Why Are Split Shipments Used?

If you’ve ever wondered why different items in an order you’ve placed come at different times – you’ll want to know about Split Shipments. There are lots of practical reasons that Split Shipments occur – from simply being unable to fit all the items into the same box, to products being warehoused in separate locations. ShipJoy can explain what these things are, and why they take place.

Why Do Split Shipments Happen? 

Sometimes, mailing items from a single order in different packages are unavoidable. There are several reasons why a Split Shipment might take place:

The products are warehoused separately – quite frequently, eCommerce companies will store their inventory in more than one place. They may also have different stock levels in each location. If a customer places an order containing items in each of these places, one fulfilment centre might supply one item, and an alternative fulfilment centre might supply another.  To get products to you quicker, these items will be sent separately. 

The items won’t fit in the same package – it can also be the case that the items ordered together simply don’t fit into one parcel. This may be the case especially with larger items or with items that are fragile and require lots of packing material to keep them intact during transit. 

Moves such as greater accuracy in demand forecasting and optimizing your supply chain can reduce the need for Split Shipments – which is where ShipJoy can help! Ensuring enough stock to meet trends in demand, understanding the behaviour of your buyers and knowing how sales are affected by factors such as seasonal demand and sales can help you to make the adjustments to minimize occurrences of this. Contact us today to help get your eCommerce fulfilment operation running smoothly.