E-commerce Shipping AU
It is a matter of three considerations when it comes to e-commerce shipping options here in Australia: the location of your clientele, the nature of your wares and the degree of control you wish to have on fulfilment. Be it Australia Post, StarTrack, Aramex, CouriersPlease, PACK & SEND, Transdirect, Sendle, DHL eCommerce or a 3PL provider, they are all well suited to one situation or another.
We put e-commerce logistics across Australia in plain English in this guide. It covers how courier services, software platforms, aggregators and third-party logistics operate, the pitfalls for an online retailer and the way to build a delivery system that will not disintegrate once an order leaves the suburbs. Then there is Daniel Crowe’s rule of thumb: do not make any promises your warehouse, customer service or courier cannot be relied upon to keep.
Shipping for Australian Stores
There are postal networks, freight brokers, outsourced fulfilment, shipping software and direct couriers for an Australian online store to pick from. Whether one requires domestic or international shipping Australia-wide, the mix will be dictated by order volume, parcel size, speed of delivery and where the customer is. These options can support building a digital sales channel.
A small concern may be content to put out shipping labels and drop off at the post office. A retailer on the up will have ShipStation linked to Shopify or like platform to put rates through an Australian courier aggregator and employ more than one carrier. For a bigger operation, e-commerce fulfilment in Australia with a 3PL to handle the warehousing, last-mile and the picking and packing is the way to go.
Make The Service Work For The Parcel
Whether it is a satchel, a carton or something temperature-sensitive, transport issues will arise. And if the carrier wants to charge for dimensional weight, a re-delivery or remote area, a cheap quote is an expensive error.
Put down the dimensions and packed weight of your usual orders before you start to compare; factor in the packaging as well. There is no problem with a jumper in a satchel but a framed print or flat-pack chair bound for the Pilbara is another matter altogether.
Delivery Model
Do not be seduced by the cheapest carrier, for the label price is not the whole story. A tardy parcel means support tickets, replacements and customers left dissatisfied, so take the full cost into account.
Have a look at your order profile. What proportion is going to the metro versus regional or remote? What is the average weight and dimension of the parcel, the dispatch numbers, the returns and how many opt for express?
Run A Comparison
Take your shipment data and put in for a quote from each provider. Get rates for interstate, remote and regional as well as metro-to-metro and, where applicable, overseas.
Then see what the fine print says on collection and cut-off times, tracking, insurance, claims and prohibited items. Make sure the rate you are quoted has fuel levies, GST, address correction and any peak or residential surcharges factored in.
| Shipping Model | Best For | Main Advantage | Common Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postal network | Small parcels and wide coverage | Gets to regional areas and lockers | Tracking and speed are variable |
| Direct courier | Metro and interstate regulars | Commercial rates and scheduled collections | Service is a postcode lottery |
| Courier aggregator | Those wanting to shop around | Centralised booking from one account | Support can be an intermediary |
| Freight specialist | Unusual or fragile consignments | Transport advice and handling | More costly and time consuming to quote |
| 3PL fulfilment | Repeatable volume from a growing store | Dispatch and warehousing are in hand | Minimums and pick fees |
Some Things To Consider With Australian Couriers
They are not all the same. In terms of account support, claims, tracking and the like, each has its own forte.
Look at the service map and measure it against your own. What is fine in Sydney or Melbourne will not serve you in the Top End or a small town in Western Australia. Basing your delivery word on city performance is asking for trouble in those parts.
The Postal Network
For a small to medium sized online store, Australia Post is a sensible place to begin. The broad domestic coverage, post office and locker access are hard to beat, not to mention for the customer who is seldom in and would rather collect from a nearby locker. For business freight, express and high volume shipping one is likely to look at StarTrack. But how well it fits will be a matter of your account set up, what you need in the way of collections, the nature of the parcels and where they are going; make sure to put your own shipment profile to the test in any comparison.
Then there is Aramex or CouriersPlease for certain metro, interstate or B2C lanes. Do not be guided by the national headline on coverage and performance, which can vary from one franchise or depot to the next, have a look at the delivery record from where you actually dispatch.
Freight And Specialist Services
If a consignment calls for some specialist handling or more involved packaging, PACK & SEND has its uses. It is an option for the odd or oversized item, or anything fragile that a satchel service cannot accommodate.
Transdirect is of assistance to businesses wanting to put transport arrangements in place for pallets, parcels and the like and compare their options. Consider it if your product range does not lend itself to being put in standard courier packaging.
With DHL eCommerce one may find what is needed for some domestic or cross-border parcels. Before you put out an advertisement for worldwide delivery on international orders, take stock of the customs support, duties and taxes, prohibited items and the return process.
Shipping Software And Aggregators
There is less repetitive administration when shipping software is in place to tie together the orders, carriers, labels, tracking and notifications to the customer. An Australia courier aggregator is handy for rate comparisons should a carrier prove unreliable on a given lane.
ShipStation is a case in point for centralising the workflow, while Sendle could be of interest to a smaller operation wanting something straightforward in the booking department. The issue is not so much the length of the feature list as whether the system will keep errors out of your day to day dispatching.
Automate The Boring Bits
The right software will do the importing of orders, put in place service rules, put out the labels and tracking, and put a flag on any address that warrants it. Rules can be put in to have an urgent order go via express, or to bar a service for fragile stock, or pick another carrier for a remote postcode.
Put some numbers to it each month: the time to dispatch and deliver, the cost per order, the percentage of late deliveries and damage, returns and any support contacts over delivery. That will tell you if a lower cost carrier is in fact saving you anything.
A mistake most make is to think automation is a cure for bad packaging data. Inaccurate or absent dimensions on a product and the platform will be prone to picking the wrong service or rate, or producing a label you have to put right by hand.
When A 3PL Makes Sense
You can leave the warehousing, receiving, the picking and packing, fulfilment and even returns to third-party logistics. In Australia 3PL fulfilment is best when you would rather not have internal handling encroach on the time and space required for product development and selling.
Do not assume it is the cheaper route. There are fees for storage, pick-and-pack, account management, minimum monthly outlays and the like with a 3PL. What you are paying for is the expertise and consistency.
Know The Break-Even Point
Set the 3PL’s total cost against what you are putting in internally. Factor in the wages, rent, shelving, insurance, equipment and mistakes. And the opportunity cost of being out folding cartons in the evening when you should be running the business.
It works for a store with a steady volume and a product range in check, but perhaps not for the highly customised or irregular unless the 3PL has a way of dealing with it. Get details on inventory accuracy, cut-offs for same-day dispatch, e-commerce integration and what happens with damaged stock or a service escalation. Ask how they stand up to a sales event or Christmas, or when the weather and carriers cause disruption. You will see who can handle it.
Domestic And International Delivery
Cross-border is more of a proposition than shipping across Australia but even here you need to be realistic about service zones. Expect surcharges and different delivery times for the capital cities and regional or remote areas.
Selling internationally means you are looking at extra work with customs, currency, duties and the consumer rules of the destination. Resist the temptation of an optimistic click to open up worldwide delivery and begin with a few countries.
Plan For Regional Reality
Make your delivery zones reflect the postcodes. Out in the regions and remote areas there are longer distances, fewer runs and the odd handover between networks. Up north the wet season will have an effect on road transport, down south you have to contend with bushfire and severe weather closing in on you.
Before the customer checks out, put an estimated delivery window in front of them and make it plain that dispatch and transit are two different things. A commitment to same-day dispatch is not a guarantee of same-day delivery; it is an assurance the parcel will be on its way from your operation in short order, provided you have the stock and the order comes in ahead of the cut-off.
Customs: No Surprises
On international orders you must have the right product description, tariff data, declared value, country of origin and documentation in place. While a carrier or broker can lend some Customs support to avoid errors, it is up to the seller to put forward accurate information. If one needs to check on import requirements, the guidance for Australian businesses from the Australian Border Force is a good place to start. Do not forget to look at the latest rules before venturing into new markets, as they are subject to change.
Ways to Trim Fulfilment and Delivery Costs
An online store can see its shipping costs come down with better packaging, more precise dispatch and sensible allocation of carriers. The art of it is to eliminate waste without penalising the customer for his or her order.
Packaging should be measured by the product group. There is merit in sustainable packaging if it is efficient and does its job of protecting the product; a box that looks the part but is half empty is no less costly for all that. Durable and recyclable materials will do much to curtail damage and the need for replacements, and a well-fitting carton will keep dimensional charges in check.
- Put in place unambiguous shipping rules for each product group based on their weight and dimensions.
- And hold off on any negotiation of account rates until you have a firm grasp on what your volume, service and destinations are actually like.
- Where it is appropriate to your operations and clientele, there is no harm in offering a free-shipping threshold, click and collect or parcel lockers.
- Check the address, labels, stock and packaging instructions prior to collection to limit rework.
- Returns warrant a separate review since the cost of reverse logistics can put a dent in an otherwise cheap outbound rate.
Shipping: Price it Right
There is the simplicity of flat-rate shipping, but small orders may be overcharged and bulky ones undercharged. Free shipping will improve conversion if the margin is there to cover the average cost of shipping and packaging and the odd remote-area expense.
Let the order data speak for itself. Should 30 per cent of your orders be going regional or interstate while the other 70 per cent are lightweight metro parcels, a single national flat rate could be letting a lot of margin slip through. A tiered approach covering standard, express, remote-area and bulky is a fairer proposition.
Make the Delivery Experience Count
In the eyes of the customer, delivery is part of the product. Some silence can turn a routine delay into a disappearing act, whereas sensible options and tracking will put a stamp of dependability on even a modest service.
Be sure to inform the customer once an order is in and when it has been dispatched, and how to follow its progress. Make clear where a parcel can be picked up, if authority to leave is an option and what the protocol is in the event of no one being at home. Have your support team on hand with the carrier details, tracking number and the delivery window you have put forward.
Reality and Expectation
The expectation is that express means next day. In reality those services are at the mercy of carrier capacity, the weather, public holidays and weekends, as well as postcode coverage and cut-off times. One might think tracking gives an instant read on every movement. There is an expectation that free delivery comes at no expense to the store. In fact one will find the cost has been factored into the product margin, the pricing or the overall fulfilment budget. As for tracking, do not be surprised if it lags a little between scans in the course of a transfer or handover.
I was made aware early on after moving to regional Victoria that the distance on a map is only half the story. E-commerce is no different: a parcel making its way a couple of hundred kilometres from city to city can be more predictable than one going a shorter hop to some out of the way community. One should make transport conditions the basis of any promise, not what the ruler says.
A Reliable Delivery System
An e-commerce shipping solution in Australia is only as good as your team’s ability to put it through its paces on a routine Tuesday or in the thick of a sale weekend. Put in place a carrier you can rely on and have the process down on paper; bring in a second to bolster your coverage or price point where warranted.
Shipping is part of the customer experience right from the product listing when you are putting up a digital sales channel. Be in the habit of looking over the data, put packaging to the test prior to launch and have a word with carriers over problem lanes. And keep your promises within bounds so they can stand up to a wet week, a public holiday or the odd parcel that fancies the long way round.
Frequently Asked Shipping Questions
For the Australian business weighing up fulfilment providers, software and carriers these are the issues that tend to come up. You will seldom get “one provider is best” for an answer; more often it is the one that accords with your service promise, postcodes and products.
What Are The Shipping Options Available In Australia?
You will see most stores running a mix of services instead of one for all orders. There is Australia Post, StarTrack, Aramex, CouriersPlease, PACK & SEND, Transdirect, Sendle, DHL eCommerce and freight specialists to name a few, as well as direct courier accounts, click and collect, parcel lockers, courier aggregators and 3PLs for outsourced work.
What Are The Top Five E-Commerce Platforms In Australia?
Do not put too much stock in a fixed ranking. The right platform is the one that has a sound connection to your inventory, payment and customer service side of things, and suits your reporting, integrations and catalogue.
What Is Logistics In E-Commerce?
Simply put it is the management and movement of stock and orders to the customer from the warehouse or supplier. That means warehousing and inventory control, picking and packing, labels and carrier collection, then tracking and last-mile delivery, returns and in some cases customs.
Which Shipping Company Is Best For E-Commerce?
No universal winner exists. For broad access there is Australia Post, StarTrack for business freight, a direct courier for metro volume and perhaps an aggregator like Transdirect for those who like to compare. A 3PL is the answer for a store wanting to outsource. Run them by your support needs, delivery commitments and actual packed dimensions.
How Much Should Australian Shipping Cost?
Any given price is subject to change according to weight, distance, speed, fuel levies, insurance, whether it is residential or remote and account volume. To know the true landed fulfilment cost as opposed to the figure on the label, take real parcels and get quotes.
