The Frustration Of Manual Shipment Tracking In WooCommerce

3.9 million users trust WooCommerce to build their online store. That number is only growing. The customer bases for those online stores are growing as well, as is the amount of shipments they’re making.

WooCommerce store owners know that managing shipments is an essential part of their businesses. However, manually tracking and updating shipment information can be time-consuming and frustrating. With multiple orders to fulfill, it's easy to get overwhelmed and make mistakes that can lead to customer dissatisfaction. 

Manual shipment tracking in WooCommerce involves 

• entering data for each order into the system
• keeping track of multiple packages
• updating shipping statuses
• providing customers with accurate tracking information

This process requires significant time and effort from store owners who should be focused on other aspects of their business. 

In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look through each of these key difficulties that manual shipment tracking with WooCommerce presents. We’ll also look at an exciting alternative that can solve these problems: Packiyo.

What is Manual Shipment Tracking?

Manual shipment tracking is the process of manually entering and updating shipping information for each order in WooCommerce. This involves entering data such as customer details, addresses, package dimensions and weight, carrier information, and tracking numbers. Store owners are then responsible for keeping track of each package's status and providing customers with accurate updates.

WooCommerce Manual Shipment Tracking: The Upsides 

While manual shipment tracking can be frustrating, it does have some benefits. For small-scale stores with low order volumes, manually entering and updating shipping information may not be a significant issue. It also allows for complete control over the process and customization of the tracking information provided to customers.

WooCommerce Manual Shipment Tracking: The Downsides

As we mentioned in the intro, there’s plenty of things lacking in manual shipment tracking with WooCommerce. Here’s a closer look at those negative aspects and how they might look in practice.

Time-Consuming Data Entry

One major pain point for store owners is the time-consuming data entry involved in manual shipment tracking. Every order needs to be manually entered into the system. This entry process can take up valuable time that could be spent on growing the business. Manual data entry also increases the risk of human error, leading to inaccurate information being provided to customers. 

Difficulty Keeping Track Of Multiple Orders

Keeping track of multiple orders and packages at the same time is another challenge. You know how fast orders can accumulate during periods of peak demand or sales events when you’re the owner of a WooCommerce store. It can become overwhelming and lead to errors if you manually monitor each package's status and location.

Inaccurate Information, Leading To Customer Frustration

Dissatisfied customers may be disappointed by inaccurate information provided in the form of manually controlled tracking. Customers will be expecting precise and prompt information about the location of their packages if an order is delayed or disappears. Failure to provide such information could result in negative reviews and a damaged reputation for your shop. 

Lack Of Tracking Updates And Visibility

There is often a lack of visibility for store owners in manual tracking. Customers may require access to real time updates on the status or location of their shipments, but manual tracking makes this impossible on a large scale. This means you and your customers won’t have reliable information. This lack of tracking transparency may also make it difficult to identify problems with the shipping process and fix them as soon as possible. 

You probably know a lot about these problems as the owner of a WooCommerce store, but you may not be aware of an easy solution: advanced shipment tracking.

What is Advanced Shipment Tracking? 

Advanced shipment tracking is a process that automates the entire shipping and tracking process. It provides store owners and customers with real-time visibility into their shipments. This technology can significantly improve the efficiency of your WooCommerce store by 

• streamlining data entry
• reducing errors
• improving customer satisfaction 

Here’s a graphic from WooCommerce that gives you an idea of what their own advanced shipment tracking system looks like:

Source: WooCommerce

According to their website, WooCommerce’s advanced shipment tracking addon includes features like:

• Tracking Per Item
• Auto-Detect Shipping Providers
• Fulfillment Dashboard
• 700+ Shipping Providers And Carriers
• Create A White-Label Shipping Experience
• Create Custom-Named Shipping Providers
• Customize Email Notifications
• Optimize The Woocommerce Fulfillment Workflow
• Tracking Info Widget
• Shipment Tracking API
• Integrates With Your Favorite Shipping Service
• Export Tracking Information To Paypal
• Bulk Import Tracking Numbers
• Compatible With Popular Woocommerce Extensions
• Auto-Track Your Orders With Trackship

While these features may be helpful to some, there are plenty of other options on the market that can fill your advanced shipment management tracking needs.

Consider an Alternative: Packiyo

Not sure how to feel about WooCommerce? Fortunately, there's a way for WooCommerce store owners to streamline the process of tracking shipments through advanced shipment tracking alternatives, like Packiyo. 

Packiyo is a cloud-based warehouse management system (WMS) designed specifically for eCommerce merchants and 3PLs. Store owners can make their shipment tracking process automated with Packiyo and gain access to timely information on the status of shipments' location and destination. 

Packiyo eliminates the manual entry of data with advanced technology (e.g. barcode scanning) and syncs order information from WooCommerce to WMS in an automated manner. It's not only saving time - it's reducing the risk of human error. 

Through its intuitive dashboard, Packiyo enables store owners to track multiple orders and packages at the same time. It is easier to manage and track orders, reducing the risk of errors and delays, by having all shipment information in one place.

Increased accuracy and transparency are among the most important advantages of using Packiyo for advanced shipment tracking. WooCommerce store owners can give customers precise information and improve the overall shopping experience by updating their location and status of each package at regular intervals.

For an overview, Packiyo’s WMS features include:

• eCommerce Channels
• Inventory IMS
• Orders OMS
• Automation Co-Pilot
• Mobile Smart Pick
• Bulk Ship
• Rapid Pack & Ship
• Lots & Expiration
• Replenishment
• Purchase Orders
• Returns Management
• Reporting
• Client Billing (3PL)
• Client Portal (3PL)
• Radical Support

And here’s an idea of what some of their systems look like:

Packiyo boasts a clean and easy to use interface that's organized for you and incredibly intuitive, especially compared to the difficulty of creating your own manual shipment tracking system.

Still not convinced? Let's take a look at the data:

That's right: Packiyo users have seen a double increase in productivity, and Packiyo has an accuracy rate of 99.92% on average.

Avoid the Pain Points with Packiyo

For WooCommerce store owners, manual tracking of shipments can be a time consuming and frustrating process. It can lead to 

• human errors
• difficulties in keeping track of multiple orders
• incorrect information given to customers
• a lack of visibility on the status of consignments

But WooCommerce store owners can streamline their shipping process, reduce time and effort while providing customers with a better shopping experience by using advanced shipment tracking especially with Packiyo's WMS solution.

Take advantage of the latest technology and make your shipment tracking process more efficient. To learn more about how Packiyo can benefit your eCommerce business, please go to our website or contact us through an email or a web form.

Ease your mind of the frustration that comes with manual shipment tracking - discover efficient and accurate WooCommerce order fulfillment with Packiyo!