eCommerce Fulfillment

A Closer Look At Reshipping And Its Best Practices

As an e-commerce seller, you make several mistakes when handling several order fulfillment-related tasks at once. Supply chain management is such that you need to have eyes everywhere, every time. 

There are instances where you might deliver damaged orders to customers or incorrect ones. Sometimes the orders might even be lost in transit. Eventually, the fault is yours, and you need to take care of the blame and ensure that your customers are satisfied. 

There are very few damage control tricks in the book to help you bring your customer on the same page. Re-shipping is one of them. Let’s look at what reshipping is and the best practices you must follow while reshipping orders. 

What is Reshipping?

Reshipping is the process of shipping a replacement order to a customer after the original order was incorrect, damaged, lost in transit, or any other reason that may require a replacement. 

Why Should You Reship an Order?

Order Lost in Transit

Sometimes orders can get lost in transit or fail to arrive at the destination. A few of the reasons for this can be damaged labels, incorrect shipping addresses, and theft. Most of the time, these reasons are out of your control, but you need to communicate with the customers and ensure that they receive a replacement as soon as possible. 

Incorrect Order Delivery

It is almost impossible to maintain a 100% order accuracy rate. Even though the order accuracy rate can be improved with the proper fulfillment processes that help reduce picking errors, mistakes are bound to happen if you are shipping large volumes. Therefore, it is essential to have a strategy to help you mend these mistakes with customers. 

Order Delivered is Damaged

When you ship large orders, there can be a few shipping damages. This can either be at your end because of uneven or proper packaging, or it can be on the shipping carrier’s end wherein the product can be damaged during transit or in the last mile delivery. But if the product delivered is damaged, it can negatively impact the customer experience, and you must replace the item immediately. 

Best Practices for Reshipping

Communicate With the Buyer

The first best practice for reshipping orders is communication with the buyer. Not receiving an order or an incorrect order is already a nightmare for the customer. It is crucial that you go the extra mile and keep the customer in the loop for updates and issue a replacement as soon as possible.

Maintain Paperwork

Anybody shipping orders, always maintain relevant paperwork as you will need to provide proof of any shipping issues, etc. Especially if you have any grievance with the courier company, having the order details, screenshots, videos, etc., will help speed up the process. With the order tracking information, you can conduct an investigation later on if needed. 

Get Shipping Insurance

Re-shipping can be a massive dent in the pocket if you do not have shipping insurance. When you ship high-value orders, and they get lost in transit or damaged, the shipping insurance will help reimburse you for any cost of broken, lost, stolen packages. It might not be the ideal option when shipping items of low value; however, opting for it is more useful in every situation. 

How to Reduce Instances of Reshipping?

Follow SOPs

The first step towards reducing instances of free shipping is following standard operating procedures. These SOPs are designed to ensure minimum errors while conducting order fulfillment operations. 

Work With a Skilled Team

The next step is to reduce instances of reshipping by reducing order accuracy and damage delivery by working with a skilled team. An experienced team can help you reduce the order processing time and maintain the synchronization between the fulfillment processes to ensure maximum optimization.

Double Check Orders While Picking

The primary area of concern and order inaccuracy is picking operations. Executives must be instructed to double-check orders while picking to ensure the minimum errors. 

Work With 3PL Providers

3PL fulfillment providers can help reduce the shipping of orders by maintaining a thoroughly optimized fulfillment supply chain for your business. They have a skilled team at their disposal along with the latest warehouse management infrastructure to ensure that the correct order is shipped to the customers. 

Shiprocket Fulfillment is a leading 3PL fulfillment solution provider that can help you ship orders faster with greater accuracy. We have fulfillment centers located across India to store products closer to your customers. In reshipping, you can ensure it reaches customers as soon as possible.

Final Thoughts

Even though reshipping is the last resort for your business, you must be prepared with everything to ensure faster service for your customers. Your foremost strategy should prevent inaccurate orders, damaged deliveries, and lost packages.

Srishti Arora

Recent Posts

Simplified Returns: The Importance of Return Labels and How to Create Them?

As more and more customers turn to eCommerce, analysts expect ‘return’ rates to increase along. In 2022, the eCommerce return…

1 month ago

Why Demand Estimation is Crucial for Your Online Business?

Running a business is a tedious task. You never know how it will turn out in the coming month or…

3 months ago

Trusted Logistics Companies in Rajkot

Rajkot is a vibrant city in Gujarat with many thriving eCommerce businesses. These businesses require top-class logistics services to deliver…

5 months ago

Top Logistics Companies in Vadodara

When it comes to delivering products to merchants and consumers, it is more than just placing packages into trucks and…

5 months ago

An Insight into Inventory Accounting

Inventory forms one of the most crucial elements of a business's trading (profit and loss) account and a balance sheet's…

5 months ago

Supply Chain Partners: Beneficial Companions of a Business

Running an eCommerce business involves dealing with many stages and connections in the supply chain, which can get tricky. When…

5 months ago