In today’s fast-paced world of eCommerce, time is of the essence for any business. If you are in the print-on-demand (POD) business, you can automate your workflow to save time and money. In this blog, we will walk you through the steps necessary for print-on-demand automation from shipping, inventory, and marketing management.
What is Print-on-Demand Automation?
As a print-on-demand seller, you must be able to meet your customer’s needs quickly and efficiently. You need a workflow that will help you to get each order ready for shipment as soon as it is placed while not compromising the quality of the product. That’s where Print-on-demand automation comes in.
Automation simplifies a business’s essential operations, requiring less human effort to run. In the print-on-demand business, automation means having access to technology that does much of your work for you. While this approach is not a replacement for human work, it allows businesses to generate profitable sales while spending as little time as possible on each order.
Why is Print-on-Demand Business Automation Important?
Automation is critical for print-on-demand businesses because it allows you to scale your operations. Here are the reasons why you should use automation for your business.
1. Time saver
Automation on your business can help you save time on order processing, shipping, inventory, and marketing management.
2. More orders
Automation is often more efficient than manual processes. The tools that you use can get more orders out the door faster. Using print-on-demand automation can help you grow your sales without hiring more people.
3. Less pressure
An automated system can take some pressure off you and your team. It allows you to focus on your core competencies and other important tasks.
4. Greater efficiency
Automation can improve your bottom line by helping you to become more efficient and scalable.
5. Fewer errors
If you see a surge in sales in one week, you don’t have to hire more employees to meet that demand. You can let automation do most of the work for you. Moreover, automated systems are often more reliable than manual processes, meaning fewer errors and less stress for you and your team.
6. More opportunities
Regardless of your POD business size, automation can help you scale your operations to remain efficient while also taking advantage of growth opportunities.
What Workflows Does Print-on-Demand Automation Cover?
One of the best ways to automate your print-on-demand business is to hire a print-on-demand (POD) vendor. POD vendors specialize in one-off printing products for their customers. You give them your product details, such as product size, quantity, and color then they will print and ship your products for you.
POD vendors also make it easy for you to outsource your inventory management. Instead of manually tracking how many of each product is in stock, POD vendors have software that can do it for you. This software can also help you set reorder thresholds so you know when to place a new order with your POD vendor and always have the right amount of inventory.
Here at Laser Chili, we make print-on-demand automation possible and simple. You just have to choose a product and design while we handle fulfillment, shipment, and even inventory.
The following lists are workflows that POD Automation covers:
- Shipping Automation
- Inventory Automation
- Marketing Automation
Shipping Automation
Shipping automation is essential for any print-on-demand business. Fortunately, it’s easy to outsource your shipping to a third-party logistics company (3PL). This company can handle all your shipping needs so that you don’t have to worry about it.
By outsourcing your shipping, you can focus on your core competencies while reducing overhead costs. You can also automate your shipping by using software like ShipStation.
The software for shipping automation will let you create shipping rules that automatically generate labels for your products based on the customer’s address. This way, you don’t have to spend time manually entering product details whenever you ship a product.
You can also automate your shipping process by printing shipping labels directly from your eCommerce platform. You don’t have to upload product details to your shipping software manually. Instead, you can simply select the products you want to ship and the address for each one. This can save you a significant amount of time each week.
Inventory Automation
Managing inventory is likely one of the most time-consuming aspects of running a POD business. Fortunately, there are automation tools that can help you keep track of how much of each product you have on hand.
The software for inventory automation will help you set reorder thresholds so that you never run out of stock at the worst possible time. These tools make it easy to automate your inventory management without hiring an expensive inventory manager.
You can simply connect your POD vendor to your inventory management software to update your product quantities automatically. Automating your inventory management can focus on growing your business instead of counting products. This software can also help you spot discrepancies in your inventory to correct any issues as soon as possible.
Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is all about setting up triggers that prompt actions. For example, when a new customer signs up for your email list, you can trigger an action. This action could be to send that customer an email with a welcome message that thanks them for signing up.
By setting up triggers and actions for various marketing channels, you can automate your marketing so that it runs as efficiently as possible. This lets you focus on other areas of your business while still investing in your marketing efforts. You can reduce your marketing time by setting up marketing automation triggers and still reach your audience.
Conclusion
When it comes to the world of eCommerce, time is money. In other words, unnecessary delays in the production and delivery of your products can hurt your sales. Fortunately, there are many ways to automate your Print-on-demand business to spend less time on each order while still meeting your customers’ needs.
From hiring a POD vendor to outsourcing your shipping and inventory management to setting up triggers for your marketing campaigns, print-on-demand automation can help your business run more efficiently. With the right tools in place, you’ll be able to focus on what you do best – running your business!