MivaCon 2014 Breakout Session: Shipping Best Practices Presented by Jacob "Coby" Erez

1. Shipping Best Practices
Jacob "Coby" Erez, 4Psite

2. Shipping - Best Practices
Jacob “Coby” Erez
Chief Technology Officer
4Psite, LLC

3. Shipping – The Real Deal
• Shipping options when placing the order
• Actual product shipping
• Packaging
• Branding
• Shipping notification
• Post shipping and returns

4. Shipping - Best Practices
• Micro/macro observation
• Fulfillment options
• Shipping as profit/loss center
• Shipping cost reduction
• Quality of shipping
• Reduce employee mistakes
• Revenue assurance and potential fraud
• Shipping, CRM and inventory
• Handling returns
• Employee performance

5. Fulfillment options
• Self shipping
• Drop shipping
• 3rd party fulfillment centers
• Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA)

6. How to better manage your 3rd party
fulfillment?
(Split) Orders
Shipping info
Inventory
Invoices
Drop/Shippers
Fulfillment center
• Two-way transmission – orders, inventory, shipping, invoices
• Avoid transmission of fraudulent orders
• Use real time integration with major fulfillment centers like Amazon
• Use the pulled shipping information to close the fulfillment loop

7. Carrier Landscape
• Single carrier – USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL
• Hybrid solutions
• Wholesalers and consolidators
• Regional carriers

8. Shipping as a profit/loss center
• Shipping cost analysis
– Cost vs. revenue by order, carrier, shipper
• Track freight out cost by store/channel

9. Direct cost saving factors
• Address validation
• Residential or Commercials
• Combine orders
• Real time rates
• Negotiated rates, commercial plus, Cubic
• Alternative insurance providers
• Handling voided labels

10. Quality of shipping
• Master pull sheet
• Product images on the pick-ticket
• Scan before you ship
• Scale integration
• Integration with your CRM system, e.g. - instructions
to shippers from customer service pop up on the
shipping screen
• Consider using integrated labels

11. Reduce employee mistakes
• Barcodes on products and packing slips
• Rule based shipping
– Triggered by weight, destination, SKUs, value, etc
– Auto select carrier, shipping class, insurance,
package type, etc
– Auto add weight
– Use 3rd party shipping accounts

12. Rule based shipping - samples
• Domestic, weight under 13 oz
– USPS, Parcel, First class
• Domestic, weight > 1lb and weight < 2.4 lb
– Express1, Priority, Flat rate envelop
• Domestic, list of states, 4 < weight < 20
– UPS, Priority 1 lb or greater
• Domestic, order total > $100
– FedEx, Signature confirmation, Insurance

13. Revenue assurance and potential
fraud
• Auto capture funds upon shipping
• Identify and block potentially fraudulent
orders from shipping
• Track activities to reduce theft
• Log cancelled shipments
• Scan labels to identify “double” shipments

14. Shipping, CRM and Inventory
• Shipping instructions
• Self service portal
• Changes on available inventory
• Pull shipping information when not shipped
in-house

15. Strive for inventory accuracy
throughout all channels
Returns
Order received
(multi-channel)
Order
modifications
Order
Cancelation
(fraud/payment)
Order shipped
Inventory
databasePO
received
Manual
adjustments
Drop/shipper
Inventory feed
Fulfillment center
Inventory feed
Special cases:
options to SKU conversion & kits/bundles
Real Time
Inventory Feed

16. Handling returns
• Accept return requests via the self service
portal
• Create and email return shipping labels

17. Employee Performance
• Shipper performance – shipments per
day/shipper, returns by shipper
• Single/batch shipping
• Ability to quickly add more stations
• Consistency, ease of training

18. Homework
• Check your shipping rates and alternatives
• Place an incognito order on your web site
• Improve real time inventory accuracy
• Close the order-to-ship-to-get paid loop
• Due date >>> NOW !

19. Questions ?
Thank you !
Coby Erez
coby@4psite.com
858.433.0403