Have you ever bought an item online, waited patiently for two to three business days, only to find that the wrong item has arrived, or received an email informing you that the item has gone to the wrong destination? That’s a mis shipment, and it can be expensive for businesses.
Misshipments are a common problem in the e-commerce industry, but they can have serious repercussions for your business. Discover why they happen, their impact on your business, and how to reduce them. Learn more here!
What Does Mis-shipped Mean?
Misshipment is a term used in the e-commerce sector. It describes a situation where the wrong item has been shipped or when an order is sent to the wrong address. Misshipments can be caused by a variety of issues, including sending a package to the wrong sorting office, delivering a package to the wrong customer, or sending the wrong package to the right customer.
Sending a Package to The Wrong Sorting Facility
A package can be sent to the wrong sorting facility or a post office as a result of incorrect address data or a mislabeled package. For instance, if the customer has entered their address incorrectly, the package may be sent to an incorrect facility.
Delivering a Package to The Wrong Customer
Delivery mistakes can also occur for a lot of reasons. This could mean that a package is delivered to the wrong customer, resulting in a misshipment. The right customer is left with nothing, while the wrong customer may be given the item.
Sending The Wrong Items to The Right Customer
In this case, the right customer is receiving the wrong item. This could be due to a packing error where the wrong product was accidentally packed in the box, or an incorrect item was sent out due to a technical glitch.
The Impact of Misshipments on Your Business
Misshipments can have a major impact on your business in terms of customer satisfaction and financial costs. Customers who receive incorrect items are likely to be unhappy and may ask for a refund or not even bother returning the item. This could lead to a loss in revenue and customer trust. Some customers may go online and leave a negative review, which could damage the reputation of your business.
Additionally, businesses may also have to bear the cost of shipping the correct items and return shipping for incorrect items. This will lead to higher operational costs.
How to Reduce The Chances of Misshipment
Thankfully, there are some measures you can take to reduce the chances of misshipments occurring in the first place. Read on to find out more.
Employ Barcode Scanners
Picking inaccuracy can be a major cause of misshipments. To reduce this risk, you need to ensure that the right items are picked and packed in the first place. This can be done by employing barcode scanners at your warehouse. By scanning products before they are pulled for an order, you’ll be able to double-check that the right item is being sent out.
Keep Communication Lines With Carriers Open
Sometimes last-mile delivery errors are the cause of misshipped items. To reduce this risk, keeping communication lines with your carriers open is important. Make sure that they have the right address data and other required information before they set off on their delivery run.
Carry Out Regular Inventory Checks
Another common cause of mis shipped packages is inventory management problems. To reduce the risk of an incorrect item being shipped, you should be carrying out regular inventory checks. This will help you keep track of what stock is available and ensure that the right products are stored on the right shelves. Otherwise, the wrong item could be picked and packed.
Make Use of Order Management Software
Typos and incorrect address data can be another cause of misshipments. To reduce this risk, you should make use of order management software. This kind of software allows you to quickly and easily store customer’s address information in one place, reducing the chance of mistakes being made while entering these details.
Employ Daily Quality Control Checks
Quality control is an important part of any successful business. To reduce the risk of mis-shipment, you should be carrying out daily quality checks. This means inspecting orders and packages before they are sent out to make sure that every item is in the best possible state. This will also ensure that the right item is being shipped.
Partner With a Top 3PL Provider
Finally, you can also reduce the risk of parcels being mis-shipped by partnering with a top 3PL provider. With their help, you’ll be able to streamline your order fulfillment process and ensure that all orders are packed correctly and delivered on time. Plus, they can provide advanced inventory management support and quality control checks to further reduce the risk of misshipments.
By following the tips above, you can help to reduce the chances of shipping errors occurring in your business. Remember, misshipments are costly and can damage customer trust – so it’s important that you take steps to prevent them from happening.
What Can You do to Lessen The Negative Effect of a Mis-ship?
No matter how hard you try, misshipments can still occur. When this happens, it’s important to act quickly to lessen the negative effect. Here are some useful tips:
Apologize and Offer a Discount or Refund
When your customer receives an incorrect item, the first step should be to apologize for any inconvenience caused and offer them a discount or a full refund. This will go some way to restoring customer trust and showing them that you take their problem seriously.
Provide Compensation For Return Shipping
If your customer needs to return the incorrect item, it’s a good idea to provide compensation for return shipping costs. This shows that you are willing to pay for any inconvenience caused by the mis ship. The returns process should also be easy so that your customer doesn’t have to spend too much time and effort dealing with the issue.
Send a Replacement Item As Soon As Possible
Finally, sending out a replacement item as soon as possible is important. Again, this shows that you take the problem seriously and are willing to do what it takes to make things right for your customer.
Contact QRC Logistics to Help You Avoid Misshipments
Here at QRC Logistics, we understand the importance of preventing misshipments. That’s why we offer a range of fulfillment services designed to help you get your orders out quickly and accurately. Our team will make sure that every order is packed correctly and sent to the right customer on time – so you can be confident that no misshipments will occur. Contact us today at [phone] to learn more about how we can help.