Despite supply chain woes, and global inflation, final-mile shipping is still booming, and it isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Shippers and the warehouses serving them are hoping to capitalize on this trajectory and grow. However, avoiding growing pains is key to successfully navigating the road to increased parcel volume shipping.
Whether growing to ship 4,000, 10,000, 25,000, or even more parcels a month comes with challenges despite where you are on the growth curve. Some are unique to each level of growth, while others need to be tackled wherever you are in the cycle.
Here is a look at some of the most common growth obstacles at each level:
Growing warehouse volume from 4,000 -10,000 parcels a month
For instance, a warehouse looking to go from 4,000 final-mile shipments a month to 10,000 will face some significant challenges, such as:
- Manual processes
- A limited number of carriers
- Carrier supplied software
Growing warehouse volume from 10,000 parcels a month to 20,000 or more
But even successfully shipping 10,000 packages a month, increasing to 20,000 or 25,000 a month brings its own set of challenges, such as:
- Capacity crunch, same-day delivery, special instructions
- Stockouts and abandoned shopping carts
- Navigating customs and security compliance, carriers in multiple countries
Growing warehouse volume to more than 25,000 parcels a month
By the time you’re shipping more than 25,000 parcels through the last mile of the supply chain, you’d expect that your work on all the other levels would pave a smooth road. You’d be surprised what might keep warehouses from being efficient such as:
- Customer service drain
- Complex decisions /supporting multiple carriers, buy & sell rates
- Personalization [delivery choices, special instructions, etc.]
Of course, while the challenges at each level of growth require specific solutions for success, shippers must remember the basics as they move on to new challenges at each level. In addition, as they grow their business, it is essential to plan to ensure they have the systems and strategies to overcome unique challenges before they reach the next level.
To find out more about the challenges, along with some of the solutions, download the “Final-Mile Shipping Guide: Successful Parcel Growth with the Right Technology, Procedures, and Planning.”