As a salesperson or warehouse manager, you know how important it is to keep your customers happy. One of the biggest frustrations for customers is when their package is not shipped on time or to the wrong address. This not only leads to unhappy customers, but also to additional costs for your business. With a Warehouse Management System (WMS) with address validation, you can easily prevent these problems and save significant costs. In this article, we will discuss how you can save costs and improve your business results by always shipping to the right address.
The Benefits of Address Validation
A good WMS offers several features that ensure you always ship to the right address. This not only prevents return and reshipment costs, but also improves the customer experience, which leads to more sales.
1. Automatic Address Validation
One of the key features of a good WMS is automatic address validation. This means that the system checks and verifies each address entered before processing the shipment. This prevents errors such as incorrect postcodes or street names. The result? Fewer returns and lower costs for resending packages.
Example:
Imagine a customer places an order and accidentally makes a typo in the address. The WMS detects and corrects this error immediately, so the package is sent directly to the correct address. This saves you the cost of a return shipment, which can quickly amount to €10 per package, plus the costs for resending.
2. Cost Savings Through Reduced Customer Service Hours
Customer service costs can quickly mount up when customers contact you to ask where their package is (WISMO: Where Is My Order?). By using a WMS that provides correct address information, you can significantly reduce the number of customer service requests. This not only saves time, but also money.
Example:
A company receives dozens of WISMO requests every day. By using a WMS, this number decreases drastically because the packages are delivered correctly and on time. Suppose that each WISMO request takes an average of 10 minutes and your customer service employee costs €15 per hour, then you quickly save hundreds of euros per month in personnel costs.
3. Increased Customer Satisfaction and Returning Customers
A positive delivery experience keeps customers coming back for future purchases. A WMS helps you ensure flawless deliveries, which leads to satisfied customers and repeat purchases. This increases your revenue in the long run.
Example:
A customer who receives their order quickly and without problems is likely to be satisfied and likely to buy from you again. This results in higher customer retention and a higher average customer lifetime value. If a customer spends an average of €100 per purchase and comes back three times a year, one satisfied customer quickly earns you €300 per year.
Implementing a WMS in Your Business Process
Implementing a WMS may seem like a big step, but the benefits far outweigh the costs and effort. Here are some steps to effectively integrate a WMS into your business processes:
- Analyze your Current Process: Understand where most errors occur and how much these errors cost you. This helps identify the most important areas for improvement.
- Choose the Right WMS: Choose a WMS that fits your business size and specific needs. Make sure the system offers automatic address validation and integration with your existing platforms.
- Train your Team: Make sure your team knows how to use the new system and understands how it will make their jobs easier.
- Monitor and Optimize: Monitor the performance of the WMS and optimize where necessary. This helps to ensure that you get the most out of your investment.
Address validation at LyraWMS
LyraWMS supports address validation for the Netherlands to ensure that every order is delivered to the correct address. The function works as follows:
- The address details of incoming orders are verified. If the details are incorrect, they are displayed in red.
- As a webshop you can see immediately that the customer has given incorrect address details. You can then immediately ask the customer for the correct information or look up the correct information online.
- As a fulfillment warehouse, both the warehouse employees and the fulfillment customer see that the provided address information cannot be verified.
Through the address validation LyraWMS gives an extra “check” that ensures that you can work without errors. This function also works closely with other functions within LyraWMS, for example:
- Importing all data from your sales channel so that no more copy and paste work is required.
- By your shipping preferences By specifying this, LyraWMS can automatically select the most suitable label for each order.
The wide range of functions all ensure that at the end of the day the parcels are delivered on time and to the right address. LyraWMS gives you all the tools to work efficiently and carefully.
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By using a WMS, you ensure that you always ship to the right address. This not only saves you costs for returns and customer service, but also improves customer satisfaction and ensures repeat customers. With the right implementation and use of a WMS, you can reduce your operating costs and increase your turnover.
