The Importance of Having a Multiple Carrier Network
Shipping is the most critical aspect of online retailers’ overall customer strategy. The choice of fulfillment and logistics plays a huge role in customer satisfaction, customer retention, and increasing their overall bottom line. Reliance on carriers, in this case, can make or break a business. Consequently, retailers need to choose the right carriers for their own business. Carrier diversity speaks to having the ability to choose among more than one carrier based on need, delivery strategy, cost, and reliability. Onboarding multiple carriers for retailers can be a long and tedious process and being able to negotiate costs can take up much valuable time for retailers. However, it is necessary to go through these steps to ensure that there is always more than one carrier to be pulled from to maintain or improve customer satisfaction.
Utilizing multiple carriers when shipping to your customers has many advantages. The benefits include:
The ability to pick and choose the type of shipment in an industry where the shipping cost is generally high. Retailers can choose between several different carriers and select the best price or, in this case, the lowest price. This could be a great saving tactic that retailers could use, which they would not have with one carrier.
The differentiation of customers into tiers. This is a great marketing strategy used by retailers in which they can increase or decrease the level of service they offer to these customers at varying prices.
Adding different shipping options to these various tiers of customers is also a great strategy that could be used in their customer satisfaction drive.
Retailers can choose between having a curbside pickup and white glove premium service in service offerings and having different carriers Who are best at these many other forms of delivery services is an excellent addition to the overall customer service package.
Imagine only having one carrier, and a new customer makes an order that requires a service that this carrier does not usually offer. In cases like these, the carrier would add additional cost to their regular shipping costs to facilitate these new requests made by the customer. This would increase the amount passed on to the customer, which is something a retailer wouldn’t want to do, especially to a new customer. Also, there is a risk of losing this new customer to a competitor who may be able to offer the additional services requested without the extra cost.
It cannot be stated enough that retailers must have multiple options when dealing with carriers. Options, options, options are essential as they can be the very lifeline of a retailer. Retailers can choose carriers based on
The service level,
Delivery options,
Delivery time, or
Cost
Retailers need to have these options to ensure customer satisfaction. If one carrier is unable to deliver, if they have longer delivery times because of a service breakdown, or a breakdown in their technology, a retailer can switch seamlessly to another carrier and thus still deliver their customers’ products and maintain their level of customer service.
If you’re a retailer looking for a way to expand your carrier network- Freight Club is an excellent option for you. They continuously expand their network to provide you with a wide range of carrier options with enterprise shipping rates and low damage rates.
Guest Authors
Travis Huff, Vice President of Sales
Monique Reid, Marketing & Content Specialist
Freight Club
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