What is a Shipping Label and How to Print Them Automatically

What is a Shipping Label?

Shipping labels are those pieces of key information providers that act as identification labels. These labels are affixed to containers, cartons or boxes and specify the contents of the shipping container, carton or box. These labels also contain crucial information about any kind of inspection involved in the Supply Chain Management process. These labels also contain originating and destination addresses. These are very helpful in tracking process of the placed order on any eCommerce portal for delivery.

Shipping Labels Template and Format

Business units like UPS, DHL, FedEx, Amazon, etc. use specific templates for their shipping labels. This, in turn, assists them as well as the end-consumer to track its order and cross-check with the eCommerce company’s website or App for synchronous outcomes. Tracking the placed order’s position of delivery, i.e., expected date, expected time slot of the day on that date, etc. is made possible with ease only through these shipping labels.

Shipping labels are designed, printed and used by these eCommerce companies to affix on their commodity orders yet to be delivered. These labels are usable only by specific companies and can’t be used by any other business entities. They are put on placed order’s package between every successive stage of the Supply Chain Management process. If this is not done, then tracking of any placed order for misplacing, damage(s), and/or other parameters becomes very difficult because, without a shipping label, the eCommerce company is not able to comply with that stage of the delivery process where the error or discrepancy has taken place.

Shipping labels come in different shapes, sizes, colors, etc. These labels are order specific and customizable. This flexibility attribute of the labels makes tracking of individually placed orders much-much easier.

Before printing the final shipping label on the placed order, the eCommerce companies go through sample print process of these labels. Once the sample(s) are/have been approved for affixation over boxes, cartons, packages or containers, the shipping label tagging process is considered to be complete and order is dispatched for final delivery to the end-consumer.

Shipping labels don’t just come up with originating and destination addresses only, rather, complete information about the product related specifics are given through Barcodes or QR codes. These specially designed codes make the tracking process of every placed order very easy and quick.

Tracking information is inherent and appended with a shipping label for a placed order. In the shipping workflow process the following two parts are essential ones:

• Tracking
• Delivery Confirmation

Tracking information varies when shipping labels are created through different channels like via shipping solutions, via sales channel or directly via the carrier.

How to print shipping labels for delivery?

Nowadays, the shipping labels are automatically printed by the shipping service providers, like, by ShipRocket here. This makes the task of an online seller much easier where he doesn’t have to worry about the formatting and templates of such labels. If shipping labels are created through a carrier’s own label making-printing tool, then for the tracking information and delivery confirmation, one must manually email that information back to the end-customer so that they are equipped to track the placed order at their own end with a similar process for delivery confirmation.

Using printed shipping labels through sales channels makes the above-mentioned process a bit easier. Since the platform on which the order is placed on is already made known of the customer’s email address, it is able to automatically store a processed order’s tracking information that the end-consumer can see on its own. Either the customer can log onto their account and track their placed order or the E-retailer can Email them directly.

Using shipping labels via shipping software adds one more step to the process via sales channels. Whenever any order is processed, the shipping software will take the tracking information and relay it back to the sales channel that the order was made on.

For all or any of the tracking and delivery processes, the customer needs to be kept in the process loop and be informed from time to time concerning the delivery process as customer satisfaction is the ultimate objective.

You can track your order here by entering the Order ID or AWB no that you must have received upon order confirmation.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)