UK footwear online retailer ShoeStation Direct has implemented an automated despatch solution from NetDespatch. The company has provided ShoeStation with a streamlined order to despatch solution for all its online orders through its all of its channels including eBay, Amazon and its own e-commerce site.

Prior to the new automated despatch system being launched, staff had to import Exel spreadsheets manually and key in address details for the ones that were rejected. This was time consuming and open to input errors.

Company director of ShoeStation Direct Samuel Quinn said, “We were under pressure and needed to streamline our despatch process. I felt that a fully integrated system would save time, eliminate transcription errors and increase our professionalism from a customer perspective,”

Quinn added: “For tracked parcels, there is a link to tracking information on Royal Mail’s website for our customers, which saves our staff the laborious task of searching and finding a tracking number and then providing it to the customer. Overall, the whole process of this integration has saved us around 15-20 hours a week.”

As businesses grow they find that they need business administration systems in place to help cover their work from receipt at the warehouse to delivery to the customer. There are a number of solutions for this, whether plugged into the existing system as with the case of the NetDespatch system or whole business administration systems such as that provided by Brightpearl that take out the human element for admin except for processing and analysis. Platforms, that may be in house or Software as a Service (SaaS) are available for small to medium sized companies and can really give a competitive advantage when it comes to improving the bottom line in what is often an extremely competitive and cutthroat market. As with hiring an accountant, such systems can often save considerably more than they cost.