En tant qu'entrepreneur, you know how important it is to provide great customer service. That includes ensuring your customers get their orders on time and in great condition. The key to this is having the right shipping labels for ecommerce stores.
Dans cet article, we’ll explain the need for shipping labels and how to create, acheter, and print them. We’ll also share best practices for creating shipping labels and share how to get them at a discount.
What Are Shipping Labels?
Shipping labels contain information about the shipment, such as the sender’s address, the recipient’s address, and other details related to the package.
Shipping labels are often printed onto sticker paper or thermal paper, making them easy to affix onto packages and waterproof so they won’t be damaged in transit.
A shipping label usually includes the following information:
- Qui a expédié le colis, j'.e. son lieu d'origine
- Lorsque le colis est livré pour (j'.e. sa destination)
- Le poids de l'emballage
- D'expédition classe (express, pour la nuit, etc.)
- Numéro de suivi
- Routage code postal de suivi.
A shipping label can also show billing status (par exemple, pré-payés), niveau de service, et plus.
Let’s look into a real-life example of a shipping label to understand its contents better. Here is a USPS shipping label:
Let’s break down the contents of the shipping label in our example.
L' service icon block indicates different USPS services:
- Le Courrier De Priorité
- Courrier De Première Classe
- First-Class Package Service
- Le Courrier De Priorité Express
- USPS Retail Ground
- Media-Mail
Dans notre exemple, P stands for Priority Mail. Gardez à l'esprit que cela ne s'applique qu'à USPS. Other providers might have different service types.
L' service type banner states the type of delivery as denoted by the block above. Dans ce cas, it’s Priority Mail.
L' postage payment area is for showing postage payment information. This section should include the class of mail (comme “Pièce Unique” ou “Triés”), la ville et l'état de la licence, et le numéro de permis.
Avec USPS, retailers can apply for a Permit Imprint which allows them to pay for and print shipping information in bulk.
L' return address is the address where the package should return in case of non-delivery. Dans la plupart des cas, ce serait l'adresse de votre entreprise. If you outsource shipping to a third party, you will use their address here.
L' delivery address is the address you’re shipping the package to. En plus de l'adresse, vous devez également inclure itinéraire de livraison de code de l'information et de la Distribution au Détail des Codes (RDC). This is a four-digit number placed next to the zip code. Il permet de mail gestionnaires figure la route à prendre pour livrer le produit. USPS automatically generates this code for you when you use their site to print your labels.
L' tracking code section includes the code you and your customers can use to track the orders. Usually this code is generated automatically.
L' additional information section contains any additional details about the package, comme la date d'expédition ou de poids.
La plupart des étiquettes d'expédition de suivre le même schéma. Habituellement, you just have to fill out the customer’s address, the return address, and the dimensions of your parcel. The rest is generated automatically by your shipping provider or your shipping software.
Why Are Shipping Labels Important?
Shipping labels help machines and humans in your supply chain—storage warehouse, douanes, courrier, etc.—understand your package origins and its shipping destination.
Comme vous pouvez l'imaginer, l'échec de la création clair étiquettes d'expédition peut entraîner de la logistique de la catastrophe. You can lose packages en route, livrer le mauvais paquet et causer des dommages à long terme à l'expérience de vos clients.
Correct shipping labels provide accurate information about the shipment, which helps ensure that it reaches its destination quickly and safely. They also help speed up delivery times by providing clear instructions for couriers and carriers on where to deliver the package. De cette façon, they can help reduce the loss of packages because they contain valuable information that can be used to trace a package if it gets lost.
How To Create, Acheter, and Print Shipping Labels
Creating shipping labels is relatively simple if you have the right tools and resources available to you.
There are two options to create shipping labels—manually through your shipping provider’s website or automatically through shipping software.
Creating Shipping Labels Manually
This is a slow method to create shipping labels, but it works if you’re dealing with low volume or are using an ecommerce platform without built-in shipping label integration.
Every major shipping service provider allows you to create and buy shipping labels on their website, y compris USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.
The information you provide for creating and buying a label is almost always the same:
- Votre (société) name and the name of the recipient
- Shipping weight and dimensions
- Shipping origin
- Shipping destination
- Type of shipping service
- Any additional service options (par exemple, insurance if you’re shipping a valuable order)
After you fill in all the required information, you’ll be asked to add a payment option. After paying for it, you’ll be able to print your label.
Filling in shipment details for buying a shipping label on the UPS website
Après avoir imprimé une étiquette d'expédition, you put it on your parcel and drop it off at the nearest post office. Some postal services also allow requesting a package pickup from your house.
Creating Shipping Labels Automatically
Heureusement, if your ecommerce platform integrates with the most popular shipping providers, you can spend way less time (and often money) creating and buying shipping labels.
If you sell online with Ecwid par Lightspeed, you can buy and imprimer des étiquettes d'expédition right from your Ecwid admin. All you have to do is click a couple of vital buttons. The shipping labels are automatically prefilled with customers’ information to save you time and avoid typos.
Not only does that save you time, but it’s also more convenient. Vous n'avez pas besoin d'avoir un compte tiers pour commander les étiquettes d'expédition. No need to remember access credentials or share credit card information.
You can buy a shipping label from the order details page in your Ecwid admin
The best part about buying labels in your Ecwid admin is that it saves you shipping costs. Labels bought through your Ecwid admin are discounted, significantly saving you money, especially when you ship many orders or expédier à l'international.
You can also choose to automatically assign a tracking number to the order and email shipment details to the customer. De nouveau, less time is spent managing shipping labels and tracking numbers!
You can choose from different shipping services when buying a label in your Ecwid admin
The built-in shipping label tool is available for sellers from the US, Allemagne, Belgique, and the Netherlands. Suivre ces instructions to buy and print discounted shipping labels from your Ecwid admin.
If you are from another country, you can buy shipping labels using apps from our Marché De L'App.
After you automatically generate a label and print it from your Ecwid admin, you put it on your parcel and either drop it off at the nearest post office or request a pickup by a postal worker.
Best Practices For Creating Shipping Labels
When creating shipping labels, there are a few best practices that should be followed to ensure accuracy and efficiency:
- Make sure all of the information included on your label is correct before printing and double-check all addresses.
- Use high-quality materials for printing so that your label won’t fade.
- Consider investing in a professional label printer if you ship a lot of orders.
- Take advantage of bulk discounts when buying multiple labels. Ou, switch to an ecommerce platform that provides discounted shipping labels, like Ecwid by Lightspeed.
What Is a Packing Slip?
En plus des étiquettes d'expédition, vous devez également inclure un bordereau d'expédition (also called a “waybill”) avec votre forfait.
A packing slip is a document that accompanies the package and contains information about the contents of the shipment. It usually looks something like this:
A packing slip is usually included inside a package and contains the following:
- Le nom de votre entreprise, logo, et adresse
- L'adresse du client
- La date de la commande et le numéro de commande
- Les coordonnées du client
- Les noms, les quantités, and prices of each item included in the package
- Service à la clientèle de contact en cas de problèmes avec le produit
- Commentaires facultatifs.
Le bordereau d'expédition est essentiellement une clientèle de réception. En plus d'agir comme une preuve de réception, it also tells customers what’s included in their package—particularly helpful when you’re shipping multiple items spread across multiple packages.
Cependant, l'emballage n'est pas nécessaire pour l'expédition. Votre service d'expédition ne sera pas l'esprit si vous n'avez pas l'inclure dans le package.
Habituellement, vos frais d'expédition ou de facturation logiciel permet également de créer des bordereaux d'emballage. You can also create a packing slip yourself in Google Sheets or Excel using templates like cette.
Si vous vendez en ligne avec Ecwid par Lightspeed, it saves you time with packing slips too. Vous pouvez utiliser printable invoices as your packing slips. They contain your company name and address, the buyer’s name and ship-to address, the payment method and shipping method they’ve chosen for their order, information about the ordered products, and an itemized order total.
Invoices are generated automatically for your orders and you can print them with just a click. You can also customize your invoice template if needed.
An example of a printable invoice in an Ecwid store that can be used as a packing slip
Sinon, vous pouvez utiliser la Impression Designer app from the Ecwid App Market to create and print packing slips.
Emballer
Shipping labels are an essential part of running an ecommerce business as they ensure accurate delivery times and protect against loss of packages during transit. It’s important to understand how shipping labels work to create accurate ones for your customers quickly and efficiently without spending too much time and money in the process.
En suivant ces conseils, you will save money and gain peace of mind knowing your customers will receive their orders safely every time.
