Whether you’re selling on your own website, an online marketplace, or through a physical store, shipping is vital to the success of your business. Shipping mistakes can cost you hundreds of dollars in lost stock and reduced margins.
Fortunately, there are a few key factors that can help prevent these costly shipping fails from occurring in the first place.
Unreasonable Expectations
The logistics of shipping freight are daunting to say the least. And while some companies have great teams, others struggle to meet their goals. When this happens, it’s important to understand why.
One of the most common reasons for a shipment failure is unrealistic expectations. Often, shippers and transportation providers make promises that they can’t deliver on, such as getting a load to its destination in time for a specific occasion.
Luckily, there are some things you can do to mitigate this issue. For example, stepping into your customer’s shoes can reveal their true expectations and allow you to be transparent about what your company is capable of. This also means you’re likely to get the best outcome for both parties. The most effective way to do this is to explain the reasons that you cannot meet your client’s demands while still delivering top-notch service. Follow this advice to see if you can turn a difficult situation into a win for both sides.
Inexperienced Shippers
Inexperienced shippers can cause shipments to fail for numerous reasons. Whether they are not familiar with the ins and outs of freight shipping or simply don’t have the experience needed to handle a shipment properly, it’s very common for an inexperienced shipper to make mistakes that lead to unnecessary charges and delays.
Communication breakdowns are another common problem that causes shipments to fail. As information like pick up date/time, pick up location, drop off destination, equipment type needed and more become foggy, the shipment is likely to fall through.
This is why it’s so important to select a transportation provider that has a proven history of moving your products and has a history of delivering on time and on budget. As soon as you notice that your current transportation provider isn’t able to meet your expectations, it’s a good idea to switch to a more seasoned company before things get out of hand. The sooner you do this, the better your results will be!
Poor Communication
When shipping fails, it usually results from a lack of communication between the parties involved. This can occur on the interpersonal level between colleagues or at an organizational level between employees and managers.
Ineffective communication can lead to a breakdown in the relationship, as the two people don’t understand each other properly. This can result in miscommunication and misunderstandings that lead to conflict, resentments and poor performance.
Fortunately, there are things that you can do to improve your communication skills and help prevent these issues from occurring.
One way is to practice what you are saying. You can do this by listening carefully to what is being said, paying attention to body language and asking questions to make sure that you have understood everything.
You should also avoid emotional reactions to what someone is saying. For example, you should not immediately dismiss a colleague as a “stupid” person for having an idea that could benefit your team.