Survey: Retailers unprepared to handle holiday shipping

A Temando survey conducted by Research Now revealed that 76 percent of all retailers are not well prepared to handle shipping delays and uncertainty during the holiday season.    The majority of retailers are not well prepared to handle several shipping issues during the holiday season, according to a Temando survey conducted in Oct. 2015 by digital data collection company Research Now.
   Temando, meaning “I send you” in Spanish, is a shipping and fulfilment software platform for commerce.
   The survey revealed that 76 percent of all retailers are not well prepared to handle shipping delays and uncertainty during the holiday season. Only 15 percent of micro retailers are prepared for the delays and uncertainty, while 29 percent of small-sized retailers are prepared, 28 percent of mid-sized retailers are prepared and 19 percent of enterprise retailers are prepared.
   As far as offering customers multiple shipping options, larger retailers reported being more prepared to do so than smaller retailers.
   Retailers reported that meeting customer expectations (27 percent), increased courier rates (28 percent) and a lack of automation (19 percent) are important shipping difficulties they face.
   The survey polled over 200 retailers in each of four countries – the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and France. 
   Micro retailers are classified as retailers that ship less than 20 deliveries per week, while small-sized retailers ship 21-100 deliveries per week, mid-sized retailers ship 101-20,000 deliveries per week and enterprise retailers ship over 20,000 deliveries per week.
   “Shipping and fulfilment are highly complex and important processes not only for business operations, but for keeping customers happy,” Temando CEO and co-founder Carl Hartmann said in a statement. “Several factors contribute to retailers’ shipping issues, such as warehouse management, supply chain, organizational complexity, shipping volume and technology to name a few. In many cases, large and small retailers can solve their shipping challenges with smart investments in software and hardware technology.”