About

E Commerce is now a force to be reckoned with.  This would have been a good title for 2016 time magazine, but now in 2020 it is the truth and maybe has become the largest force in business in 2020.  The global pandemic has fundamentally changed the way business is done and now many cities, states, and countries are relying on it more than any other form of shopping. The ability to be an online presence is now more important than ever because many companies are no longer able to function as a brick and mortar store and it looks like part two of lockdowns for the pandemic are possibly around the corner.  This is a scary thought for many companies who have tried to pivot and move into this ecommerce world.  The question is, can a company ship enough and still make enough profit to survive?

These are the questions that have many owners and managers running numbers to check profit margins and work on new marketing budgets that can keep them afloat until things either go back to normal or get back to a more in person form of shopping.  The ability to survive in some cases will get down to the ability to source shipping supplies and use them effectively.  This can be quite the task because shipping supplies are very complicated and can be expensive if you make mistakes.  Now when capital is the most important cash cannot be afforded to be spent on products that make little sense.  So checking specs and margins is very important.

 

One of my suggestions is calling your supplier before you purchase.  These customer service agents work with companies and know all about packaging these supplies because that is literally their job.  So talking with them and walking through your inventory can help save your thousands if not millions depending on the size of business you have. This is why  it is worth your time to talk it over with a professional and understand what areas you need to focus on to thrive in the shipping world.  I have found the tips and service of most of these companies to be rather stellar even though they are busier than ever.

 

Now before you call in blind, I do find that you should know what you are wanting to ship and the general size of your average order.  Know the weights if you can and get out the measuring tape to double check.  Then look through your sales and make different orders that are most popular and get the size and weight of those items. Know if they are fragile or relatively tough. This can help decide what you need and how much so you can budget accordingly.