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Overnight Shipping for Sellers (Everything You Need to Know)
Overnight Shipping: What Is It? And How Does It Work?
According to a LaserShip study, 73% of shoppers consider delivery speed one of the most important factors when purchasing products online, while 24% will cancel an order due to slow delivery.
This clearly shows the importance of fast delivery in e-commerce order fulfilment. To keep up with this market trend, you must provide overnight shipping to your customers. Shipping overnight can take your e-commerce business from standard to exceptional.
But what is overnight shipping? This article explains overnight shipping for sellers, its costs, and best practices. Keep on reading to find out.
Are you looking for a third-party logistics provider to help deliver products to your customers? At Bezos, we provide order fulfilment services and help businesses with storage, picking, packing, despatch and delivery. We provide the fastest overnight shipping services.
Key Points
- Next-day or overnight shipping means delivering your customers' orders overnight so they will get them the next business day.
- For overnight shipping to work, customers must place their orders before the cut-off time so the orders can be processed, sent to the shipping company, and delivered the next day.
- The cost of delivering a package overnight depends on the package dimensions, the weight, delivery time and day, distance and any agreement you have with the delivery company.
- Overnight shipping benefits include customer satisfaction and loyalty and increased sales and revenue.
What Is Overnight Shipping?
Overnight shipping, also known as next-day delivery, is when sellers process and ship their products to customers overnight to ensure they receive them the next business day.
It is the quickest delivery option for e-commerce shoppers because it guarantees they receive what they ordered in the shortest time possible. However, the delivery speed depends on the order time.
Different shipping carriers offering overnight shipping services will set a cut-off time for orders to qualify for next-day delivery. If customers miss the deadline, next-day delivery cannot be guaranteed and may take two business days instead of one. Also, customers who order products over the weekend will wait till the next business day, except the carrier delivers on weekends.
Delivery services that offer overnight shipping have transportation networks spread out across the country, making it easy for sellers to drop off their packages for early morning delivery.
How Does Overnight Shipping Work?
Overnight shipping includes several steps to ensure shoppers receive their orders quickly.
- Customers Placed Their Orders Before the Cut-off Time
Most delivery and fulfilment services set their cut-off time between 6 PM and 7 PM. When customers place their orders on time, the seller will have enough time to process, pick, pack and send them before the carrier's cut-off time for overnight shipping.
- The Package Is Sent to the Shipping Company
After receiving your customers' orders, you or your fulfilment partners prepare them for pick up by packaging and printing shipping labels. After, the packages are forwarded to the delivery company for next-day delivery.
- The Carrier Receives and Processes the Parcel
After receiving the package, it is processed along with other overnight orders and sent to its final destination.
- The Order Is Transported to a Delivery Hub
The package will be delivered to the nearest hub via ground or air, depending on the chosen shipping method. All these tasks occur at night, so customers will receive them the next business day.
- Customers Receive the Orders
Typically it takes one night and a few hours the next day to deliver the package to the customers.
How Much Does It Cost to Ship a Package Overnight?
The cost of shipping a package overnight varies depending on several factors. They are:
- Package Dimension
Delivery services use a pricing model called dimensional weight (DIM weight) to calculate shipping costs.
Package dimensions or DIM weight is the amount of space a package occupies relative to its weight. It is calculated by multiplying the width, length and height and dividing the result by the DIM Factor.
The DIM Factor or DIM divisor is a number set by 3PL providers or carriers representing cubic inches per pound. It becomes the billable weight that determines how much it costs to deliver your package overnight. The formula for calculating package dimensions is
[Length × Width × Height] / DIM Factor
- Delivery Time and Day
How fast you want the package delivered also determines how much you pay. If you want your package delivered within the shortest time possible, you can expect to pay more and vice versa.
Most carriers offer their services on business days only. However, some provide express overnight shipping on weekends for an additional charge. So, if you want your package delivered on weekends, you should expect to pay more for delivery.
- Package Weight
Heavier packages cost more to ship overnight than lighter ones. When the package weight exceeds the DIM weight, most carriers will use it to calculate the shipping cost. It means that the heavier the package, the more it costs to ship.
- Distance
Distance is an important deciding factor when calculating next-day shipping costs. Typically, the farther a package is shipped, the more the cost. So, short distances will incur the cheapest cost, while long distances will incur expensive shipping charges. Aside from that, the more zones are crossed, the more the shipping cost.
- Agreement with the Carrier
Some carriers offer discounts for small businesses, while others offer discounts based on high shipping volume. When choosing package carriers, consider their rate discount.
Overnight Shipping Best Practices
If you have decided to add an overnight shipping option to your store, you can use the tips below to ensure the orders arrive on time when your customers need them.
- Set a Cut-off Time
To make overnight shipping effective, you must make it clear to your customers when they can place their orders if they want them delivered the next day. Clearly state your store cut-off time to avoid misunderstandings and to give you enough time to process orders before sending them to the delivery company.
- Ship from Different Warehouses
Operating from multiple warehouses will ensure that your customers receive their orders on time. When you distribute your inventory across several warehouses located in different places, you can easily ship from the nearest warehouse. Although this can make managing your inventory difficult and costly, it ensures you save time and delivery the package as fast as possible.
- Work with a Reliable 3PL Partner
It would help if you worked with a reliable fulfilment partner that you can count on to deliver on the promise of overnight shipping. Vet the fulfilment partner with due diligence to find one who consistently provides quality services. A good 3PL partner like Bezos will promptly respond to your complaint, feedback and requirements and interact with you regularly.
Choosing a Trusted Third-Party Logistics Provider
Third-party logistics providers can help you to increase delivery efficiency and improve customer service. But, not all 3PL providers are created equal. That is why working with a provider that can deliver is recommended.
- Do your research. Research different 3PL providers before you settle for one. You must consider the provider's reputation by checking the number of positive reviews. Aside from that, you must ensure the provider has the right resources and can integrate with your store.
- Establish a partnership. Look for a fulfilment service you can trust and has compatible work culture and values as your business. This is because logistics solutions require high data sharing and communication. When you partner with the right 3PL provider, your partner can customise a perfect solution for your business.
- Choose a provider that uses technology. Most providers automate the delivery process to increase speed and efficiency. That is why choosing a 3PL provider that uses technology to automate the process guarantees fast delivery.
- Choose a 3PL that maintains a network of locations. Most 3PLs have several warehouses in different locations, which allows them to store and ship your customers' orders from the nearest facility. You should partner with a provider with a network of facilities and the ability to scale to meet your needs.
- Partner with a 3PL provider that is committed to continuous improvement. Providers committed to continuous improvement will pay attention to solution design and invest in facilities, equipment, systems, and human resources for optimal solutions.
Benefits of Next-Day Shipping for Sellers
Overnight or one-day shipping has changed the way sellers ship packages worldwide. It gives your business a competitive advantage that sets it apart from others. Some of the benefits of one-day shipping are listed below.
- Great Customer Satisfaction
Overnight shipping gives you the ability to deliver time-sensitive orders to your customers. Since customers expect fast delivery and don't want to wait for days before they receive their orders, next-day delivery will increase your business's customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.
- Increases Sales and Revenue
Increased customer satisfaction leads to an increase in sales and revenue. This is because your customers will keep returning to your online store since they know they can count on you for speedy delivery.
- Builds Customer Loyalty
The best way to maintain customer loyalty is to ensure that your business has all the goods available when your customers need them. Delivering products late is one reason customers won't return to a store. If you need to ship your package to your customers, overnight delivery ensures speedy arrival and builds customer loyalty.
- Reduce Storage Costs
Since shipping overnight makes your customers buy more of your products and helps free up warehouse space. This, in turn, reduces storage costs.
Let Bezos Handle Your Overnight Shipping
Bezos is a full-service order fulfilment provider that helps pick, pack, store, and deliver your inventory quickly and safely, saving you time and money.
Our mission is to help small and medium e-commerce businesses grow by giving them access to scalable order fulfilment services only for big brands with large budgets.
Some of the reasons we stand out are:
- Customer experience - We help businesses improve customer satisfaction by providing accurate and reliable fulfilment and delivery services.
- Unit economics - Fulfillment and delivery can be expensive if you use the wrong provider. We help you reduce the cost of delivering your customers' orders.
- Time - No need to spend enormous resources to manage your orders because we handle all aspects of the order journey.
- Easy integration - We integrate with WooCommerce, Shopify, Squarespace and 30 more platforms, so we have covered you no matter the CMS you use.
- Real-time visibility - We provide real-time visibility of your orders with a single, easy-to-use dashboard.
- API integration - We provide API integration to help you integrate our system with your store.
- AI solution - Our AI technology automates the fulfilment process and customer communication.
- Quick response - We respond to tickets and issues within three hours.
Conclusion
Overnight shipping is necessary because more and more customers want to receive their orders on time. Businesses selling online must integrate next-day fulfilment services to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
To choose the right third-party logistics provider, you must research, select a partner that uses technology and offers scalable services, and maintain a network of locations.
Ready to add overnight shipping to your ecommerce store? Bezos is your surest partner! We help sellers grow by providing a reliable and fast order fulfilment service that increases customer confidence in your brand.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Should Overnight Shipping Take?
Most carriers will guarantee delivery in 1-2 business days when they overnight your package. The actual time it takes depends on whether customers place their orders before the cut-off time, the day of the week and the distance.
Can You Overnight Internationally?
If you are wondering if you can deliver a package overnight to an international destination, the answer is yes. Most carrier offers overnight shipping to countries overseas, but it may take 3-5 days before the package arrives.
How Does One-Day Shipping Work?
Overnight or one-day shipping means a package should be delivered the next business day. This means the order must be processed before the cut-off time and sent to the carrier for final processing and shipping.
Is It Worth Paying for Overnight Shipping?
Although shipping a package overnight is more expensive than standard shipping, next-day delivery is an excellent option because it guarantees that your customers will receive their orders quickly.
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