on reputation, what’s more, it is easier to get the t favourable quotes from logistics providers, helping dropshippers save on logistics dispatch costs.
Ship2eu warehouse is 10000+ ㎡ with 15000+ daily orders processing capacity.
With 3 alternative warehouses located at the major ports in China, Ship2eu provides more efficient parcel turnover and a lower risk of logistics delays.
3. Professional information management system
After that, it depends on whether the overseas warehouse has a professional information management system.
With a perfect information management system, dropshippers can import store orders more easily and can track the shipping of the orders. with the system, you do not have to worry about the operation problems caused by the time difference between China and European countries, you just need to upload information to the system according to the platform order, and the fulfillment centre staff will handle the shipment directly according to the orders information.
Ship2eu supports your e-commerce business and saves up to 88% on operating time with Fbali. Manage everything in one place, including products, inventory and customers, and fulfill your daily orders faster.
Having the IT architecture to support and maintain continuous iterative innovation, Ship2eu is dedicated to providing E-Commerce owners with smarter and higher-quality services:
(1) Specialization, continuously introducing more quality services, including customized services and total solutions, to meet customers’ increasingly diverse product needs.
(2) Digitalization aspect, investing in more intelligent equipment at the logistics and warehousing ends to enhance the automation of business processes and bring more efficient services to our customers.
(3) End-to-end, visualizing data through the system and displaying it intuitively to customers to comprehensively reduce customer follow-up and communication costs.
4. Service capability
Finally, it should seriously consider the service capability of the fulfillment centre. It is mainly the orders processing time and after-sale service.
The ability of fulfillment centre service can be seen from whether the goods are shelved, operated in the warehouse and out of the warehouse quickly and without mistakes to the timely feedback of information.
After-sales service directly affects the buyer’s experience, and quality after-sales service can leave a very good experience for the buyer and help the seller to enhance the brand influence in disguise.
Ship2eu connects your after-sales service team directly online. Higher efficiency and more convenient operations make processing easier and faster, which will bring back happy customers.
Fulfillment centres like Ship2eu can help you in all these aspects. Hundreds of E-Commerce owners and dropshippers benefit from years of close relationships with parcel services, an international warehouse network, and flexible, scalable, yet customized fulfillment solutions.
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]]>The post 9 Digital Marketing Trends for E-Commerce appeared first on Ship2eu.
]]>Digital marketing is constantly changing to meet the needs of users, and the arrival of Covid 2020 has turned the digital marketplace upside down, with changes in blocking and shopping patterns, as well as causing some supply chain breakdowns and declining on-time delivery rates.
These changes have made digital marketing more important than ever, and clear digital marketing trends are becoming apparent in this post-Covid era.
1. Increased use of chatbots
With more and more people conducting research online, coupled with the reluctance of many to visit a physical store, the use of chatbots has increased dramatically over the past few years.
Recently, chatbots have become more realistic, providing a much-improved user experience. In addition, advances in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and customer sentiment analysis have all improved the ability of chatbots to interact in a more human-like manner. As a result, companies are enhancing their customers’ customer service experience without a significant investment increase.
Tidio reports that 88% of customers have had at least 1 conversation with a chatbot in 2021. Their survey found that in addition to customer service and marketing, chatbots are used in other areas such as data collection, human resources and operations. They are now an attractive option for E-Commerce stores, B2B companies, real estate and even healthcare.
2. Business communication is becoming increasingly popular
The customer experience (CX) is becoming increasingly important. Many consumers are willing to pay more for goods and services if they receive a quality experience, rather than just looking at the lowest price, and business communications can help improve the customer experience.
Commerce communications (conversational marketing or chat commerce) uses communication platforms and messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to market products, communicate with consumers and support them at every stage of the sales funnel.
Many people regard communicating with brands in this way as a natural evolution, just as they do for many personal conversations. WhatsApp had about 2 billion active users by early 2022.
3. Voice search is becoming increasingly popular
It’s not just millennials who are discovering the convenience of voice search. For example, 65% of 25-49 years old who own a voice device talk to them at least once a day, as do 57% of those over the age of 50.
Gartner found that in 2020, 30% of Web browsing sessions will be screenless. This clearly demonstrates a shift in how consumers interact with brands online.
Voice search users are increasingly searching for local results. According to Google, searches for “near me” businesses have increased dramatically over the past few years. Google reports that 58% of consumers use voice search to find local businesses.
As a result, E-Commerce companies need to adjust their SEO to optimize voice search. Methods include using natural language to directly answer specific questions, pattern tagging and rich snippets, keeping listings and e-commerce store data up-to-date, and ensuring all content is optimized and up-to-date.
4. Omnichannel digital marketing campaigns
Digital marketing channel campaigns can bring benefits to brand marketing, which helps them reach a broader audience. In addition, most people are not limited to a single digital channel, and omnichannel marketing allows brands to take advantage of multiple channels.
The key to omnichannel marketing is to leverage all channels to create a unified experience for each customer. In fact, true omnichannel marketing is not limited to digital marketing. Instead, it includes a number of traditional marketing channels in its mix, recognizing that people are not yet 100% digital. Each channel interacts to create a unified voice and message for the brand.
Omnichannel marketing recognizes that consumers use a variety of channels at different stages of the day. For example, they may check Facebook before turning to Instagram. then they may check their email. At that point, it’s time to go to work and listen to the radio as they walk. On the way home, they might stop at the supermarket to check point-of-sale ads and listen to Spotify on the go. finally, they could spend the evening watching TV shows or surfing the web on their phone or tablet. This provides brands with many potential touchpoints to reach consumers with a unified but disparate message.
5. The metaverse is starting to have a major impact on digital marketing
In 2021, Facebook (the company) changed its name to Meta. separating the name of the platform and the company made sense given the size and reach of Facebook assets that were not Facebook (the platform). At the time of the name change, Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would place its future on its meta-universe.
Virtual worlds include live entertainment, social networks, hardware, user-generated content and technology infrastructure. It is a shared virtual space where megatrends converge. It incorporates multiple virtual and augmented experiences. The Metaverse includes platforms such as Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite.
As people spend more and more time in the virtual world, the line between the real world and the virtual world is becoming increasingly blurred. As a result, people are experiencing brands and even buying virtual products. For example, Vans has partnered with Roblox to create a virtual skate park. Here they can practice their virtual skateboarding skills and then buy Vans products without leaving the virtual world.
6. SEO methods are being optimized
Google is rolling out a major page experience update in 2021. This update integrates a new set of metrics called Core Web Vitals into what Google traditionally calls the “Page Experience.” Core Web Vitals are baseline requirements for the technical health of a website. They effectively measure the user experience (UX) of a web page and cover three main areas: loading, interactivity, and visual stability. These metrics measure how long it takes users to access your page, how easy it is for them to interact with it initially, and whether they are disoriented by inconsistencies in the page design.
Page experience updates combine core web vitality with more traditional factors such as mobile-friendliness, secure browsing, HTTPS (as opposed to HTTP-only), and the absence of intrusive interstitial ads.
Google has also emphasized the importance of the “people also ask” section of its search results. In fact, it now appears in about 48.6% of searches, usually prominently displayed above the first position in a search. Therefore, as a marketer, you should include answers to frequently asked questions in your content.
However, Google also includes a “People Also Ask” section where the first question is “What is an example of influencer marketing?” Google has selected a section from our 15 Influencer Marketing Examples FAQ to support your influencer marketing program as the best answer to this question. However, when you take a closer look at the post, you’ll see that the actual question in the FAQ is “Which brands use influencer marketing?” Although the wording is different, Google’s algorithm is smart enough to recognize the similarities between the two questions.
7. Personalized email marketing
Since email marketing is one of the oldest forms of digital marketing, people have been predicting for years that its demise might be inevitable. However, instead of what was predicted, email marketing is on the rise.
According to Radicati Group, the total number of business and consumer emails sent and received per day exceeded 293 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow to more than 347 billion by the end of 2023. By that time, global email users are expected to reach 4.3 billion over time. In addition, Litmus reports that email delivers a $36 ROI for every $1 spent, more than any other channel.
However, personalization is now critical to successful email marketing. People have to opt-in to email marketing and are very conscious of their privacy. As a result, they won’t accept generic, irrelevant emails. They receive a lot of emails every day – in fact, DMR reports that the average office worker receives 121 emails a day – so it takes something special to entice someone to open your email. Personalized marketing emails can help you increase their effectiveness. Some companies are now using artificial intelligence to create customized and tailored emails for specific customers.
8. TikTok's brand marketing
We’ve been covering the rise of TikTok since Musical.ly existed as a standalone platform. However, sometimes it’s hard to convince brands that it’s a serious social media platform. We’ll be updating our TikTok stats article regularly and noting how fast TikTok is growing in popularity.
If you’re still sceptical that TikTok is worthy of serious digital marketing, consider some of the following data.
- TikTok users spend more than 850 minutes per month on the app
- TikTok now has 1 billion monthly active users and 3 billion installs
It is the most popular iPhone app downloaded in the U.S. in 2021, ahead of YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.
In fact, TikTok is the most downloaded overall app in the world in 2020 and 2021. Like Facebook (and Instagram), TikTok now has a formal advertising marketplace, making it easy for brands to place ads on the platform. TikTok is still most popular with millennials, with 32.5% of its U.S. users between the ages of 10-19, but its audience is ageing. TikTok users don’t seem to be “growing up” from the platform in the same way Facebook users grew up from the app.
9. Amazon continues to rule E-Commerce
Amazon continues to reign supreme as the leader in e-commerce. Although visitors to Amazon.com dropped to 2.2 billion in February 2022, this really just reflects a global reduction in blockades associated with the new crown virus, which has increased shoppers’ choices.
Ship2eu will support the fulfillment of your orders with fast and stable shipping time to EU countries, you can focus on advertising and we take care of other issues for you.
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]]>The post New Changes In The UK Market, Solution For E-commerce appeared first on Ship2eu.
]]>Due to the impact caused by the epidemic, energy and supply chain crisis in this year, the UK domestic comprehensive price increases, and people’s cost of living increased sharply. Inflation in the UK has broken a 40-year record. Coupled with the encounter with the UK strike wave, E-commerce companies are keeping a close eye on the UK market in real-time as if they were on thin ice,
It is reported that there are 3 new policy changes in the second half of the UK, which sellers must understand clearly.
New changes in the UK market
1. The new customs declaration system will start working on September 30
In September 2022, British Customs will launch a new customs declaration system Customs Declaration Service (CDS for short), the original British Customs CHIEF declaration system gradually decommissioned and will be fully decommissioned in March 2023.
The new CDS system is a key part of the UK government’s plans for a fully digital border, developed after years of consultation with the border industry, all imports and exports will be declared using a single system.
Sellers who choose Import VAT deferral (Import VAT) can check the clearance data in the CDS system, and when sellers choose PVA declaration, they can go through this account to download the incoming VAT clearance deferral data for tax declaration, thus replacing the original C88 document and tax bill details.
2. UKCA certification will be fully operational on January 1, 2023
UKCA marking, a mandatory product marking, is a product mark used to replace the CE marking after Brexit to prove that a product meets the requirements of UK regulations. UKCA certification covers most goods that previously required CE marking.
UKCA marking already started using from January 1, 2021, but most products with CE marking can still be used until December 31, 2022. The UK government has determined that from January 1, 2023, UKCA marking will be fully operational, and if you continue to use the previous CE marking, there may be problems with inconsistent certification and the inability to clear customs.
3. New VAT late filing/payment rules will be implemented from January 1, 2023
The UK government has released a summary of the new policy, the HMRC will amend the VAT penalty and interest rules from January 2023, meaning that the previous default surcharge (late filing fee) will be replaced by the new rules.
The reform refines the penalties for late filing, for which the HMRC will adopt a points system. For each missed filing deadline, businesses will receive a late filing penalty point, and once the penalty threshold is exceeded, they will receive a £200 penalty. Each subsequent late filing will incur an additional £200 penalty and will be subject to a compliance observation period of the appropriate duration. Previous penalty points can only be cleared if there are no late filings during the compliance observation period and all taxes have been paid.
Solution for Ecommerce
With the epidemic, the inflation and the extreme heat, media research shows that UK consumers plan to cut their Christmas budgets in half, with the focus shifting to Black Friday bargains.
The majority of British consumers say they will spend less than £500 this Christmas. 30% of consumers surveyed have already started their holiday shopping, and 80% said they are ready to “look for bargains” during the Black Friday sales. 75% of those planning to purchase products during Black Friday said online shopping will be the main consumer channel.
E-commerce sellers should adjust your stocking plans based on the information and can put the focus on the Black Friday promotions.
For product selection, you can analyze last year’s consumer trends and then launch your own key products based on the actual situation.
For example, due to this summer’s extreme heat in Europe, the sales of fans in the United Kingdom rose 641%, and sales of air conditioning equipment and sunshades rose respectively. Inflatable pools, mosquito repellent, and sprinkler all had good market.
In the face of the UK’s relatively dismal e-commerce market this year, you can be prepared for both.
On the one hand, you can clear out poorly selling items, and on the other hand, you can make good stocking plans to cope with various upcoming promotions.
For products with poor sales, you can apply for destruction or return to a warehouse in time. Goods of low value can be destroyed directly, and products of higher value can be returned to Empire Express UK overseas warehouse for distribution and processing, or sold to UK overseas warehouse for processing at a low price to quickly recover funds while clearing inventory.
What 3PL company like Ship2eu can do for you
Double-clearance and tax included
Double customs clearance means that a logistics company or import /export company has strong strength in customs clearance and can carry out customs clearance in various ports in China. General statement: Double customs clearance is the package export, including foreign imports, tax-included.
Ship2eu will handle the customs clearance and ensure the normal export of the customs of the destination country, so that you don’t need to spend time to deal with the clearance.
You can just focus on marketing, we take care of all issues for you.
Oversea warehouse
If you are worried about the subsequent peak season logistics congestion and delays, you can ship your goods to Ship2eu overseas warehouse in advance via ocean freight. This not only can save the cost of the first trip, and do not worry about logistics delays, do not need to clear customs again.
Ship2eu overseas warehouse can help customers to ship directly from overseas warehouses and arrive at the whole territory of the UK within 3-5 days. Ship2eu’s overseas warehouse and e-commerce platform work together to protect the UK market in the year’s second half.
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]]>The post Custom Packaging Helps E-commerce Get Off The Ground appeared first on Ship2eu.
]]>E-commerce store packaging is a marketing tool. It is also one of the expressions of the brand image that requires a lot of strategy.
Why should you have to get custom packaging?
Create a great first impression
Online shopping creates somewhat uncertain expectations of something that is new to most people. When the consumer opens the box, they may experience a mixture of feelings such as excitement, rush and joy.
It is important to remember that time is short to make a good impression because the rush to open the box is unavoidable. Therefore, it is necessary that the e-commerce packaging is captivating right from the start.
Original package
It doesn’t look that exciting, just a plain white box with ugly graphics and a “Made in China” heading.
It doesn’t really seem like a valuable product.,
Give your customers something to remember
It must also be able to stay in the consumer’s mind and create a connection with the brand. The first contact is crucial for your brand to be remembered.
Custom packaging is a great way to brand your store. Besides branding, you will also make your store more unique.
Build better product protection
As explained above, packaging has many functions, the most important being to protect the product it contains, but it must also enable handling and commerce. It also acts as a marketing strategy for a brand.
Increase perceived value of a product
Research from smithers shows that the total value of e-commerce packaging reached US$37.5 billion in 2019. The global market is growing at a rate of 14% per year and is expected to almost double to US$63.3 billion by 2023.
Premium packaging and shipping improves overall brand perception. When it comes to shoppers, 61% of them said premium packaging makes a brand seem more upscale.
That makes sense considering 49% of shoppers say that when they receive nice packaging, they are more excited about the brand.
Get more shares on social media
Custom packaging can be a great way to spread the word about your products on social media. Instagram is filled with creative packaging photos.
Create hashtags for your brand (and have them printed on your boxes), then share pictures of excited customers posing with your beautiful packaging.
Consider adding custom packaging to your branding and marketing plans. Colorful or eye-catching packaging with your brand name and logo creates high brand recall.
Build an eco-friendly product package
According to McKinsey, one out of four consumers say they are planning to focus more on environmental issues and will pay more attention to social aspects in their shopping behavior.
83% of consumers now prefer positive activism, showing support for companies by buying from them, rather than avoiding those whose practices they disagree with.
This means that consumers will continue to shop online and make purchases that are more environmentally-friendly.
Eco-friendly packaging is becoming a best practice for many fast-growing online businesses. It refers to only using designs and packing materials that minimize the impact on the environment.
You can build an eco-friendly product packaging strategy that aligns with your brand’s values by opting into only using recyclable and biodegradable packaging options that you can customize as well.
Ship2eu provides brown kraft paper carton sealing tapes self adhesive strong eco packaging
Important aspects to consider with E-commerce packaging
Offer product delivery services for e-commerce businesses usually handle a significant volume of packages, so fragile or easily foldable packaging is not a good idea.
For this reason, companies like amazon rely on repackaging, which is secondary packaging that protects and secures the primary packaging.
Another aspect to consider with e-commerce packaging is that delivery companies often have different prices for different packaging volumes.
Some charge by volume, others by weight. You need to consider each of these factors to decide which supplier to work with so that the final cost to the consumer is not too high.
Meanwhile, asking the supplier to pack your order into custom packaging always demands high MOQ, which is often too much of a hassle.
However, don’t worry. Ship2eu will help you to get custom packaging for your products.
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]]>The post Silent management in Yiwu, Coronavirus lockdown at China’s export appeared first on Ship2eu.
]]>Recently, a new outbreak of COVID-19 was reported in Yiwu. From 00:00 on August 11, the city implemented temporary area-wide silent management for 3 days. During the silent management, public places in addition to medical institutions are suspended operations.
Influence on E-commerce
More than 2.1 million kinds of goods sent to more than 230 countries and regions, Yiwu is known as the “world capital of small commodities. Under silent management, how is the logistics operation there and how suppliers in Yiwu deal with the orders processing?
An e-commerce supplier from Yiwu replied because of the prevention and control of the epidemic in Yiwu, it needs to wait for the courier to resume and then disinfect the goods for shipment in the order of payment.
Vehicles have been banned from entering or leaving the city, except those related to coronavirus control and delivery of necessities.
China’s zero-Covid containment strategy relies on stringent lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine in government facilities to protect people. But the policy has severely disrupted businesses, frustrated foreign investors and slowed economic growth.
There is also a factory in charge of exporting household decorations told that it received a notice this morning, and the factory has now been completely shut down as required.
“Now is peak production season, and the current suspension makes deliveries very difficult.”
How can Ecommerce owner do?
1. Check if your supplier has warehouses in other cities as a transit
A good supply chain creates more flexibility for your business growth, you don’t need to worry about the supply and shipping.
Once lockdown, it has many warehouses in different cities in China as alternatives.
2. Ask suppliers in other cities
There are numerous suppliers located in different cities in China, you can contact them as a alternative once accident occurs.
3. Using 3PL company
3PL fulfillment companies work as an intermediary body between the retailer and an online buyer. A retailer buys products to sell online in bulk and gives them to the 3PL company.
Why using a 3PL is better in 2022
Lots of Chinese cities are on lockdown due to COVID-19 (including many important economic production cities such as Shanghai), suppliers can not produce goods, and they can not ship out anything.
Even though you have a sourcing agent who can handle the connection of suppliers for you, they can not get products from suppliers in those lockdown cities, and the waiting is endless.
In the dropshipping method, you don’t have control over the production efficiency and shipping speed. Also, you don’t know from which city the manufacturer is in that particular order. As a result, the shipping process can get slower and more costly. In the long run, slow productivity and late delivery may affect your customer satisfaction ratio.
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]]>As an Ecommerce owner, you have probably already heard of the volumetric weight of a package, which is used by shipping service providers to calculate the dimensions of a package. But do you know how to calculate the volumetric weight?
Find out here how to calculate the volumetric weight and thus reduce your logistics costs.
What criteria are used by the various shipping service providers to calculate the volumetric weight of a parcel? In this article, you will find answers to all questions regarding volumetric weight.
What is the volumetric weight of a parcel?
The volumetric weight of a parcel is determined from the volume of the parcel and enables the shipping service provider to calculate the space required for transport. For this reason, shipping service providers compare the actual weight of a package with its volumetric weight and calculate the shipping costs based on the higher value.
Why should I calculate the volumetric weight?
Why should you calculate the volumetric weight if you already know the actual weight of your package? Well, because it is not the same to send a kilo of feathers or a kilo of lead.
Shipping service providers are always looking for ways to optimise the use of their trucks, without reaching the maximum payload. For this reason, shipping service providers compare the volumetric weight with the actual weight of a parcel to calculate the shipping costs.
It is important for shipping service providers to know the volumetric weight of a package for the following reasons:
- Optimal use of the available space in the airplane
- Calculating the correct shipping rate
- Optimising the profitability of deliveries
In e-commerce, it is therefore always worthwhile to calculate the volumetric weight of packages before they are shipped. This way you can determine your exact shipping costs in advance and, if necessary, increase the shipping costs. This will save you additional costs.
Calculating and understanding volumetric weight
Let’s take the example of an online shop for household goods.
A customer orders two large cushions and eight ceramic plates. The cushions are packaged in a larger package than the plates. The volumetric weight of the package containing the cushions is therefore greater than that of the package containing the plates, even though the package containing the plates is heavier.
Another example is an online shop selling DIY products.
Summer is approaching and one customer orders a small inflatable swimming pool for his garden. Another customer prefers to use the summer for DIY and orders 1,000 nails and 1,000 screws. The large quantity of nails and screws weighs more than the inflatable pool, but takes up less space. The volumetric weight for sending the inflatable pool is therefore higher than that for sending the nails and screws.
The shipping service provider always compares the volumetric weight with the actual weight of a package and calculates the shipping costs based on the higher value. This is why it costs more to send the cushions or the inflatable pool than the ceramic plates or the screws and nails.
Calculating the volumetric weight: how to do it?
You can calculate the volumetric weight in two different ways:
– Using a formula.
– By using a free volumetric weight calculator.
The formula for calculating the volumetric weight is as follows
Length x width x height / conversion factor = volumetric weight.
The length, width and height are measured in centimetres and the conversion factor depends on the shipping service provider concerned (it is usually 5,000 or 6,000).
We therefore recommend that you check with Ship2eu before sending. The way in which the volumetric weight is calculated and applied can vary depending on the delivery service chosen and the destination.
How do you pack your parcel correctly and reduce its volume?
Observe the following six tips when packing your parcels:
- Avoid unnecessary padding. Choose packaging that is as small as possible.
- The packaging should be perfectly adapted to the size of your goods. Avoid empty spaces, so that you save on volume and unnecessary padding and your goods will not slide around in the package.
- Use shipping packaging with built-in cushioning material, such as bubble wrap.
- Find a packaging supplier suitable for your e-commerce business and buy packaging materials in different sizes.
- Prefer biodegradable tape, especially if your package is small and heavy. The adhesive strength of high-quality PLA tape is higher than that of traditional adhesive tapes.
- Choose the most appropriate shipping method for each product, Ship2eu will choose the most suitable shipping method for each of your parcels
Ship2eu is a shipping service provider that always offers the best shipping service for every product. This saves you time, helps you to organise the logistics of your e-commerce business better and to meet challenges.
International Shipping cost calculator
The easiest way to learn how to calculate shipping costs is to use a calculator. The shipping calculator allows you to get an estimate of your shipping charge.
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]]>| Another major European port announces strike as ports in many countries choke on congestion |
It has been an “eventful” period recently. There has been a spate of strikes and protests across Europe and the US, and ports in many countries have been “choked” with containers filling up the terminals. Waves of protests and strikes around the world have caused serious disruptions to supply chains.
Strikes and protests continue， Sea, land and air transport involved
UK: Container port strikes
In the latest news, staff at Felixstowe, the UK’s largest container port, have voted in favour of strike action to resolve a pay dispute, the United Workers’ Union said, warning of serious disruption across the supply chain.
In a statement, the Unite union said the strike action would bring Felixstowe to a standstill and would cause major logistical problems for sea and road transport into the port.
Miles Hubbard, a regional official for the Unite union, said the strike action would “inevitably cause significant disruption to the UK supply chain”.
It is understood that strike action is due to take place next month and has the support of 92% of workers who voted.
UK: Rail strikes
Recently, over 40,000 British rail workers went on strike again over pay and working conditions. This has resulted in only 20% of the country’s trains operating, with some areas even having no trains operating on the day.
Maersk issued an announcement saying this would cause major disruption to the rail network across the UK.
Germany: Airline ground staff on strike
Lufthansa is reported to be cancelling “almost the entire flight schedule” at its Frankfurt and Munich hub airports as ground staff, from check-in staff to engineers, and truck drivers prepare for a one-day “warning strike” in a bid to secure a significant pay rise.
More than 1,000 flights were cancelled on the day and many cargo delays were expected.
The massive cancellations had a knock-on effect on cargo, as too much cargo was backed up in the bellies of passenger aircraft, leading to delays in loading and a drop in cargo volumes.
On one side are dock, rail and airline ground staff striking over pay packages, while on the other side are docks where congestion remains.
Congestion becomes a port "staple" ，Supply chain hit by turns
As early as May and June, congestion at European ports was already present. And congestion in the US West has not been significantly eased, and has even spread to the US East and Gulf Coast.
According to the latest data from Clarksons Research, the port congestion index for container ships reached another record high this month. Some 37.9% of the global container fleet is in port.
On the other side of the globe, in the ports of Northern Europe, the level of container ship capacity staying in port also rose to record levels, reaching 1.35 million TEU on 20 July. This is 16 per cent higher than the June average.
According to Clarkson, the congestion at Nordic ports is mainly due to the knock-on effects of disruptions in land-based logistics including transport, rail networks and barge services, as well as feedback from the recent strike at German ports.
According to an analysis report by the China Investment & Futures Research Institute, the worsening congestion in European and American ports will once again form a constraint on current capacity and affect the supply of effective capacity in the market, which, coupled with the upcoming peak shipping season, will form some support for shipping prices in the short term.
Europe: port congestion still not promising
Recently, Maersk published on its official website an update on the situation at major European ports.
After the strike in mid-July, the ports of Hamburg and Bremen are operating at full capacity, but ships are still waiting longer in port, and railways are also experiencing technical problems causing disruptions to land transport.
Yard densities at the Port of Rotterdam are at critical levels and customers are being advised to move to warehouses in Belgium.
According to CNBC’s supply chain heat map, ports such as Hamburg, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Birmingham are stuck in congestion. The trucking situation in most of these ports is not promising, with container availability in the ports of Hamburg and Birmingham running out of steam.
At present, multiple factors are constraining the normal operation of the supply chain in European and American ports, and congestion is unlikely to be effectively relieved in the short term.
Chinese 3PL supports you to deliver products directly from China with fast shipping
No more waiting and struggling with logistics, A 3PL partner like Ship2eu can ensure that your products are shipped directly from China fast, on time, and accurately.
What is 3PL?
3PL means an order fulfillment method where a ecommerce website relies on a third-party fulfilment company to take care of the warehousing, packaging, and shipping of an order.
3PL fulfillment companies work as an intermediary body between the retailer and an online buyer. A retailer buys products to sell online in bulk and gives them to the 3PL company. Once the retailer receives an order online, since the ecommerce website is connected with fulfilment system of 3PL company. Orders will be pushed into fulfilment system. The 3PL company pick, pack and ship the goods to the buyer. Thus, in most cases, retailers avoid the dropshipping method and prefer to dispatch their inventory to 3PL partner.
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]]>Today, many organisations do not have sufficient resources to ensure the storage and distribution of all their goods. In this situation, a good solution is to outsource the logistics and use a 3PL operator like Ship2eu.
What is 3PL in logistics?
3PL (Third Party Logistics), also known as third party logistics or outsourced logistics, refers to the services that a company entrusts to a service provider for the execution of its logistics, such as warehousing, order picking or the transport of goods.
In this way, the 3PL service provider such as Ship2eu becomes responsible for the management of the company’s products and their delivery to the final recipient, acting as an intermediary between the company and its customers.
The meaning of 1PL, 2PL, 3PL, 4PL, 5PL...
Logistics operators are classified according to the logistics tasks they perform in the company. For their classification, the term Party Logistics or PL (meaning “logistics service providers”) is used and is accompanied by a number that designates the services offered:
– 1PL (First Party Logistics): transport is outsourced through agencies that take care of the fleets and drivers needed to transport the goods. Companies retain control of their own warehouses.
– 2PL (Second Party Logistics): in addition to transport, the logistics operator is also responsible for warehousing. However, the management remains with the contracting company, which organises the fleet and the material flows.
– 3PL (Third Party Logistics): Logistics operators are responsible for transport and warehousing and, in turn, for the management and organisation of both activities.
– 4PL (Fourth Party Logistics): these are logistics operators who act as consultants and auditors for the 3PL, with the aim of validating, optimising and improving the activity. They do not have a logistical infrastructure, they only advise.
– 5PL (Fifth Party Logistics): they achieve a total integration of the services offered by the 3PL and 4PL, thanks to their size and experience.
What type of logistics provider do I need? The answer depends on how much capacity I have to internalise logistics in a sustainable way. In other words, a small company is more likely to need a 5PL provider, while a large company will often opt for a 1PL provider, as they have the resources to run their own warehouses.
3PL operators have a fleet of vehicles capable of transporting goods.
Differences between 3PL and 4PL
The main difference between a 3PL operator and a 4PL operator is the physical resources available to each. 3PLs have a transport fleet and storage space, while 4PL logistics operators act only as managers and supervisors of logistics activities. In other words, 3PLs provide the physical resources and 4PLs the experience and know-how to optimise the supply chain. To do this, the 4PL operator works with a network of 3PL operators to whom he assigns tasks according to the needs of the customer and the profile of each operator.
How 3PLs facilitate the marketing of your business
On the one hand, it is clear that managing logistics efficiently takes time and effort, which is why some companies prefer to focus their energy on other areas such as marketing. On the other hand, working with a 3PL operator means that you don’t have to bear the cost of land, structure and staff. In the short term, this is financially advantageous.
3PL operators usually have a network of warehousing centres. Third party logistics therefore allows them to bring goods closer to the end customer and therefore deliver orders more quickly and build customer loyalty.
Finally, outsourcing logistics allows you to offer more competitive shipping prices. 3PL companies, by dealing with different customers and handling a high volume of goods, have very competitive shipping rates which is very good marketing.
The 3PL has the ability to react to peaks in activity
In logistics, delivery times are getting shorter and shorter, which makes it necessary to be responsive, not only to peaks in activity, but also to adapt with agility to different types of order picking. In this area, warehouse management systems and transport management systems are essential tools to achieve the level of planning and process automation needed to run operations quickly and efficiently and to build customer loyalty.
What technologies will customers demand from a logistics service provider?
With 3PLs, technology has definitely entered the supply chain and it will become an increasingly high-tech business. Today’s logistics operators are aware of this change and that their current and future economic efforts must move in this direction in order to stay in the market against new competitors who are already using technology as a starting point.
It is a race with no end in sight, but the next steps will undoubtedly involve Big Data, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Technologies that will profoundly transform logistics and, above all, will allow those who adopt them to make a qualitative difference and an unbeatable positioning, providing a plus in customer service that will allow them to avoid strategies based exclusively on price, the great threat to the profitability of the logistics sector.
Tools that can add great value to the supply chain are the implementation of a control tower that will provide visibility over the entire chain, the use of the Blockchain, automated warehouses and the use of automated robots to manage repetitive tasks such as storage, order picking or docking of goods.
Investment in this type of technology allows for:
– Fast responses to the consumer.
– A high level of excellence in customer service.
– Focus on differentiation from competitors, which in a pricing strategy will allow us to offer a service that others do not provide.
– To have an unprecedented amount of data to analyse the supply chain.
– Improve storage density in warehouses.
– Increase the productivity potential in the different operations.
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