85% of online shoppers say that having a poor delivery experience would prevent them from ordering from that online retailer again, according to a recent Ipsos-Octopia study. This is just one of many statistics that point to the fact that today’s consumers are highly insistent on a smooth ecommerce purchase and delivery experience. Automation is playing a big role in helping companies deliver just that.
Automated parcel sorting systems have always been essential for reducing errors and speeding up processing across manufacturing, fulfillment, and ecommerce operations. Their relevance today, however, is greater than ever amidst highly stringent customer expectations.
Modern parcel fulfilment operations are treating fast, accurate delivery as a baseline rather than a nice to have. Those that are able to provide this level of service are better positioned to meet the requirements of today’s customers. What’s on the line? Customer loyalty and ultimately profitability. Operations like Amazon and Walmart are setting the bar high and have redefined what acceptable delivery looks like.
So, how can smaller operations help reduce shipping errors and speed up parcel fulfilment? Moving from manual package processing to automation can help in numerous ways. Automated parcel sorting systems, like the ID Parcel & Mail Solutions Packet Parcel Sorting System can help increase parcel throughput, reduce processing errors, and help customers understand where their packages are as they move through the fulfilment process.
Over 40% of U.S. consumers now expect delivery within 2–3 days, according to Opensend. One of the key benefits of an automated parcel sorting system is increased parcel throughput.
Higher throughout speed leads to higher revenue without proportional cost increases. When operations are able to process more parcels in a shorter time and overhead costs remain the same, the result is better margins. This has always been one of the key drivers of ROI for these systems.
Today, an equally, if not more important benefit of increased throughput is speed of delivery. Manual scanning, weighing, dimensioning, labeling and sorting of packages is time consuming. When some or all of these processes are automated, the parcel will be shipped faster. Higher throughput also enables shorter order cut off times.
Failed deliveries cost approximately $17 per parcel, according to Opensend. Delivery failures can include redeliver attempts, potential refunds and demands on customer service. These costs can add up fast and have a significant impact on profitability across a fiscal year.
Manual sorting relies on workers to read labels, scan parcels, and route them correctly. As a result, there will be a percentage of misreads, missed scans and sorting errors. Humans become fatigued and distracted. And crews will oftentimes consist of partially trained or new employees. Errors often result in packages being routed to the wrong location and even reshipment, causing significant delays.
Automated parcel sorting systems can be set up with barcode readers, automatic weighing and dimensioning equipment, automatic labelers and sorters that divert the parcel to the right destination. Employing these technologies changes the game when it comes to reducing errors that lead to delayed shipments.
Automated parcel sorting systems are vital to ensuring the accurate capture of real time data that is used to track packages across the fulfilment journey. As parcels move through the steps of the system they are scanned, in part, to identify the time, location and destination of the package. This data is sent to the management systems and carrier networks and enables precision tracking for customers.
Manual scanning and data enrty will inevitably lead to errors. Packages are sometimes scanned late, scanned under the wrong tracking number, or missed entirely during busy periods. Manual data entry can lead to typos, incorrect destination codes, or mismatched parcel information. This can lead to misrouted packages. Additionally, improper sorting can move packages into the wrong container when labels are misread, leading to significant delays.
At ID Parcel & Mail Solutions we’ve watched numerous customers transform the efficiency of their operations using automated parcel sorting systems, while greatly improving delivery speed and reducing shipping errors. Increased throughput and reduced labor have always been the key drivers of ROI for these systems. Today, customer satisfaction is equally important, and these machines deliver.
