Theft, fraud, and loss are always top concerns when shipping inventory. Every touchpoint can pose another opportunity for would-be thieves to take advantage of any weaknesses in your supply chain. These concerns increase significantly when you’re shipping high-value items like jewelry, prescription drugs, electronics, and even expensive apparel, which can be easily sold. How your organization handles high-value shipping impacts your bottom line and your reputation.
At Taylored Services, we are warehousing and transportation experts and wanted to offer these ten tips to help you protect your high-value shipments.
- Start at the warehouse. Make sure you protect your goods before you ship them out the door by keeping your warehouse secure. Think of your warehouse as a castle; it should be easy to defend but hard to attack. Perimeter gates, alarms, bright outdoor lighting, cameras, and highly controlled entrances and exits are all deterrents to thieves.
- Perform a risk assessment. Thoroughly examine all of your high-value shipping protocols. Look for holes in your procedures that can increase the chance of theft. Work with a third-party expert like Taylored Services, who may be able to spot weaknesses you can’t see.
- Use plain packaging. Custom package design is typically a best practice, but not when your package signals that high-value products are inside. It’s better to use non-descript packaging with no indication of what’s inside. You may even want to double-box items to prevent pilferage further.
- Use experienced carriers. Use transportation companies, such as Taylored Services, who are experienced with high-value shipping. Ask if they proactively re-route shipments around high-theft areas. They should also have plans in place to minimize handoffs and always require signatures from recipients.
- Double-check customer data. Make sure you double and even triple-check customers’ delivery addresses and payment methods before shipping. It’s a simple way to ensure packages don’t end up in the wrong hands.
- Know about international shipping. Moving high-value goods across borders while dealing with different currencies, laws, and languages is not only daunting but make it easier to fall victim to theft, loss, or fraud. Make sure you and your shipping vendor understand the intricacies of international shipping and have a plan in place to mitigate risk.
- Use cameras strategically. Prepare shipments under a camera and make sure the tracking number is captured. That way, you have visual evidence of what was packed and shipped. Unpack returns under a camera and proof that you received the goods that may have been claimed as a return or a loss.
- Keep security a secret. Don’t share security protocols widely at your shipping facilities. The fewer people know about your security, the better. Limiting the amount of information shared minimizes the risk of fraudulent activity.
- Proactively monitor shipments. Track your shipments, so you know where packages are at all times while in transit. Confirm the package was delivered and signed for—not just left at the door.
- Use insurance effectively. Layer different types of insurance to mitigate potential losses. Review your coverage with your insurance carrier to ensure that no gaps exist in your current coverage and to confirm you have adequate protection for loss and damage.
When it comes to high-value shipping, you can never be too careful. Use the ten tips above to enhance the security protocols you already have in place and ship your high-value inventory with more confidence.
Taylored Fulfillment Services is a fully integrated third-party logistics provider specializing in wholesale, retail, and direct-to-consumer unit fulfillment. Headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey, we operate 1.5 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space strategically located near the nation’s busiest ports, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, and New York. Since its humble beginnings in 1992, Taylored Fulfillment Services has become a national leader in distribution, fulfillment, and warehousing.