As your webshop handles more and more orders, it can be tempting to focus on speeding up processes first. However, we recommend focusing on getting things right the first time, and only then looking at how to speed things up. In e-commerce, mistakes are extremely costly. They must be fixed, which takes both time and money. Think of additional shipping costs, return processing, customer service workload and the impact of negative reviews.

How much does a mistake cost?

To give you an idea of how much a single incorrect shipment might cost, here’s an example:

1. A white USB-C cable is shipped from the warehouse, but the customer actually ordered a white micro USB cable.
2. The customer calls customer service. It takes around 15 minutes to handle the complaint over the phone, plus 5 minutes to process it and arrange a replacement in the system. That’s 20 minutes x €35/hour = €11.67 excluding VAT.
3. The incorrect product must be returned. This costs around €5.
4. The returned product must be processed by a warehouse employee. This takes about 6 minutes = €3.50.
5. The correct product is shipped. This adds another €5 in shipping, €2 in handling, and €1.50 in packaging.

Altogether, it costs around €28.67 to correct one incorrect shipment. And this doesn’t even include potential reputational damage from poor reviews or word-of-mouth.

Measuring mistakes with the First Time Right percentage

To track the quality of your warehouse operations, you can monitor your First Time Right (FTR) percentage. This can be done daily or weekly. The FTR is the percentage of all orders that are delivered correctly the first time. An FTR of 100% means no mistakes were made.

You can track errors in a simple spreadsheet. The key is for all departments to report mistakes when they spot them. For instance, if customer service receives a call about the wrong product, or if someone notices inventory discrepancies, those errors should be logged.

The formula

The FTR percentage is calculated as follows:
100 - (100 * number of faulty orders / total number of orders)

So if you process 150 orders per day and make 2 mistakes:
100 - (100 * 2 / 150) = 98.67%

This gives you a clear view of your FTR over time.

Address the root cause

If your FTR is too low and you're spending too much time and money on fixing mistakes, it’s time to identify the root cause.

Whether your FTR is too low depends on how complex your tasks are, how many orders you process, and how many people work in your warehouse. But in general, we consider 99% already too low.

When too many mistakes occur, some businesses respond by adding more checks and steps to their process. This only adds unnecessary work. It's better to identify and fix the actual issue.

By analyzing subprocesses, you can pinpoint the problem. For example, track how often the wrong item ends up on the packing table. You can calculate an FTR for each subprocess and identify where errors most often occur.

First right, then fast

In short, start by eliminating mistakes. Measure your FTR, investigate errors and prevent unnecessary costs and time. Doing it right doesn’t mean being perfect. A 100% FTR is not always realistic—mistakes happen. But focus on accuracy first, then improve speed.

We have added new features to Picqer to help you secure your account even better. As an admin, you now also have more insight into activities related to information security. Here is an overview of the most important updates.

Two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your Picqer account, making it harder for unauthorized users to gain access.

With two-factor authentication, you will need a verification code in addition to your username and password when logging in. This temporary code is displayed on your phone or another linked device. This way, unauthorized users cannot log in, even if your login credentials are compromised.

Learn more about setting up two-factor authentication on our support page.

Access from trusted IP addresses

In Picqer, you can create a list of IP addresses that you trust—such as the IP address of your warehouse, office, other locations, or home workspaces. You can then specify per user whether they are only allowed to access Picqer from these trusted IPs. This is useful if you want users to log in only from work.

Audit log

The audit log gives admins insight into all events relevant to information security within Picqer. If you suspect misuse of an account or see unusual activity, the audit log helps you investigate what has happened.

Read more about the audit log on our support page.

Updates to the user page

The updated user page provides additional details and actions to improve security.

You can now log a user out from all devices. This is helpful if someone forgot to log out or if you suspect unauthorized access. In the latter case, be sure to change the password as well.

The user page also shows recent stock changes made by the user, and when and from which locations they have logged in. This gives you a quick overview of any potentially suspicious activity.

With these new tools, you can better secure your Picqer account. Need help with setup? Get in touch with us.

As of now, we support the official PostNL plugin for WooCommerce. The plugin includes support for the following options:

• Pickup locations in the Netherlands
• Pickup locations in Belgium
• Evening delivery
• Letterbox parcel
• Delayed delivery date

Please note: options such as signature, insured shipping, no delivery to neighbors, age check and return if not home are not passed from the shop.

You can find the PostNL installation guide here.

For more information about our WooCommerce integration, visit our support page.

In collaboration with Thuiswinkel.org, we've created the Warehousing e-learning course. You can follow the course for free on e-academy.com.

What you’ll learn

The e-learning walks you step by step through running your own webshop warehouse successfully.

You’ll learn, among other things:

• Why you need a warehouse and how it plays a key role in delivering your webshop promises
• How to identify the characteristics of a good warehouse and create an effective setup
• Why it’s important for everyone in the warehouse to work independently and how to support that
• Why preventing errors is more important than speed and how to calculate the First Time Right percentage
• The key methods to improve warehouse speed
• How to use these foundational principles to run your warehouse more efficiently and effectively

Test your knowledge

After completing the e-learning, you can take a final test. The test takes about 15 minutes, and if you pass, you’ll receive a certificate.

Ready to start the e-learning? Visit e-academy.com

As a webshop, you make many promises throughout the customer journey. Think of messages like “Order before 11 p.m., delivered tomorrow” or “discreet packaging.” These promises appear on your website, in ads, and through customer service. Most of them are fulfilled in your warehouse.

That’s why your warehouse team must be aware of the promises made to customers. In this blog, we’ll show you how to fulfill five key promises through your warehouse operations.

1. Ship the correct product

The most important promise is delivering the right product. Once a customer places an order, a warehouse worker picks, packs, and ships it. Mistakes can happen during this process.

Products that look similar are often stored next to each other. For example, two green sweaters in different sizes. A moment of distraction can result in the wrong product being shipped. Using a barcode scanner and product codes helps prevent these errors.

Many warehouses use batch picking to process more orders at once. This increases efficiency, but also increases the risk of mixing products from different orders. To avoid this, it's essential to verify products right before packing, preferably using a barcode scanner. This helps ensure each product goes to the right customer.

2. Ship to the correct address

Once the correct product is packed, it needs to be delivered to the right location. Before printing a shipping label, make sure the address information is correct. Sometimes the home address is printed instead of the selected pickup point. Double-check that your system handles this properly.

Human error can also occur if multiple shipping labels are printed at once and get mixed up. It’s best to print labels one by one and immediately attach them to the correct package.

3. Ship at the promised time

Customers often choose webshops that can deliver quickly. Many stores now promise things like “Order before 11 p.m., delivered tomorrow” or “Same-day delivery.” To meet these expectations, several things must be well-organized:

• Inventory management must be accurate so that products are truly in stock.
• Enough staff must be scheduled to handle peak order volumes.
• Delivery partners must be reliable and offer the required pickup times and capacity.

Sometimes customer service makes special delivery promises, especially for pre-orders. For example, promising that an item will ship today. The warehouse must then process the incoming goods quickly to keep this promise.