Shipping data can be tricky to manage. First, of course, there are the key metrics you want to keep an eye on, like the number of deliveries, on-time delivery, and the average cost of delivery. However,  it can be beneficial to dig deeper into data and find elements that you may be missing – and that could be costing you. Data doesn’t lie, and it can help you save money in many ways. Here are a few common blind spots in shipping data we recommend looking into.

Order processing times

Processing orders quickly is beneficial for both businesses and their customers. This is the first step in fulfilling an order and can be crucial for quick and accurate delivery. Start by sending an automated email to the customer acknowledging their purchase. This gives them confidence that their order is a priority and is an opportunity to communicate an order’s status and expected delivery time.

Keeping an eye on this metric can also help businesses to be more proactive in order management. For example, quickly processing orders means that inventory will move faster, reducing warehousing costs as products move off the shelves faster. In addition, as orders head into fulfillment more quickly, retailers can choose slower – and more affordable – shipping options that still have reasonable delivery timeframes.

Origin and destinations

Keep an eye on where your parcels start and end their journeys. If a significant amount of orders are made across the country from where your product is located, it could be more efficient to have a dedicated distribution center closer to these common destinations. That way, shipping costs are lower since packages don’t have to travel as far – plus they’ll arrive faster.

This data can also give you better insight and visibility into your carrier delivery data. If carriers are slow to reach customers in certain areas, it may be time to consider using multiple shipping carriers. Different carriers – especially regional carriers – have better access to more remote areas and may be more reliable when delivering packages to these areas on time. By taking a closer look at where your packages are traveling, you can learn more about your customers and find better ways to reach them.

Energy consumption

Running a business requires much energy between offices, factories, and warehouses. Depending on your warehouse, employees may be coming and going throughout all hours of the day and night. Still, if your operation is not running at 100% 24/7, there are possible ways for you to save on energy costs. As IoT becomes a more significant part of logistics operations, it has become easier to track metrics like energy consumption. Leaving lights on and machinery running during non-working times is essentially wasteful. By shutting down unnecessary equipment, businesses can save both energy and money.

Once you gather data about energy use in your warehouse, it’s time to investigate further. Maybe the lights are left on over the weekend. Maybe machinery is left running when not in use. Luckily it is easy to start implementing these changes to save energy, and results can be seen nearly immediately. These savings add up, so it’s likely worth it to explore how much unnecessary energy your shipping operation is using.

Getting the most out of your shipping data

From planning to sales and customer satisfaction, shipping data impacts nearly every aspect of a business. EasyPost, a multi-carrier shipping solution for enterprise clients, and Elevate, a unified data platform, have partnered together to enable their users better analyze their shipping data. We continue to work together to build the best platform to enable our users to get the most out of their shipping data.