When you process a significant number of orders daily, shipping is no longer just a separate part of your webshop. The choices you make regarding carriers, cut-off times, delivery options, and international distribution directly impact your costs, delivery reliability, and customer satisfaction.
Furthermore, what worked well at a lower order volume may no longer be the best solution as your operation grows. You will face larger peaks, more inventory, different destinations, and higher expectations regarding delivery times.
A good shipping strategy is therefore not simply about finding the lowest shipping rate. It is about a model that fits your order profile while remaining flexible enough to move with your business.
First, look at your current order profile
A good shipping strategy starts with insight into your own orders.
How many packages do you ship on average per day? How large are the peaks? Which countries do you ship to? What are the average weight and size of a shipment? And what percentage of orders consists of multiple items?
Especially as volumes increase, differences within your order profile become more important.
Perhaps the majority of your orders go to the Netherlands and Belgium, while Germany is growing rapidly. Or maybe you have a relatively small number of large packages that account for a significant portion of your transport costs.
By looking at these flows separately, you can determine much more specifically which carriers and services suit your operation.
A single carrier is not always the best solution
Many companies initially build their shipping process around a single carrier. This keeps the operation manageable, but as volumes and destinations increase, this approach can present limitations.
Carriers have different networks and strengths. A provider that performs well for Dutch consumers may not offer the same performance or rates for shipments to Germany or France.
A multi-carrier strategy can then become interesting.
In this approach, you distribute shipments across different carriers based on, for example, destination, package size, service level, cost, or performance.
This can not only provide financial benefits but also makes your operation less dependent on a single network. This flexibility can be crucial, especially during peak periods.
Evaluate more than just the rate per package
With larger shipping volumes, a small difference in shipping rates can represent a significant amount on an annual basis. However, the lowest rate is not automatically the most economical choice.
Also look at delivery reliability, first-time delivery, options for pick-up points, tracking, international coverage, and the handling of exceptions.
A carrier with a lower rate can ultimately turn out to be more expensive if, for example, it leads to more customer inquiries, failed deliveries, or return flows.
The relevant question is therefore not just what a shipment costs, but what the total cost of delivery is.
Align your cut-off time with the entire operation
A late cut-off time can be commercially attractive. Customers can order later while you still offer next-day delivery.
But that promise must remain operationally feasible.
Orders that come in just before the cut-off still need to be processed, picked, packed, labeled, and handed over to the carrier. For this, your fulfilment process and the carrier collection times must be well-aligned.
This becomes increasingly important as volumes grow. A cut-off time that works flawlessly with 500 orders per day can suddenly put pressure on the operation during a peak of several thousand orders.
Therefore, look not only at what is commercially attractive but also at what your warehouse can structurally process.
Ensure your shipping strategy can handle peaks
For many e-commerce companies, order volume is not consistent throughout the year. Black Friday, holidays, campaigns, product launches, or seasonal influences can cause much higher volumes in a short time.
It is during these periods that it becomes clear how robust your shipping strategy really is.
Is there enough capacity to process orders on time? Can carriers handle the extra volume? Are alternatives available when capacity comes under pressure?
A scalable shipping strategy therefore takes into account not only the average volume but specifically the moments when the operation is under maximum load.
International growth requires choices per market
When a larger portion of your revenue comes from other European countries, it is wise to review your shipping strategy per market.
Consumers do not have the same preferences everywhere. Carrier networks, transit times, rates, and options for pick-up points also differ per country.
Instead of using one shipping model for all of Europe, you can determine which combination of carriers and delivery services fits best for each market.
The location of your inventory also plays a role here. From a strategically located warehouse, you can serve multiple European markets without having to hold stock in each country individually.
This can help centralize inventory while achieving reliable delivery times within Europe.
Optimizing shipping costs sometimes starts before transport
Transport costs are not determined by the carrier alone. The design of your fulfilment process also has an influence.
Consider packaging, for example.
When products are structurally shipped in boxes that are too large, you may be paying for unnecessary volume. With thousands of orders per month, a relatively small optimization in packaging size can make a noticeable difference.
The location of inventory, the way orders are consolidated, and the distribution of shipments across carriers can also affect total costs.
That is why, in a shipping strategy, we prefer to look at the entire chain rather than just the rate on the carrier contract.
Include return flows in the same strategy
With larger e-commerce volumes, returns form a structural flow of goods. They therefore deserve the same attention as outgoing shipments.
How easily can a customer return an item? Through which carrier does a return come back? How quickly is it processed? And when can a sellable product be added back to the inventory?
Especially for products with a relatively high return rate, the design of this process can have a major impact on costs and available inventory.
An efficient return flow ensures that products do not stay out of sellable inventory longer than necessary and gives you more control over the total logistics costs per order.
When is it time to review your shipping strategy?
A shipping model does not automatically grow with your organization. As volumes increase, choices that were logical a few years ago may no longer fit as well.
You notice this, for example, when peaks become increasingly difficult to handle, transport costs increase relatively sharply, or international orders form a larger part of your volume.
A lack of space or capacity within your current warehouse can also be a reason to look more broadly at the operation.
At such a moment, it is no longer just about choosing a different carrier. The question becomes how warehousing, fulfilment, and transport can be collectively organized more intelligently.
From shipping to a scalable logistics operation
A strong shipping strategy is created when inventory, fulfilment, and transport are well-aligned.
At Van der Helm Logistics, we therefore look at the entire logistics operation. From our warehouses, we support e-commerce companies with warehousing, fulfilment, transport, return processing, and international distribution.
In doing so, we look at order profiles, volumes, peak loads, destinations, and carriers, among other things. In this way, we work together to build a logistics setup that not only fits the current operation but also offers room for further development.
Do you notice that your current warehouse or shipping model is reaching its limits? Get in touch with our team. We would be happy to look together at a fulfilment and shipping solution that fits your volumes and logistics operation.