8 typical mistakes in D2C & B2B fulfillment

Long processing window

If orders are processed for too long, this can lead to dissatisfied customers and affect confidence in your business.
To avoid this, RHIEM does a lot to make your order processing window efficient. Here are some examples of how we can keep the processing window for your online store orders as short as possible:

We ask Andre Schwartke, Senior Manager Business Development & Sales

Supply chain management is complex. The e-commerce market offers companies of various sizes the opportunity to easily reach customers. But at the same time, competition is higher than ever – the competition is just a few clicks away on Google. In addition, B2B logistics can be used to supply retailers and distribution partners. Organizing both D2C and B2B leads to a major challenge on the retailer side – avoid the following typical mistakes at all costs:

Incorrect or non-existent address verification quickly leads to dissatisfied end customers because the delivery promise may not be kept.
Our address validation reduces incorrect address data and thus actively supports the end customer when placing an order.
This ensures that your customers are satisfied and that their orders are delivered quickly and efficiently.

4: Insufficient packaging

As an online store operator, it is important to ensure that all orders are properly packaged and protected to prevent damage during shipping. Inadequate packaging can lead to customers becoming dissatisfied and rating your online store negatively, which can lead to a bad reputation and potential loss of sales.
At RHIEM, we also focus on the right packaging to protect the product. On the other hand, we can also turn the packaging into a brand ambassador through our own packaging development. A unique and individual packaging design helps the end customer to identify with your product and is more likely to stand out on the shelf than the standard!

We regularly review our packaging processes to ensure that all packaging is correct and safe. We also ensure that all employees are familiar with the correct packaging processes and materials and know how to use them.

5: Incorrect shipping labeling

Incorrect shipping labeling can be a major problem for online store operators as it can lead to orders being sent to the wrong address, resulting in dissatisfied customers and potential loss of sales. Here are a few tips on how we can avoid incorrect shipping labeling along with our processes and procedures:

Shipping labeling is the link between the processes of the seller, the fulfillment service provider and the carrier. Only if clean and absolutely correct data is transferred to the next external process will the supply chain not be disrupted.
Deviations in the address or other important markings (e.g. the correct labeling of hazardous substances such as batteries or rechargeable batteries) can severely disrupt the supply chain or even bring it to a standstill.

Clean structures at this sensitive point are therefore essential for the rest of the process!

6: Insufficient shipment tracking

Inadequate shipment tracking can be a major problem for you as an online store operator, as it can frustrate customers if they do not receive any information about where their order is. RHIEM uses automated and intelligent communication processes throughout, which are also sent back to your store in real time thanks to the fulfillment interface.

Disappointment is caused by false expectations! Don’t frustrate the end customer – in many cases, they are not even aware of the many processes and procedures of the complex supply chain and the many hands through which the order is processed.
If the person placing the order loses transparency and an overview of the path of the goods, he or she may make a statement at a random, but high-profile location.
It costs many times more to win back a customer’s trust than it does to acquire a new customer.

Transparency and reliability throughout the entire delivery process is therefore of great economic importance – count on RHIEM’s experience and logistical expertise here too.

7. incorrect return processing

If returns processing is faulty, this may result in customers not being able to initiate returns or returns not being processed correctly. This results in long waiting times for the end customer, which in turn leads to greater frustration and tends to result in negative reviews of your store – often regardless of the quality of the actual product purchased.

Dealing with returns is therefore an important and central component of your customer service when it comes to end customer satisfaction. RHIEM supports you with a variety of automatic functions and up-to-date processes in our fulfillment interfaces.
In addition to these automatic processes, RHIEM actively offers assistance via our customer advisors on the correct handling of returns or appropriate compensation.

Fast returns processing

Thanks to our automated processes, we use our fulfillment interfaces to inform you as quickly as possible about the receipt and condition of your customers’ returned goods so that you can make a binding statement to the customer about the next steps in processing without losing any time.

Our state-of-the-art returns management system enables you to work quickly and reliably with your customers – even in emotionally stressful situations such as returns, warranty services or the processing of warranty claims. With RHIEM you can quickly answer customer queries, solve problems and actively contribute to greater customer satisfaction in your online store, because effective communication is an important part of your customer service.

8. technical availability of your online store

As a store operator, it is essential to ensure the technical availability of your store. The constant availability of your online store is of great importance for the success of your business, because if the server or store is temporarily down, no sales can be generated.

Even if the total failure of your store is less likely, performance problems due to undersized servers or servers with too high a load can also lead to functions, areas or interfaces of your store not working at times and customers being disappointed. Misconfigurations of the store itself can also lead to partial or total failures in everyday use.

To ensure the technical availability of your store, we offer our customers regular maintenance to identify and rectify problems before they lead to downtime. We can also provide a redundant infrastructure so that the store can continue to operate safely even in the event of a failure.
Regular monitoring tests by external services objectively ensure that your store is always available.

As a full-service fulfillment provider, RHIEM can not only operate your logistics smoothly, but also offers the necessary technical structures for successful online sales. In this way, we can ensure the success of your business and gain the trust of your customers together.