A shipping label may appear small and an insignificant part of the E-commerce. But it is vital for both inward and outward logistics and it facilitates the process of order fulfillment.
It is an identification label that contains all the necessary information about the package. Shipping labels may vary depending upon the carrier you use however more or less they provide similar information such as the address, name, weight, and barcode for tracking. A lack of a concise shipping label can result in an order being misplaced or mishandled. Failure in order fulfillment can cause an unpleasant customer experience and eventually permanent damage to your brand name.
How do shipping labels work?
Shipping labels provide information about the correct destination, enable tracking through each stage of the fulfillment process, and help in knowing about any special instructions such as fragile or priority shipping.
Since they need to be read and understood by both humans and machines, shipping labels need to have a unique design. Carriers or shipping service providers design shipping labels optimized precisely for their process of delivery and sorting.
How to create a shipping label?
These are usually generated during order processing. The shipping labels have specific requirements and you cannot create a new template or fill out a shipping label manually.
There are mainly two ways to create a shipping label:
- 1. You can generate a shipping label through a shipping provider for a single order
- 2. You can opt for a fulfillment partner or a shipping aggregator to automate the shipping label generation, printing, and allotment.
If you are fulfilling orders in-house from your online shop, there are many websites that can assist you with brother shipping labels generation and management.
How can I print shipping labels?
There are commonly two ways to print shipping labels:
Standard Inkjet or Laser Printer
These printers are fine in order to print a handful of labels. You can even avoid using these printers as they consume a lot of ink which increases the cost. The labels also need some sort of adhesive to stick to the package.
Thermal Label Printer
These printers are mainly designed to print labels and these are the more preferred option for printing shipping labels. They don’t need ink and all they need is the rolls of label printing paper. The printing is done by heat which allows the paper to display information. However, these are expensive equipment and would benefit only if you have to print in bulk.
Where to put shipping labels on the package?
Shipping labels are placed on a variety of packages. It ensures that they are easily visible and scannable without any fault.
Larger parcels having electronics often come with labels like THIS WAY UP. In situations like these, accurate placements of the shipping labels become more critical.
Tips for placement:
• Make sure it sticks in the package completely, with no side hanging out.
• Ensure that there are no bumps.
• Ensure that none of the edges are folded.
• If the location is prone to rain, cover the shipping labels with thin plastic lamination.
This is all for this blog. If you are worrying about the cost of Brother shipping labels, look forward to buying quality Brother compatible shipping labels.
