In a recent article by Tom Linton, Professor of Supply Chain Management, it was mentioned, “We are at the beginning of the 4th industrial revolution driven by emerging technologies, identifying over 50 technological advances that will affect the future of supply chains in terms of design, manufacture, labour, sales, and delivery.” A few examples of supply chain advancements include the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to monitor and track inventory for the development of real-time data, which allows businesses to streamline their inventory and predict future trends and the introduction of machines such as robots, autonomous vehicles, and drones to enhance the manufacturing and delivery process.
With e-commerce disrupting the retail market, most of the customers are choosing to shop online in order to receive goods directly at their houses. In a bid to compete with big companies such as Amazon, retailers are increasingly offering a wide range of competitive delivery options, including immediate day, next-day, and even one-hour delivery with detailed tracking information to ensure customer satisfaction. At the production end of the supply chain, little can be done to cut production costs, so optimizing the accuracy and value of shipping becomes imperative to increased returns. The use of shipping software automates the delivery process, reduces the possibility of human error, and ensures selection of the most cost-effective shipping option based on the consumer requirements.
Based in UK, Shiptheory is revolutionising the supply chain processes by utilisation of automation to provide flexible shipping rules, easy to print labels, seamless integration for print automation, real-time shipment metrics, and 24/7 support service.
Evolving Shipping Processes for Cost-Effective Trades
Shiptheory automates the shipping process to save retailers’ time and money. It permits retailers to create a one-time set of shipping rules based on the destination, weight, and value of individual products. To make it simpler, Shiptheory selects the most cost-effective mode of delivery and carrier every time a sale is made. Shipping labels are automatically generated which are ready for printing, and tracking information is passed on to the customer. With its flexible shipping rules engine, Shiptheory enables users to create simple and complex shipping rules. Such shipping rules control how orders are sent with carriers based on weight, order value, and destination.
Adding the label function, Shiptheory’s sleek, friendly, and intuitive user interface makes it easy to print labels, which is gathered in one place for ease of labelling. Users get the access to real-time shipment metrics to gain a complete insight of orders’ shipping movements. The leading supply chain service provider’s In-Depth Reporting suite offers the important decision making data which further helps in spotting the cost reduction and service improvement opportunities ahead of the competition. In addition, Shiptheory provides 24/7 support regardless of the clients’ business size. The team behind the growing company have been automating shipping for almost 10 years. In cases where other shipping services are commonly affiliated with individual carriers, Shiptheory is an independent company. With the elimination of the middle-men, it offers a greater range of savings on their shipping. The Shiptheory platform is also fully-configurable so it links with all the existing workflows like synchronisation with web-store and Accounting-ERP software.
Moving Forward With Co-founders’ Intelligence and Passion towards Innovation
The Co-founders of Shiptheory, Mark and James Mikkelson are the brother-duo with the vision to transform product shipping. After 10 years of developing shipping and payment processing software for customers ranging from start-ups to multi-national organisations, the dynamic duo established Shiptheory in 2015. Both Co-founders are passionate about creating innovative solutions to mundane, everyday tasks. Shiptheory is designed to save retailers money, but more importantly, it saves retailers’ time which they can spend focusing on more important aspects of the business, or pursuing other interests.
Previously the successful Co-founders worked at Mad Capsule Media where they developed a wide range of Magento extensions that became crucial to thousands of Magento stores, automating shipping label and manifesting production. In addition to creating many popular Magento extensions, James and Mark also developed bespoke applications in CakePHP, Python, and Javascript. In 2008, James began developing e-commerce integration software, compatible with Magento. After building a popular and trusted portfolio of Magento extensions, while bridging the gap between UK Carriers and Magento stores, James and Mark Co-founded Shiptheory.
Achieving Enormous Success and Development of Team Members
Shiptheory has an incredibly close-knit team where every team member possesses a special expertise, which makes a real difference. Team members are valued for the work they do. All team members are offered designated personal development time, flexible working hours, and a free working environment. Furthermore, an ongoing support and training programmes are provided for the team’s continuous development. Shiptheory believes in the fact that the new team members have to be open and honest with good collaboration with their fellow employees. They should also have excellent initiative and hands-on problem-solving capabilities along with the motivation and a drive to succeed.
Future Expansion in the Market with the Aim to Assist More Retailers
In the coming year, Shiptheory aims to expand its services to help more retailers save time and money. Furthermore, they intend to improve their platform by adding more global channels and partners, which will support them and expand globally to deliver large number of both domestic and international shipping rates and options. Likewise, Shiptheory plans to streamline the ever-increasing number of logistics networks to provide highly reliable services.
