warehousing Archives - E-commerce Made Easy in India | E-commerce Solutions India - ANS Commerce

The Ultimate Guide For Storing And Shipping Chocolates

Every e-commerce merchant will agree: it’s one thing to store and ship durables, but quite another to ship chocolates. A lot can go wrong while shipping chocolates, which requires e-retailers to carefully consider warehouse services and courier partners.

Customer satisfaction is a top priority for every business, therefore, it’s important to deliver the goods in perfect condition. Storing and shipping FMCG products is not an easy task, various factors must be taken into consideration to prevent them from spoiling while in storage and transit.

Some common challenges faced while storing and shipping chocolates

Maintaining the optimal temperature 24*7 to avoid melting and blooming (when chocolate turns white on its surface when it’s too cold). Also, the chocolates expand, and their shape change if the temperature is higher than 22 degrees

Packing and shipping chocolates in insulated vehicles and boxes, however, these containers and vehicles are quite expensive

Reducing transit time, however, for this, you need to have zonal or regional warehouses, which is not financially feasible for every business

Delivering chocolates while keeping the packaging and shipping cost minimum

How does ANS Commerce store and deliver chocolates safely?

Maintaining optimal temperature

Chocolate being a food item is categorized as perishable goods. Take weather conditions into consideration while planning the shipping week so that you can decide whether or not it’s a good day to ship. However, this is only possible for those who have a flexible timeline for deliveries.

At ANS Commerce warehouses, we maintain the temperature between 18-22 degrees to avoid ruining the texture of the chocolates. There’s a 24-hour power backup to prevent chocolates from melting irrespective of the weather conditions. Our warehouses have temperature sensor monitors to check for any variations. We offer gel packs and insulated boxes and vehicles for maintaining optimal temperature during transit.

Request your free DEMO today!

Quick Tip – Keep the chocolates away from direct heat or light. Also, always place frozen gel packs while shipping chocolates, and these packs should be inside plastic bags to avoid condensation.

Making sure the packaging is damage-proof

Packing the chocolates should both be safe and practical. You want the packaging to be safe and spill-proof but also easy to open without damaging the goods inside. Here are some of the packaging materials we use at ANS Commerce to ship chocolates.

Insulated Containers

At our warehouses, we offer insulated containers to keep chocolates safe during transit. A foil backing combined with foam or fibre fillers makes our insulation containers highly effective for providing temperature control for 48 hours.

Cold Packs

The insulated containers keep the temperature low for 48 hours. However, sealed in a plastic bag, cold packs help in maintaining the temperature of the chocolates for an even longer duration and act as portable refrigerators. We use cold packs for FMCG company Mars Wrigley’s chocolates, and they always reach their destination in perfect condition.

We recently onboarded a leading FMCG and chocolate brand, Mars Wrigley, to offer tech-enabled warehousing and shipping services. Read on to learn more about how we’re helping the company in order fulfillment

Steps for Packaging Process

Prepare the shipping container
Put the reflective insulation liner inside the container, covering all six sides
Take out the chocolate from the cold storage unit and put it in the shipping box. We use bubble wraps to prevent cold packs from freezing the chocolates
Seal the insulated box with adhesive strips
Close the outer box and seal the edges with tape

While packing chocolates make sure there is no space between them. If they’re not tightly packed, there’s a higher chance of breakage during shipping and handling. If you’re shipping chocolates of different sizes and weights, place the larger and heavier ones at the bottom. This would prevent them from crushing.

Quick Tip – We always recommend using a box twice the size of your shipment so that there’s room for protective material.

Planning and executing the delivery

Prepare a checklist of all the things you need before scheduling your shipments such as shipping fees, permits, and more. Inform the customer about the delivery timeline and shipping cost (in case of postpaid order) to ensure faster processing. Research and find out the best method to ship chocolates safely. Usually, they’re shipped in vans or trailers since they have a cooling system to keep the chocolates fresh.

Choosing the right logistics partner is very important. You need a partner that would deliver the chocolates timely and in good condition. At ANS Commerce, we have regional warehouses to make sure that the delivery time never exceeds 48 hours and that the Mars shipment reaches its destination in good condition. We also offer insulated vehicles to make sure the chocolates do not get damaged in transit.

Storing and shipping can be a difficult task to accomplish when you’re selling chocolates, but once you do thorough research and figure out the best way to pack and ship them, you can rest assured that they will reach their destination safely.

Partnering with multiple warehouses and delivery partners can be quite expensive and time-consuming for brands. A better approach is to partner with a full-stack e-commerce enabler such as ANS Commerce that maintains high safety standards while storing and shipping FMCG goods. Moreover, with our regional warehouses, brands can easily offer next-day delivery to their customers. With excellent performance in all aspects of order fulfillment, ANS Commerce offers cost-effective shipping solutions. What are you waiting for? Request your free DEMO today!

Upcoming Supply Chain Technology Trends That Can Amplify Your E-commerce Business

The pandemic exposed many ongoing and hidden issues in the logistics industry. Therefore, companies are now looking for ways to transform their supply chain models. One of those ways is to invest in new technologies for achieving higher efficiency. Businesses can no longer ignore the benefits technology offers to supply chain and business management. With proper data collection and centralization, trends like AI and blockchain can assist businesses to shape up and boost efficiency.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has simultaneously disrupted the supply chain industry, re-emphasized its significance, and created completely new goals and opportunities.”

5 Supply Chain Technology Trends That Can Supercharge Your Business

1. Automate with artificial intelligence

Automation has been a growing trend in almost every industry for the past decade. The continued success indicates that it will only get stronger in the future. Recently, artificial intelligence(AI) is being leveraged for automation in the supply chain industry. AI algorithms can automate basic operations such as inventory management, delivery, and more by crunching past data. This saves a lot of time and eliminates the possibility of errors, resulting in higher efficiency. It also frees up the human resource to execute more complex tasks.

The potential of AI is quite vast, it can be used to identify patterns in data and deliver valuable insights. They can be used, for example, to forecast product demand shortly. With artificial intelligence, logistics operations can become more efficient and accurate.

Quick Tip – Automation is not limited to just manual tasks inside the warehouses. Companies are now investing billions to make driverless truck deliveries a reality. Although it will take years before being implemented industry-wide, issues like driver shortage and sustainability concerns will keep driving the demand.

2. Boost transparency with blockchain

Over the years, blockchain has been called “the biggest breakthrough” and also “just hype”. However, it has proved its significance in multiple fields; the supply chain is one of them.

The primary use of blockchain has been to facilitate transparency because obscurity in data sharing often harms a supply chain. Blockchain facilitates more transparent and accurate tracking in the supply chain, businesses can digitize physical assets and develop a decentralized record of all transactions, making it easy to track assets throughout the supply chain. It is completely immutable and incorruptible, making it more secure than the cloud.

Blockchain can assist businesses in reducing fraud, especially in high-valued goods. It can assist them in understanding how raw materials and finished goods are passed through each subcontractor and reduce profit losses from counterfeit and grey market trade.

“Blockchain is an open ledger of transactions distributed among computers in a particular network. Everyone on the shared blockchain has complete access to that ledger, thus, enabling complete transparency”

With the wider adoption of blockchain, logistic operations would become more transparent and efficient.

3. Settle payments with smart contracts

“Smart contracts are computer protocols that automatically verify, control and execute an agreement. The terms of the agreement are directly written into the lines of codes, therefore, eliminating the need for a middleman. The code controls the execution of transactions, which are trackable and irreversible.”

The tides of automation will not stop at AI and robotics, smart contracts have emerged as another technology to achieve it. They are transaction protocols that are meant to execute when certain conditions are met. In SCM, it could be used to automatically generate an invoice when the shipment reaches the destination or conduct financial transactions between the concerned parties. Smart contracts are being used to settle payments using cryptocurrencies. They remove the need for arbitration from a trusted party, making the process much faster.

4. Improve operational efficiency with digital twins

Computer modelling in its current form never takes into account how products wear out and are replaced, how they become obsolete, or how owners modify them to suit changing needs. Digital twins enable interacting with the virtual model of a product or part just like one would with their physical counterparts.

In the supply chain industry, a digital twin is a virtual supply chain replica that consists of multiple assets, warehouses, logistics, and inventory data. It has gained so much popularity in the industry because it offers improvements in technical and computational capabilities. It supports the entire value chain, from designing and construction to commissioning and operations. For instance, it can be used to collect product and packaging data and use the information to identify potential weaknesses and recurring problems to improve future operations. The technology can also be used to create accurate 3D models of the warehouses and experiment with layout changes or the addition of new equipment to see its impact, risk-free. Delivery networks can leverage technology to provide real-time information to improve shipping and delivery.

Are you looking for a warehouse? Check out these tips to choose a warehouse that suits all your business needs!

Quick Tip – We handle the complete ‘pick-pack-dispatch’ process & manifestation of the B2C orders with strict SLAs, thereby, leaving you free to focus on product development and customer acquisition. Request your free DEMO now!

5. Increase supply chain visibility(SCV) with IoT

Gone are the days when static SCV data was enough to satisfy customers and carriers. Nowadays, the demand for real-time SCV data has risen exponentially. Now, the question arises, how can companies obtain this real-time data? The answer is simple, through technology, specifically the Internet of Things(IoT).

With IoT sensors attached to shipments, companies can retrieve data required to track the location and condition of the goods along with the security of the shipment. It can provide real-time information like temperature, humidity, shock, and more for better shipment management. Also, it can boost efficiency by providing information about the machines, including predictive maintenance requirements, within a warehouse.

How Can We Assist You?

These SCM trends are still in their early stages of adoption and are not implemented actively. However, If you’re someone who’s looking for logistics solutions, ANS Commerce is the right place for you. We manage warehousing, and supply chain execution across channels and offer return management with JIT flexibility. We have warehouses in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi NCR to offer seamless logistics solutions to our clients. Request your free DEMO now!

What can you expect from ANS?

Scale and knowledge – Extensive TPL network and marketplace partnerships facilitate better response and costs
Flexibility – Custom solutions for optimized storage and seamless integration with client OMS and WMS
End-to-end support – Manage all pieces of logistics by tapping order checkpoints including reliable return and refurbishment

The logistics industry stands amidst unprecedented times, but the future holds great promise. Adopting these innovations gradually will assist the industry in facing the challenges and help businesses achieve greater operational efficiencies.

Prominent Tips to remember while choosing an E-commerce Warehouse

Are you forgetting something important in the hassle and excitement of setting up an e-commerce store? We just wish you are not forgetting the most important aspect i.e. Warehousing, which is the heart of any e-commerce company and can make a huge difference to your bottom line. A good warehouse and inventory management system can let you save a huge sum of money while meeting your customer demands at the same time. Well, we all know that a good warehouse has infinite benefits to your e-commerce business, but the question is ‘How can we select a good e-commerce store’. Well, we are here with the ultimate solution.

“An e-commerce warehouse is a lot more than a place for just storing your goods. It is a place that keeps your goods safe and secured, helping you track their movement.”

Factors every e-commerce merchant must keep in mind while selecting a Warehouse!

1. Location proximity

There is no benefit of having a warehouse that is distant from your consumers as it will take huge travel costs and time, which will eventually dissatisfy your customers. But on the other end choosing a warehouse close to your customers can reduce your travel costs and time. This way you can make your customers happy. Your first step before selecting a warehouse must be determining your consumer base by pinpointing the regions you are thinking to serve.

Quick Tip: In the process of choosing a warehouse, you must ensure that it has substantial prerequisites for your goods

2. Number of SKUs

Warehouses not only store goods but also serve us with functions like tracking inventory items, estimating adequate storage, and calculating storage charges. Well, these functions are completed by Stock Keeping Units. This is the ultimate solution for companies who deal in a diverse and variety of products as they are able to determine stock levels easily. They don’t have to pay much and are able to turn over their inventory quickly and efficiently. Large companies have plenty of SKUs in their warehouses and that is the main reason for their smooth operations. That’s why you must see the number of SKUs before selecting any warehouse.

Quick tip: If you have large SKUs and slow turnover rates, standalone warehousing will be a cost-effective solution for you.

3. Integration of Advanced technology

With the development of technology, warehouse operations are drastically evolving day by day. It provides a number of benefits such as faster production times, diminished risk of processing errors, better management of inventory, and many more. Well, this makes one thing clear that a warehouse must be integrated with the best and advanced technology to get smoother operations. Enhanced services driven by advanced technology such as pick by vision, drones electronic data interchange, etc. are a must in warehouses these days.

Quick tip: Softwares are less expensive and offer you a better rate of investment than automated solutions.

4. Availability of Workforce

The physical space of your warehouse is not just a location as it has many more factors inclined to it. One of the prominent factors is the availability of the workforce. Well, the workforce is not just people willing to work but people with proficient skills willing to work at the right price. It’s better to determine your workforce needs beforehand. You can do that by researching the demographics of the area by gathering knowledge on their education level and average incomes. Your work doesn’t end by hiring the right set of the workforce as you need to even understand them well as this will affect your turnover rates, employee retention, and productivity.

Want to know the complete process of order fulfilment? Read on

5. Flexibility and longevity

It is integral to think long-term and understand the potential of your warehouse. For that, you must analyze the growth of your company in the future. For instance, if you think there is room for expansion in the coming years then your warehouse must be flexible enough to adapt to the change and accommodate the growth.

6. Return Management

If you are running an e-commerce business you already know that returns are a vital part of this business. It’s very important to manage the returns successfully as it is normal for people to return items that do not meet up their expectations afterward. To execute return management efficiently, your warehouse must have all the functions to handle the return process efficiently once the goods arrive back at the warehouse. The warehouse must refurbish the returned stock properly for a quick turnaround in inwarding, resulting in less blocked inventory. Also, it saves time and cost.

Quick tip: Don’t know how to manage order returns? Leave everything to ANS Commerce as we assist businesses with an efficient return management system that too with JIT Flexibility as per business requirement for fresh and returns inward management. Request your free DEMO now!

How can we assist you?

If you are worried about how to manage your inventory, then we are here to assist. With end-to-end fulfillment and logistics- from the product in warding to delivery, ANS Commerce is specialized to cater to all your e-commerce needs. We manage the warehouse and supply chain across all channels, including multi-category storage support and return management with JIT flexibility. Request your free DEMO now!

What can you expect from ANS Commerce?

Order processing: We handle the complete ‘pick-patch-dispatch’ process and the manifestation of your B2C orders, including B2B marketplace delivery with integrated logistics
Return Management: We receive, re-label, and pack products with better QC standards; report cancellations, and returns
Third-party coordination: We ensure timely delivery with an optimized cost for both domestic and international inventories. Also, we enable marketplace shipment with trusted partners – Delhivery, Bluedart, FedEx, India Post, etc.

Choosing a warehouse is not an easy task as it requires a lot of planning and researching. But we assure you that keeping in mind these factors you will be able to choose the best warehouse for your e-business that will make the best of its potential.

Comprehensive Overview of E-commerce Order Fulfilment Process

The commitment to deliver the products coupled with potential difficulties completes the definition of order fulfilment. From receiving the order to packing and shipping it, order fulfillment is more than what it looks like. It’s rather a promise to serve your customers at the right time and the right place.

E-commerce trade in the nation has progressed immensely. From retail giants to small and local businesses, e-commerce has become an integral part. Now the government of India has also introduced some rules and regulations, to assist the e-commerce businesses to run smoothly. But when we go deeper into the process of online delivery, what do you think are the factors involved? And what are the risks aligned with those factors? Well, as said earlier, it is not a process of mere two or three steps, but an amalgamation of procedures to deliver the product.

“If the customers don’t receive their orders in time, they either cancel the order or fail to be on your loyal customers’ list.”

To attain the trust of your customers, you must strengthen your fulfilment services. Not only does it improve your customers’ order journey, but it also improves your reputation in the market. Here’s a step-by-step guide that will enhance your fulfilment process!

6 steps guide to improving your order fulfilment process!

1. Storage of Inventory

Also known as warehousing, storage of inventory is one of the crucial steps in the inventory management process. From managing the flow of supply to arranging the inventory in order, inventory storage has to be done carefully. The main chore is to arrange the inventory in suitable shelves and bins while keeping a close look at what order comes in first and what goes out next! There are various ways to determine the flow of your inventory.

“To avoid any mess, tag the inventory with correct labels, so you won’t lose the count of your inventory.”

Quick tip: Supporting businesses of varying size & complexity including B2B marketplace support & omnichannel use-case, ANS Commerce manages warehousing, and supply chain execution across channels. Request your free DEMO now!

2. Receiving Orders

The second step in the fulfilment process is receiving the order. Either you receive the order manually or incorporate software to get the orders directly. After you have successfully received all the orders, sort them by the dates of the delivery. Make those orders your priority which is to be delivered in a single day. You can start by sending your customers email confirmation, saying you have received the order, and you will get back to them soon. This confirmation works as an assurance message, strengthening your relationship with the customers.

“Make your email confirmation to the point with customer-friendly content. Add a sense of personalization by addressing them with their names.”

3. Order Processing or Inventory Picking

Picking constitutes checking the storehouse for a suitable order and picking it for delivery. To regulate optimized picking, you must ensure the previous step is done accurately. Order processing can include picking of more than one order to be delivered at more than one location. When your orders increase with time, it is essential you hire a staff to accelerate your growth. You can also outsource order fulfillment services to companies who are specialized in it.

“By outsourcing order fulfillment services, you won’t have to go into the essence of the warehousing and fulfillment process.”

Quick tip: To help you focus on other important things, ANS Commerce India’s #1 full-stack e-commerce enabler manages the warehouse and supply chain across all channels, including multi-category storage support and return management with JIT flexibility. Request your free DEMO now!

4. Order packaging

With packaging, your branding comes into play. It’s one of the elements that reflect your brand’s identity. Focusing on this process is rather important because it’s part of the end product. Your customer won’t just receive the product but your brand’s label. So make it look charming while keeping it sturdy as your package will go through various stages before it will be delivered. Also, the packaging totally depends on the nature of the good. For example: if the product involves a breakable material such as glass, pack it properly with cardboard packaging to ensure it doesn’t break in the shipping process.

“Use a type of packaging that’s more durable than mere fancy.”

5. Shipping of the order

To get the goods delivered safely and timely, the shipping process plays an important role. Based on the size, weight, and nature of the order, the best shipping method is used. Generally, businesses contact a third-party carrier for shipping services. Make sure the carrier partner you assign provides your customers with a flawless experience.

“After you ship the order, send your customer shipping confirmation immediately, maintaining a trusted relationship.”

6. Return Order processing

Usually, the steps of order fulfillment take a halt before this process. But to be one step ahead of your competition, you must provide a return or exchange service. Depending on the quality of the item or the reason for the return, you can restock it in the warehouse. Furthermore, to ensure the refunding of the products happens efficiently, you may need to set return policies that are in favour of both you and the customer.

“You can also automate the process of return management to avoid any further hassles.”

Quick tip: Return management is effective to boost your sales. If you can’t do it, seek our help for the same. From receiving, re-labelling to packing products with better QC standards, we ensure efficient return management without any hassles. Request your free DEMO now!

How can we help you?

What can you expect from ANS Commerce?

Order processing: We handle the complete ‘pick-patch-dispatch’ process and the manifestation of your B2C orders, including B2B marketplace delivery with integrated logistics
Return Management: We receive, re-label, and pack products with better QC standards; report cancellations, and returns

Third-party coordination: We ensure timely delivery with an optimized cost for both domestic and international inventories. Also, we enable marketplace shipment with trusted partners – Delhivery, Bluedart, FedEx, India Post, etc.

Offer fast and efficient fulfillment services to get your customer’s attention. Also, keep in mind the above six steps to provide seamless delivery. Remember, if they don’t receive their order on time, they wouldn’t bother purchasing from you in the future. To build a future understanding, order fulfillment is the most crucial concept you need to pay attention to. For any further e-commerce queries, you can reach out to us anytime.

Should You Offer Free Shipping To Boost Sales? Here’s Why & How?

Can I really boost my business by offering Free Shipping? Is Free Shipping a good tactic to vouch for? – We often come across these types of questions when it comes to shipping costs.

You see a brandstore where everything you get comes at no shipping cost! Would you not get enticed and hoard your cart with products? Well, that’s why free shipping is your best friend. Now, let’s reverse the roles and imagine. You are a small-sized business. You are offering free shipping costs on all the items at all times, resulting in eating away your profit margin. Would you opt for it now? Even after getting more customers, you would not like to compromise on your net profits. So how to keep this balance and when and why to offer free shipping to customers?

“It’s difficult to bicker with the importance of free shipping and how high shipping leads to high cart abandonment rates.”

5 Reasons behind ‘Why should you offer Free Shipping?’

Let’s initiate with the most basic question retailers generally, get stuck to – Should I offer free shipping, if yes, then why? There are obvious reasons to throw shipping into the bargain, but we will give you the 5 most common yet important reasons about “Why should you offer free shipping?”

1. An immediate surge in sales

One of the reasons behind ‘free shipping’ is that it straight away boosts your sales. When you get a product without any shipping cost, you get impulsive and end up purchasing the product. A buyer sometimes yields to pay a higher price than paying an extra shipping fee. Free shipping can also serve as a lead to bigger orders, especially when e-commerce retailers set minimum thresholds.

2. Low rate of shopping cart abandonment

Having a direct association with the shipping fees, the cart abandonment rate is quite a common problem in e-commerce. Imagine this, you want to purchase a product for weeks. You were waiting for the offers, and have just now seen the price is reduced but the shipping fee is added. Would you rather abandon the cart than paying a high price? We already know the answer, don’t we? If not free shipping, try to offer as less shipping fee as you can to overcome this e-commerce obstacle.

Are you determined to reduce the Cart Abandonment Rate? Read on to learn 12 must-use strategies To reduce it and re-target customers!

Quick tip: Having integrated with diverse logistics players, ANS Commerce – #1 e-commerce full-stack enabler – ensures timely delivery with optimized costs for both domestic and international deliveries. Request your free DEMO now!

3. Hold out against the competition

In a sea full of online shoppers, you clearly have a lot of – both new and established – competitors. Sometimes, it gets difficult to compete with the already established players due to their widespread reach. But no shipping could be a real savior at those times. When you offer free shipping, but your competitor doesn’t then who do you think will your customers choose?

4. Reaching out to new prospects

Word of mouth plays a significant role when you give a particular offer and others don’t. You not only entice the old customers but also get more leads. ‘No shipping cost’ definitely helps you stand out in the market. People like to spread the word. Give them good offers, they will talk about you. This way they become your brand advocates, letting you be noticeable, and this way you reach out to wider audiences.

5. Retaining social proof on your product page

A good brand reputation is a psychological phenomenon that automatically influences your customer base to choose you over your competitors. When you give products without charging a shipping fee, people get swayed and leave favorable reviews on your product page. This builds a sense of trust among others, letting your brand position in the mind of the consumers.

Your Business Needs Customer Reviews And Ratings! Here’s Why And How?

How & when to offer Free Shipping? 6 Ways you can offer Free Shipping!

There are many uncommon ways to boost your sales. For one reason, most people think that free shipping is the best option to vouch for. But how to keep up the score of sales numbers? Offering ‘Free Shipping’ is one of them that can let you scale your business with more ease. Now that you are agreed to offer free shipping to your customers, let’s explore the tactics you can use to give this perk to your beloved buyers.

1. Set a minimum threshold to avail of free shipping

One of the wise tactics to offer free shipping is setting up a minimum threshold. This works when a retailer sets a minimum amount value of for say, ₹999 to avail the benefits of the free shipping. Think, if you are buying a product that costs around ₹700. Just to save the shipping cost, you will be forced to buy another product to exceed the minimum order value. This way both the buyer and seller get to save more. You will see a sudden boom in sales.

“Not only does it increase the sales but also builds a sense of trust and loyalty among the customers.”

2. Offer free shipping on specific occasions

Remember those times when your news feed is full of “FREE SHIPPING” campaigns! Marketers sort specific occasions for seasonal push when there’s a chance in the upsurge of sales numbers. To be a step ahead of the competition and reach their customers’ satisfaction level, businesses offer free shipping on special occasions. In India, one of those peak times is the festive season. You can provide shoppers with no shipping to get maximum orders. During these times, they are already impulsive to buy products, and no shipping adds an extra boost.

Quick tip: You can also club the above two ways to increase your profit margins. During specific occasions, set a minimum threshold to get the benefits of no shipping cost.

3. Provide free shipping on certain products

Providing ‘free shipping’ is important to boost sales, but earning a good amount of money is equally significant. How to keep this balance?

Not all the products leave a handsome amount of margin. But there are some that hold good amounts of profits. Offering free shipping on those products would not cause any harm but increase your sales. It’s quite common for retailers to provide free shipping – on high margin getter products – so that they can easily soak in the shipping cost. So why don’t you fascinate the potential buyers by using the marketing tactic? This way you can both gain their trust and boost your sales.

“Deliver happiness to your customers by offering free shipping on their most preferred products.”

4. Persuade prospects to buy membership programs and get free shipping

People love combinations of offers and when they get two things at a time, they hit up without giving a second thought. Take the example of Amazon Prime in which they offer early delivery and free shipping (on some products) to people who are Prime members. An innovative way to earn from both ends is what you would call this model. You can ask your target market to buy subscriptions, premium membership, loyalty programs, or any other subscription-based program. Also, communicate the idea that they will get free shipping on all the orders if they buy your membership.

Quick tip: You can make different packages of your membership in which you can mention different conditions of shipping. For example, you can have a package of ₹500, giving people free shipping on the order above ₹499. Just like that, you can have another package in which you can have another combo of ₹999 in which they can get free shipping on all the order values.

5. Cover shipping fees with product price

This is a slightly wicked idea to get more traffic on your brandstore. Cook shipping fees in the product price. The desperation to get products without paying any shipping fees can be entertained by this idea. And then you can viral your ‘no shipping cost’ campaign without compromising with your profit margins. Most marketplaces use the same marketing innovation to catch the glimpse of their prospects.

6. Include free shipping on product returns

If you are into the Fashion & Lifestyle segment then this tip works the best for you! Apparels and footwear generally account for high rates of return. Sometimes people don’t find the color flattering enough or sometimes it’s the size issue. Letting customers unpack free shipping offer on the return or exchange would give them another reason to drop by your branstore. They would get encouraged without getting stressed upon the fact the return policy can cost them a delivery fee.

How to do it?

If you are worried about how to manage timely delivery with optimized cost, then we are here to assist. With end-to-end fulfillment and logistics – from the product in warding to delivery, ANS Commerce is specialized to cater to all your e-commerce needs. We manage the warehouse and supply chain across all channels, including multi-category storage support and return management with JIT flexibility. Request your DEMO for the warehousing solution.

What can you expect from ANS Commerce?

Order processing: We handle the complete ‘pick-patch-dispatch’ process and the manifestation of your B2C orders, including B2B marketplace delivery with integrated logistics
Return Management: We receive, re-label, and pack products with better QC standards; report cancellations, and returns
Third-party coordination: We ensure timely delivery with an optimized cost for both domestic and international inventories. Also, we enable marketplace shipment with trusted partners – Delhivery, Bluedart, FedEx, India Post, etc.

Testing various innovations is the cue to find what works the most for you and what doesn’t. There’s no rule that free shipping always works. But you can execute the above-mentioned innovations to see if free shipping works for your business. Additionally, research your competitors, and their marketing tactics to be one step ahead of them.

How Should You Manage Warehousing Operations Amidst Festive Season? 9 Tips To Improve Supply Chain Flow For Increased Profits!

From buying new clothes to devouring sweets and savories to purchasing gift items, Diwali season is all about materials management. On average, the month of October and November help businesses to increase their inventory by threefold. To meet a surge in the demand, supply chain processes also increase, leaving entrepreneurs with more stress on warehousing and fulfillment services.

To avoid any error, it is important for businesses to prepare a warehouse plan beforehand that not only eliminates chaos but increases profits with grace.

9 Exclusive Tips To Manage Warehousing Operations Amidst Festive Season!

1. Rent additional or temporary warehouse to cater to the festive need

The festive season demands increased inventory, which calls on for more storage space. Small scale and mid-sized businesses generally face this problem as they couldn’t raise the supply due to a shortage in the space. A warehouse comes as a savior during these situations. To match pent up demand, businesses should focus on renting additional warehouses to fill in the gap between the market forces of demand and supply.

2. Hire additional workforce to tackle the last-minute crisis

The rising expectations and demands of potential customers aim towards hiring an additional workforce. Once you start volumizing the storage space, the next step is to staff up. You can think of hiring both permanent and temporary workforce. Setting up a separate refurbishment team is also a good option. The refurbishment team helps to replenish RTO (return on stock) while ensuring better inventory depth.

Quick tip: To avoid the last-minute chaos, businesses must hire a workforce in advance so that they can get trained to manage the peak days. Also, don’t forget to take COVID insurance for your old and new staff.

Small scale and middle-sized businesses generally hire seasonal workers, as they both cost less and work efficiently during the peak season.

3. Split your inventory into two or more warehouses

Imagine this; you’ve fully stocked your warehouse with your products to meet the festive sale. But due to a sudden hike in the number of COVID cases in that particular area, the government has red-zoned it. You can’t regulate your inventory, leading to a huge loss to both brand equity and finance.

Quick tip: To avoid any such mishappening, you must focus on more than one warehouse to ensure the ease of movement and the last-minute chaos.

ANS Commerce provides warehousing operations with the help of the latest devices and software. Currently, we are working with 15+ marketplaces to enable brands’ presence across long-tail marketplaces. Request your demo for the warehousing solution.

4. Hire temporary vehicles for smooth functioning

Businesses can reckon upon hiring a temporary yet dedicated vehicle to manage small scale B2B volumes. Backed by the transport system, not only does it ensure quicker delivery but also helps the business to generate more sales.

5. Adopt new ways to train the staff

Tech-driven warehouses are the best to operate. You can start by installing videos and e-posters on the premise explaining the complete process. This helps newly-trained staff to avoid any mistakes while saving time and efforts of the supervisor, who can focus on other big operations.

Interactive training sesh also motivates workers to enhance their performance, which reduces absenteeism.

6. Take insurance of all the inventory

You must have a risk management plan to prepare yourself for any future loss or mishap. Taking insurance of your inventory is essential especially during peak season when your inventory levels are relatively higher. The inventory insurance policy usually covers various types of damage including, handling damage, theft, fire, and any natural disaster.

7. Warehouse maintenance is essential

Your success is directly dependent on how you handle your warehouse. To meet a surge in the business, it is rather important that you do daily-checks of the equipment. From the lift to power conveyors, to scanners, to generators, you must make sure that you have maintained the entire inventory handling equipment before you hit the festive season.

8. Avoid thefts and pilferages

Your warehouse is likely equipped with more inventory than usual. This increases the chance of robbery and theft. Therefore, you must install more security cameras in the warehouse. Also, you must focus on keeping a complete record of your inventory.

Quick tip: You can even think of hiring additional security guards to prevent your business from theft and pilferage.

9. Keep a track of marketplaces restrictions

There are a few marketplaces that place a restriction on the change in the address of the warehouse. If that’s the case with you then figure it out and ensure that the movement takes place before such restrictions are put in.

How to do it?

If you are worried about how to manage your inventory during the peak season, then we are here to assist. With end-to-end fulfillment and logistics- from the product in warding to delivery, ANS Commerce is specialized to cater to all your e-commerce needs. We manage warehouse and supply chain across all channels, including multi-category storage support and return management with JIT flexibility. Request your demo for the warehousing solution.

What can you expect from ANS Commerce?

Order processing: We handle the complete ‘pick-patch-dispatch’ process and the manifestation of your B2C orders, including B2B marketplace delivery with integrated logistics
Return Management: We receive, re-label, and pack products with better QC standards; report cancellations, and returns
Third-party coordination: We ensure timely delivery with an optimized cost for both domestic and international inventories. Also, we enable marketplace shipment with trusted partners – Delhivery, Bluedart, FedEx, India Post, etc.

Managing warehousing amidst the festive season seems like a complex task but the returns of it go beyond the peak months. Prep your warehouse by planning beforehand; bringing in more workforce, renting more storage space, installing optimized technology, and ensuring regular maintenance.