eCommerce Shipping: Everything you need to know
Take advantage of the economy of scale by gaining access to our specially negotiated rates with local and international top couriers.
Fulfilling eCommerce orders with Kun Fulfilment gives you access to a huge range of couriers and shipping services to suit your needs.
From domestic deliveries from our warehouses across the UK, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands, to International and B2B shipments, our experts continuously add to, monitor and negotiate with our network of providers to ensure you have access to the best shipping services for your eCommerce business.
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Our Courier Network:
Royal Mail
Royal mail is the UK’s oldest postal service and courier of ecommerce shipping, delivering letters and parcels directly to the customers home or work address for over 500 years, with over half of their delivery routes wholly or partially on foot for a more sustainable delivery method. We offer Domestic and International services with Royal Mail.
Evri
In addition to home deliveries, Evri has a wide network of ParcelShops and lockers where customers can conveniently collect their deliveries and make returns without relying on a courier coming to their address. Offering standard and express services within the UK, Evri can be a cost-effective solution for online stores.
FedEx
FedEx is a global courier offering domestic and international delivery that is popular across the UK, Spain and the Netherlands. Their service offering includes a range of priority and guaranteed delivery methods that make them a great choice for more businesses that need a more premium service. We offer Domestic and International services with FedEx
Norsk
We work with Norsk for International shipping from our UK warehouses. Helping our clients expand their audience and reach new customers around the world.
Deutsche Post
We work with Deutsche Post from our UK and German warehouses for international shipments and domestic delivery in Germany.
DHL
We work with DHL for both domestic and international shipments from the UK, German and Netherlands warehouses. We can offer businesses both standard and express services with this courier.
UPS
We can offer UPS International shipping from our warehouses UK and Spain, as well as domestic delivery throughout spain.
GLS
We can offer domestic and international shipping with GLS from our warehouses in Germany and Spain.
More +
Many more including PostNL, Correos and Maersk eCommerce. Our experts can help you to find the best shipping service for your needs.
Why does Shipping matter?
Shipping is the final step of the fulfilment process and involves transporting goods ordered from an online retailer to the end customer, usually via a courier such as Royal Mail, Evri or FedEx. It plays a pivotal role in a brand’s success and here’s why:
- 60% of global consumers expect same, next, or two-day delivery
- 73% of buyers have abandoned a cart because they had to pay a delivery charge
- Shipping costs can account for up to 10% of an ecommerce businesses expenses
Choosing which courier to use, what services to offer and what to charge can therefore not only impact your conversion rate, but also how you stand out from your competition and even your profitability. Finding a solution that balance between these competing needs can be a headache, so how do you know which is the right choice?
What do you need to consider when choosing a delivery method?
Where are you sending the shipments?
Do you ship domestically, internationally, or both? Do you want to offer the same style of service and customer experience for any destination or do you feel it beneficial to tailor this based of the end customers destination?
Whats the most important factor for your customers?
What is the most important factor for your particular audience – Price? Convenience? Reliability? Looking at your products price point, re-order rate, and average basket size, as well as your conversion rate, can give you a good indication of what is more important to your particular customers.
What size are your shipments?
Are your shipments generally small parcels, large items, or a mix of both? This should be a major factor in selecting the correct courier for your business. At Kun Fulfilment we have a varied range of couriers who specialise in all shapes and sizes of delivery, internationally and domestically. We provide you with real-time order and inventory data and accurate tracking, alongside customised reports that include buying habits, sales metrics and customer insights which help to fuel your business growth.
How quickly do your customers want the goods?
Are your customers willing to wait for standard ecommerce shipping, or do you need express options? We all want our purchases as soon as possible but some items are more time-sensitive than others, whether this is something perishable, or needed for a special date such as gifts.
Do your have any special requirements?
Do you handle fragile, high value, perishable, or restricted items that require extra care? From age verification, to special labelling some goods require special attention from the couriers to ensure they arrive in good condition and are compliant with laws and regulations.
Reducing your shipping costs
- ⇒ Ensure you are shipping the smallest parcel you can. You could consider using alternative protective materials to save space, switching from boxes to mailing bags for non fragile items, or simply buying smaller boxes that better fit the size of your goods.
- ⇒ Offer multiple shipping options including a cost effective and express option and let your customers upgrade if necessary so you can use a standard shipping service wherever possible.
- ⇒ Set a higher free shipping threshold to limit the size of the basket you are absorbing the shipping cost into to ensure you are still making a profit on the order.
- ⇒ Offer free delivery as a subscription. Similar to Amazon Prime or ASOS premier, you can offer a one off monthly cost to your customers for priority shipping to recover some of these costs in a different way, while also motivating customers to shop regularly.
- ⇒ Work with a 3pl like Kun Fulfilment – When it comes to shipping, volume matters. The more orders you ship the more buying power you have to negotiate with couriers, working with Kun Fulfilment enables smaller sellers to benefit from our economies of scale and the millions of parcels we dispatch each year into the delivery network.
- ⇒ Allow our system to select a courier for you – Kun Fulfilment customers can use our software to select the cheapest courier for your shipment and preferred service. We have daily collections from each of the couriers we work with, and regularly review and negotiate our rates, giving us more freedom to switch between couriers.
Reducing your shipping costs
DDP vs DDU: Understanding International Shipping
Want to learn more about international ecommerce shipping methods and your responsibilities as a seller? read our article on incoterms here.
Protecting against lost or damaged shipments
8 Million
Parcels are lost or stolen in transit each year in the UK
36%
of consumers would not order from a retailer again if they received damaged goods
Logistics is a challenging industry. With so many moving parts across the country, it is an unfortunate truth that even the biggest and best couriers can come up against damages and lost parcels from time to time.
In order to reduce this rate, choose a courier with a high on time delivery rates, and check this regularly to ensure the quality of service remains high.
Use a tracked service so you can accurately see when your shipments have been delivered.
Use Kun Fulfilment Extra – Our enhanced liability for transit-related loss or damage on an item or account level. Helping our clients to rest easy with their highest cost products, or whole account, covered during the shipping process.
Keep Your Customers Updated 83% of consumers said that proactive communication from retailers increases their loyalty.
eCommerce merchants using Kun Fulfilment fulfilment can send custom branded delivery update emails, personalised to their end customers, to notify them about the progress of their order. From order dispatched, to delivery attempt failed, keeping customers updated has a whole host of benefits:
- ⇒ Reduced customer service inquiries
- ⇒ Improved customer satisfaction
- ⇒ Boosted brand & digital engagement
- ⇒ Increased first time delivery success
- ⇒ Cost savings through automation
Shipping Age Restricted Products
For merchants selling alcohol, age verification is essential from the moment consumers engage with their platform. However, we also advocate for rigorous age checks upon delivery.
This serves as a critical safety net, reinforcing the initial measures taken.
Contact us to find more about the age verification solutions our delivery partners offer.
By putting these measures into place, retailers solidify their reputation as trustworthy and responsible vendors.
Shipping Age Restricted Products
Most couriers will have similar cut-off dates for guaranteed delivery before Christmas, however, if you want to keep selling online right until the last possible moment, consider adding a special delivery service such as Royal Mail’s guaranteed by 9am next day option.
A shipping policy is a document that answers many of the common questions your customers will have about delivery from your store. It’s good practise to have this linked in the footer of your website where it is easily accessed and must be maintained with any updates or changes. Common things to include are:
⇒ Order processing times
⇒ Domestic and International shipping options
⇒ Order cancellation policy
⇒ Shipping costs
⇒ Returns
⇒ Service disruptions
Kun Fulfilment has experts at alcohol fulfilment who will be able to advise you on any restrictions for the locations you wish to ship to. Speak to one of our team today.
You will also find a list of restrictions on each couriers website for more information.
Royal Mail (UK) – Latest News
EVRI (UK) – Evri News
DHL (UK) – Live Service Updates
Deutsche Post (DE and International) – Current information and notes
Post.NL (International) – Service Status
⇒ Deutsche Post DHL
⇒ DPD
⇒ Hermes
⇒ GLS
⇒ UPS
⇒ Correos
⇒ Seur
⇒ DHL
⇒ UPS
⇒ Fedex
⇒ PostNL
⇒ DHL
⇒ GLS
⇒ UPS
⇒ Fedex
