For eCommerce stores, logistics costs are among the biggest expenses in the supply chain process. 🚚 Especially for growing eCommerce businesses, managing these costs effectively is crucial to allocate resources wisely for investments and other needs. At the same time, it’s essential to maximize sales by minimizing the risk of stockout. So, is there a way to minimize logistics costs while avoiding stockout? That’s where freight planning comes in to optimize your purchasing routes. In this blog, we’ll explore what freight planning is, why it’s important for your store, its benefits, and the best strategies for implementation. Let’s dive in! ✨

What is eCommerce Freight Planning?

In eCommerce, freight planning refers to selecting the most efficient shipping options by considering factors such as lead time, stockout costs, and the costs associated with various transportation methods like air ✈️ and ocean 🚢 freight. This process involves strategically managing shipping and transportation to ensure products are delivered efficiently and cost-effectively.

You can think of freight planning as a feature that is highly dependent on and works effectively with other inventory management features. ⚙️ To effectively plan your freight, you must first know which products must be replenished, which is only possible through advanced data analytics. For instance, ABC Analysis helps you understand which products are more popular, sell more, and require more stock. Additionally, by leveraging historical data and considering external factors, you can estimate how much product you’ll need through sales forecasting. Freight planning comes into play after these steps. It shows you different freight options, how your products will be shipped from suppliers, how long it will take, and the associated costs.

Let’s continue by delving into why you may need this feature.

Why Do You Need a Freight Planning Tool for Your eCommerce Store?

To understand better, let’s take a closer look at some key factors:

🛍️ Since the pandemic, consumer demand has become unpredictable. This volatility increases the risk of stockouts, especially for eCommerce businesses that lack flexible inventory and freight plans. (World Economic Forum)

🚢 Global shipping rates have skyrocketed due to COVID-19 disruptions and ongoing port congestion, which have been exacerbated by geopolitical issues. Rerouting ships to avoid unstable areas, like the Suez Canal, further extends delivery timelines and costs. (World Economic Forum)

📉 Additionally, rising inflation has made essential resources and energy significantly more expensive. These cost increases directly affect transportation fees and final product prices, impacting profitability for eCommerce brands. (RAND)

In light of the current supply chain challenges, effective freight planning becomes crucial. It helps you optimize purchasing routes, reduce costs, and enhance customer satisfaction. This is especially vital for growing eCommerce stores, where the variety and number of products offered increase significantly. With unpredictable consumer demand and skyrocketing shipping rates, efficient freight planning allows you to respond to changes quickly. Additionally, as rising inflation impacts transportation fees and product prices, freight planning can help maintain profitability by minimizing costs. By using an advanced solution like Fabrikatör for freight planning, you can more accurately compare your suppliers' purchasing routes and costs, ensuring you navigate these challenges effectively.

📌 Read How to Navigate Through Supply Chain Disruptions for eCommerce Brands? for more information.

Let’s summarize the benefits of freight planning for eCommerce businesses to acknowledge its importance more deeply.

The Benefits of a Freight Planning Tool in eCommerce

In addition to other advanced inventory management, freight planning benefits your eCommerce store.

💸 Cost Savings

Comparing purchasing options gives you the edge to choose the most profitable shipping and routes. This way, you can reduce transportation costs and improve your eCommerce store’s profitability. Effective freight planning also helps avoid unexpected costs from delays or mismanaged shipments. If you know a certain route is prone to delays, you can choose an alternative route, preventing extra costs.

Now, let's continue to discover useful suggestions for you to manage the freight planning process more efficiently.

🛍️ Enhanced Customer Experience

Efficient freight planning isn’t just about cost savings—it directly impacts the customer experience. With optimized routes and reliable delivery schedules, customers receive their orders on time, reducing frustration and increasing satisfaction. Freight planning also allows for better stock availability, meaning customers are less likely to encounter out-of-stock items and can complete purchases more easily.

In addition, the accuracy that freight planning brings means fewer shipping errors and returns, both of which improve customer confidence in your store. Consistent, reliable service leads to happier customers, more positive reviews, and repeat purchases—all crucial elements for eCommerce growth.

📊 Data-Driven Procurement Decisions

For a growing eCommerce store, manually tracking all product data, keeping accurate records, and calculating purchasing routes involving multiple suppliers is a huge challenge. Even if you manage to do it, keeping everything updated is almost impossible. However, freight planning allows you to compare and make decisions based on real-time data. This feature saves time and reduces errors, allowing you to manage the procurement process efficiently.

📌 Reminder: Effective freight planning can only be successful with other essential inventory management features. Robust inventory management solutions like Fabrikatör offer essential inventory tracking features and freight planning for eCommerce success. If you want to learn how all these work seamlessly, you can learn more details only in 30 minutes.

Now, let's continue to discover useful suggestions for you to manage the freight planning process more efficiently.

Key Suggestions for Successful Freight Planning in eCommerce

How can you improve freight planning and make it more efficient? Here are some suggestions you can use:

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🤔 Choose the Right Suppliers!

Choosing the right suppliers is key to improving your freight planning. Go for carriers with a solid track record for reliability—this means they consistently deliver on time and handle issues well. Check how they perform with delivery speed and customer service, and ensure they can handle your specific needs and any last-minute changes. Also, make sure their costs fit your budget and offer good value. By picking the right suppliers based on these factors, you’ll make your freight planning smoother, reduce delays, and keep costs in check.

📈 Leverage Demand Forecasting!

Using demand forecasting is essential for optimizing your freight planning. You can better plan your inventory levels and purchasing routes by predicting future demand based on historical data analysis and market trends. This allows you to prepare for peak periods and avoid out-of-stock or overstock situations. Accurate forecasting allows you to make freight plans based on what you need, cut down on wasted resources, and ensure timely deliveries. It makes your whole logistics process more efficient and profitable.

📌 Would you like to keep earning revenue when your store is temporarily out of stock? You can accept backorders! Read Ultimate Guide: Backorder & Preorder.

💻 Optimize Inventory and Procurement Efficiency!

When managing and sourcing inventory, speed is crucial. As your store grows, manually creating purchase orders for multiple products, perhaps using Excel, can drain your time and energy. Similarly, making decisions during the restocking process requires quick and efficient inventory data management. Relying on manual methods like Excel for both processes increases the risk of errors and wastes time, which can reduce the effectiveness of your freight planning. Therefore, adopting advanced software for automation can streamline these processes, making them faster and more accurate.

Are you wondering which solution can support your growing store with advanced forecasting capabilities, automatized replenishment, freight planning, quick purchase orders, and other advanced inventory management features?

Fabrikatör is the Best Freight Planning Tool for eCommerce!

If you have a growing eCommerce store, are facing increasing inventory management challenges, and have realized the need for better freight planning, you’re in the right place! Fabrikatör is an advanced inventory management solution supporting you through this growth process.

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That's why we know what you may need for your eCommerce store and provide them with Fabrikatör:

🚚 Improve your shipping strategy and reduce unnecessary costs with Freight Planning!

📊 Gain actionable insights to make more reliable inventory decisions,

📝 Create purchase orders in seconds,

🚨 Receive alerts for low stock levels and replenish your stock on time,

📦 Accept backorders, manage out-of-stock situations profitably,

📈 Forecast your store's sales and keep inventory prepared,

Fabrikatör achieves more for you with its comprehensive inventory management perspective. Would you like to discover it all in 30 minutes? See Fabrikatör in action!

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FAQ

Can freight planning tools integrate with my Shopify store?

Many freight planning tools, including Fabrikatör, seamlessly integrate with Shopify and Shopify Plus, enhancing your purchasing process without disrupting your existing systems.

How can I choose the right freight planning tool for my business?

To choose the right freight planning tool, consider factors like ease of integration, features offered (such as route optimization and cost analysis), user-friendliness, and customer support.

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