What is ETA?
ETA or Expected Time of Arrival, also called Estimated Time of Arrival, is used to forecast the time a cargo ship, vehicle, or another shipment carrier is supposed to reach its final destination. ETA is commonly used by e-commerce businesses to provide their customers with the approximate arrival time of their ordered goods at their location.
The Significance of ETA in E-Commerce
Accurate ETA prediction increases data visibility in the supply chain.
- ETA helps to know if there are any delays in the shipment and why they are caused. Real-time tracking used on shipments can help ascertain the exact details.
- Accurate updates about their shipment and delivery enhance the user experience.
- Businesses can customize the delivery with the help of ETA planning.
- Scheduling a delivery beforehand is possible with ETA. This can streamline the delivery process and make it faster.
- With the help of ETA planning, a business can observe and avoid possible disruptions during the shipment and make the supply chain more dynamic.
The Prerequisites of ETA
- Businesses need to implement advanced tracking software and ensure that it calculates the timing in advance and uses real-time tracking to convey delays to the customer.
- Standardization of routes can help the shipment take alternate ones if there are chances of delay on the main one. This helps to reduce the waste of time.
- Businesses must review and track the ETA of shipments to avoid forthcoming problems in the route and make the delivery on time.
Use Cases with ETA
For example, customer X orders a product on Monday, and the ETA of the particular delivery is on Thursday. The customer can assume that their product will reach his doorstep three days later. He can also use the real-time tracking feature to see the current delivery location.