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SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS


Key considerations for shipping electronics to customers


With the overall proportion of online retail in the UK increasing, electrical retailers have had to get to grips with delivering direct to consumers on an ever-increasing scale, as well as dealing with the inevitable returns. By Ken Fleming, President of Logistyx Technologies.


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online-only competitors). With the overall proportion of online retail in the UK increasing to a record


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level of 35.2 per cent in January 2021 (according to the Office for National Statistics), electrical retailers who may never have sold online have had to get to grips with delivering direct to consumers on an ever-increasing scale, as well as dealing with the inevitable returns. When shipping electronics, your first concern is likely keeping the items safe


from any damage in transit. But many electronics products – especially those with lithium batteries – whilst entirely safe for individuals to have and use, are considered hazardous materials (hazmat) whilst in transport. They require extra consideration due to various regulations, such as the European agreement, with its catchy title, ‘Accord européen relatif au transport international des marchandises dangereuses par route,’ known as ADR, that protects shippers, carriers and consumers from potentially dangerous situations.


Here are my three tips to ship electronics safely:


1. Label correctly: As the shipper, it is your responsibility to make sure packages are labelled in accordance with the regulations along your packages’ route, or you could be liable for any damages caused and/or subject to hefty fines for non-compliance.


2. Optimise carriers: You might need to be strategic about how you manage and co-ordinate your carriers, since placing too many hazardous materials on one vehicle boosts its hazardous load, leading to increased fees and more robust (and expensive) carrier safety requirements. To avoid this, it most often makes sense to split a parcel shipment between


multiple carriers, a process made easy with an intelligent multi-carrier shipping system for parcels, which can automatically dispatch shipments across multiple carriers to optimise speed, safety, and cost savings.


3. Pack smartly: When packaging electronics for shipment, you must ensure the goods are properly secured, preventing any undue damage or potential safety risks en route. In most cases, this means investing in packaging that encapsulates and protects the electronics from touching any outside metals (to prevent short circuiting), with tightly packed filler materials (to prevent damage from movement), and protective coverings for on/off switches to prevent accidental activation. You may also want to consider security seals to give peace of mind that


devices have not been tampered with during the shipping process in a way that might damage their hazardous components.


lectronics was one of the fastest growing sectors in terms of online sales in 2020 – up 90.8 per cent – with particularly large growth amongst multichannel retailers (up 57 per cent year-on-year versus 9.1 per cent for


Don’t forget returns Inevitably, as e-commerce sales grow, so will returns – especially as consumers become less likely to demo products in store before purchase. How returns are handled impacts both the quality of the customer experience as well as the associated shipping costs. Your returns strategy will very often depend on calculating the underlying


costs. If a £10 product costs £5 to ship each way, it makes more sense to let the customer keep it. On the other hand, getting a high-value product returned as quickly as possible to the right distribution centre, warehouse, or individual store might cost more, but enables a fast turnaround time for resale. Multi-carrier parcel shipping can play a critical role in keeping returns costs


low whilst meeting time requirements by giving customer service teams multiple options from which to choose the most appropriate and cost-efficient carrier service when processing a return. Whether returns are initiated by the customer or proactively prepared by the


retailer at point of sale, it is vital that appropriate labels – including hazmat if required – and packaging are also used for return shipping, making it as easy as possible for the consumer, as well as ensuring your company is protected from any undue fines or liabilities.


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