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Business

Optimising Your Time: The Benefits of Outsourcing Routine Tasks

In today’s fast-paced world, time is a precious commodity. We too often find ourselves juggling numerous responsibilities, both at work and in our personal lives. With so much to do and so little time to spare, it’s essential to find ways to maximise our time efficiently. This is where outsourcing takes centre stage. Outsourcing routine tasks can be a gamechanger, allowing you to reclaim your valuable time and focus on what truly matters. In this blog, we’ll explore the advantages of outsourcing and how it can help you regain control of your schedule.

Why Outsource?

Michelle from virtual assistants Virtual Hand said “Outsourcing is a concept that has gained immense popularity in recent years. Whether you’re a business owner or a busy professional, outsourcing tasks that don’t require your specific expertise can be a smart choice.” Outsourcing can take many forms, from hiring virtual assistants to partnering with specialised service providers.

Benefits of Outsourcing

  1. Time Efficiency: One of the main advantages of outsourcing routine tasks is the time you save. When you hand off administrative, repetitive, or timeconsumingwork to skilled professionals, you free up hours in your day. This extra time can be redirected towards more strategic activities or simply used to enjoy your personal life.
  1. Focus on Core Competencies: Outsourcing allows you to concentrate on what you do best. For businesses, this means dedicating more time to innovation and strategy. For individuals, it means having the mental capacity to excel in your field of expertise without distractions.
  1. Cost Savings: Contrary to popular belief, outsourcing can be costeffective. When you outsource tasks, you eliminate the need to hire and train inhouse staff, provide office space, and invest in equipment and software. Additionally, outsourcing providers often offer flexible pricing models, so you only pay for the services you need when you need them.
  1. Access to Expertise: Outsourcing companiesspecialise in their respective fields. When you outsource tasks to experts, you benefit from their knowledge and experience. Whether it’s administrative support, social media management, or any other service, you can trust that your outsourced team will deliver highquality results.

Getting Started with Outsourcing

If you’re ready to reclaim your time and enjoy the many advantages of outsourcing, it’s time to take action. Start by identifying the tasks that consume your time but don’t require your unique skills. Create a list of responsibilities that you can delegate, and then research outsourcing providers that align with your needs.

At Virtual Hand, we offer a range of virtual assistant services tailored to your specific requirements. Our team of experienced professionals is ready to assist you with tasks such as administrative support, data entry, email management, and more. By outsourcing to Virtual Hand, you can maximise your time and productivity.

Conclusion

In a world where time is precious, outsourcing routine tasks can be a gamechanger. The advantages are clear: time efficiency, the ability to focus on core competencies, cost savings, and access to expertise. If you’re ready to free up your schedule and achieve more, consider outsourcing today. Don’t wait any longer. Contact www.virtualhand.co.uk to learn how our virtual assistant services can help you maximise your time and take control.

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Business

How to Keep Up with Brick-And-Mortar Retail Trends for 2023

The retail industry is constantly evolving. In 2021, we observed retail marketing trends that included social media influencer marketing and augmented reality that could fit clothing virtually. Knowledge of this information helped retail businesses improve their marketing initiatives. As we near the end of 2022, businesses—especially brick-and-mortar stores—must keep up with next year’s retail trends. After all, this age of technology requires physical establishments to adapt lest they become irrelevant to consumers. With that said, here’s how you can keep up with retail trends in 2023:

Modernise your payment methods

Consumers are turning away from cash. To be exact, in the UK 23 million people are abandoning cash in favour of more convenient options like cards and contactless payments. While cash won’t be eradicated entirely, it’s best to cater to your consumers’ preferences by modernising your establishment’s payment options. Card payment solutions for businesses will aid you in this transition. In particular, card machines are reliable and convenient for accepting payments. These can be stationed at the till or brought to the customer as they’re usually portable. They safely accept major cards like Visa and Mastercard as long as they have internet access. Another payment solution is near-field communication or NFC-enabled payment terminals. Contactless payments such as Google Pay and Apple Pay need these devices to process transactions. This is a convenient option requiring little to no time when customers pay for their items or services.

Offer personalisation and customisation options

One thing that customers have less authority over when shopping online is the customisation of products. They can only fully personalise goods when they’re in physical stores—which is why you should start offering this option. Allow customers to personalise your products by changing their colour or placing add-ons to improve their look and feel. Not only will this bring foot traffic to your store, but it will also serve as an engaging customer experience that will attract new customers. Data science and machine learning technologies will aid you in this initiative as these detect and analyse consumer preferences. For instance, these can make personalisation recommendations when customers design their products.

Make more sustainable business choices



More consumers are becoming eco-conscious of their purchases and the businesses they choose to support. Your store must invest in sustainable retail solutions to cater to these customers. In fact, 31% of shoppers are more likely to purchase based on their environmental values, while 32% expect brands to be transparent regarding their sustainability efforts. To meet this demand, some solutions to apply in your store are sustainable packaging and incentives. Switch out non-biodegradable bags for compostable and recycled product packaging. Entice customers to participate in environmental protection by offering incentives like discounts whenever they bring reusable bags or participate in recycling programmes. Optimise your customer service

Customer service exists in both the physical and digital retail environments. While traditional retail customer service involves face-to-face interaction with consumers, using chatbots will make this more efficient. Chatbots are artificial intelligence technologies that can answer customer enquiries and concerns. You can station a tablet or smartphone in changing rooms, tables, or corners. This also allows customers to get assistance during peak hours or staff shortages. Optimising your customer service increases consumer satisfaction in your brick-and-mortar location.

Improving your store according to next year’s retail trends will increase satisfaction and bring success to your business. Make sure to modernise your payments, optimise customer service, offer personalisation options, and make more sustainable decisions.

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Business

How Businesses Should Approach In-Person Events Resuming

It should be no surprise that the pandemic and its associated health and safety restrictions significantly impacted in-person industry gatherings. Massive gatherings of people from all over the country or world under one roof sound like a perfect habitat for virus dissemination after all.

In 2022, with in-person events on the rise and daily Covid cases on the decline across the United States, event professionals and venues are torn between the desire to return to face-to-face interaction and engagement and the uncertainty posed by new Omicron variants and corporate aversion to business travel.

Event planning in 2022 and beyond will be different than it was in 2019. The world has irreversibly changed. Thus, the expanding digitalization of the meetings and events business gives participants options for ensuring their security while providing a magnificent hybrid or physical event experience.

Thinking Conservatively

A more conservative approach to budget reduction will necessitate increased audience preparation and comprehension for conferences, meetings, and events. Collaboration between venues necessitates flexibility and improved communication about how in-person and online guests navigate each event stage, consume material, and network.

An Industry Put On Hold

The 2020 COVID outbreak stunned the event planning industry, forcing organizers to retrain and rethink everything from revenue structures and sponsorships to event technology and content distribution.

Fears of disease transmission, national lockdowns, and people’s aversion to meeting new people have shifted from in-person to online or hybrid gatherings. Here are more reasons why live or in-person events have been put on hold during the pandemic and even sometime after restrictions were lifted.

Engineering for Special Events

As the virus spread, many conferences and gatherings changed from traditional in-person scheduling to virtual platforms. Other virtual event platforms let attendees connect from their computers and provide advanced registration, networking, chat, and attendee engagement capabilities.

The epidemic has pushed virtual networking solutions to the forefront, forcing enterprises to evolve their products to enhance bandwidth and capacity rapidly. Virtual event platforms have grown in popularity and capability, with customized possibilities for any event style, size, and budget. Improved technology enables more modes of interaction and assists event organizers in more accurately duplicating in-person events online.

Fear in a Crowd

Many people are hesitant to join organizations of any size after months of working from home and social isolation. Individuals are understandably apprehensive about shaking handshakes and making eye contact with nearby people worldwide. The pandemic’s long-term effects threaten the activities that previously lured people to in-person meetings and conferences, such as networking, listening to industry experts, trying new goods, visiting a new place, and so on.

The uncertainty around mask regulations and rules limiting the size of meetings complicates matters even more. To adhere to constraints that are unlikely to change until a vaccine is available, organizers must modify the number of attendees in a room at one time, relocate portions of conferences outside, or create other creative alternatives. Following local rules may assist in easing some people’s nerves and produce a safer environment.

Cost-Cutting Measures

Attending in-person events can quickly become expensive in terms of travel costs, lodging charges, and registration fees. During an economic downturn, your company’s travel and training budget may have been decreased because it cannot afford to send its employees to as many conferences and events as previously if any.

Due to job and economic uncertainty, you will be less likely to spend money on non-essentials when paying for event expenditures on your own. Even after the recession, the epidemic will have long-term economic consequences.

Additionally, event organizers must consider the higher cost of additional cleaning processes and pre-packaged food, which may raise the price of presenting an in-person event while decreasing earnings from major trade exhibits.

On the other hand, virtual events do not require travel and are significantly less expensive to produce, lowering registration prices and making them more affordable for businesses and people.

 

 

 

Getting Back Out There

In many ways, face-to-face contacts are irreplaceable, and participants are ready to return to them. In the last three years, event producers have used virtual events with greater creativity. Nonetheless, substituting live events was never a problem.

You must emphasize event safety if you want to minimize cancellations and postponements. Most event organizers and spectators have adjusted to in-person event participation’s new restrictions. To assist you in guaranteeing that safety is never compromised, recent COVID vaccinations and COVID-safe technology have been created.

That is why you should focus on hybrid events. Hybrid events combine physical and digital elements. They frequently provide for significantly greater flexibility: participants can attend in person if they like or remotely if they are unable or unable to do so. If you will, this is the finest of both worlds.

Many related events can occur concurrently in various locations using hybrid events. The following are why hybrid events are the future of business gatherings.

Environmental

Those who live far away from the event can watch it online, saving money on flights and lowering their carbon footprint.

Attendee Participation

Attendees select how to participate based on their location and event goals.

Hybrid

Hybrid events have a more prominent global impact since they contain an internet component. Furthermore, programming might be made available on-demand, increasing its reach even further.

Networking

The most significant disadvantage of going online is the lack of networking opportunities. Networking is still feasible during the in-person component of a hybrid event. If the primary goal of a participant is to network, they can attend in person.

Data Tracking

Data tracking and analysis are simple due to the technology connected with hybrid (apps, social media, zoom, etc.)

Why Should In-person Events Resume in 2022?

Business events can be an effective marketing tool. Trade shows, displays, and other events can be a great way to:

  • Explain your products and services
  • Improve your company’s visibility
  • Demonstrate new products and services
  • Connect with industry experts
  • Look for prospective collaborations
  • Consider what your competitors are offering.
  • Participate in giveaways.
  • Produce fresh business leads
  • Customers must be attracted and converted.

Depending on your objectives, you could:

  • Come as a visitor.
  • Set up a trade stand or booth as an exhibitor.
  • Create and manage your event behind the scenes.

The Value Of Face-to-Face

There is no comparison to the benefits of face-to-face meetings, casual interactions in the hallways, and brief chats over meals at in-person events for your business. Although things may take some time to settle down, live events are here to stay. The only question is if organizers and businesses are willing to take the extra steps to keep them operating and safe. Nonetheless, various industries require different solutions. Choose the best solution for your event, whether in-person, hybrid, or virtual.

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Finance

Tips for Finding Real Estate Investor Leads

Highly successful real estate investors all have one thing in common: they have a seemingly never-ending supply of leads. They know where to go to identify great deals and how to get them closed quickly. But real estate investor lead generation isn’t always easy, especially when you’re first starting out. These tips will help you find the best leads for property investment.

Team Up With a Real Estate Agent

Having a real estate agent on your team helps you find leads in several ways. First, real estate agents have access to the MLS, which allows them to quickly scan available properties for those that meet your criteria. They will alert you when a property comes up on the MLS that looks like it might be a good fit for you. With the right real estate agent, you’ll get notified of these properties quickly so you can act just as fast.

Additionally, real estate agents know the local market better than anyone. They can give you the inside scoop on properties that are about to go on the market and even identify off-market leads. While you can do all this work yourself, by partnering with a real estate agent, you won’t have to because they’ll do a lot of the legwork for you.

Direct Mail Still Works

Some people believe direct mail marketing is dead or at least on its way out, but it’s not true, especially for real estate investors. Sending postcards or letters to a large number of homeowners asking if they have thought about selling their house can be an extremely effective way to identify off-market leads. You might have to send several mailings to these homeowners, but your name will be in their mind when they do decide to sell.

Be Social

Growing your social media audience is an excellent way to generate real estate investor leads. Eventually, you’ll be able to reach a large number of people with a single post and if that post gets shared, you’ll increase your following organically. Try being a regular source of real estate information by providing useful blogs, links to research, and tips for buying and selling real estate. Capture leads by offering insider advice in exchange for subscribers’ contact information.

You can also buy social media ads that target your desired audience as well, which is an effective way to reach even more people. Nearly all social media platforms have tools that allow you to identify your ideal customer and get your ad in front of those people. Start out with Facebook or LinkedIn, because they have some of the best tools, and expand from there.

Partner With a Lead Generation Company

There are many lead generation companies out there that can find qualified leads for you, but you want to make sure the company you partner with is an expert in real estate investing. You also want to select a company that can tailor your leads to your exact needs and audience. Otherwise, you’ll be casting a huge net and not keeping very many of what you catch. You’d rather cast a small net that’s full of good leads.

Conclusion

Lead generation is a critical phase of marketing for real estate investors. You don’t want those leads to dry up when you’re ready to make your next investment. Try these tips to ensure you always have new leads in your back pocket that you can quickly turn into deals.

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Business

How Does ReCommerce Work?

What is ReCommerce? A subset of e-commerce allows companies to sell their returned products to consumers, reducing the need for new products and increasing margins. Backflip is a ReCommerce platform that works when you have excess inventory or accumulated stuff at home that you want to get rid of. For example, your store may be overstocked due to a popular fashion trend or items not selling. Additionally, you may have things that customers return due to a change of mind, damage, or an unmet expectation.

ReCommerce is a subset of e-commerce.

ReCommerce is a type of e-commerce that focuses on upcycling items. The entry barrier is relatively low, making reCommerce a good choice for entrepreneurs looking for a part-time or full-time venture. Today, retail e-commerce is expected to reach $27 trillion globally by 2020. Its popularity is primarily due to its streamlined and flexible system, making it easier for small businesses to grow and scale. As a result, it’s a powerful tool for both small and large companies.

It allows businesses to sell returned products.

One of the most cost-effective ways to reduce the costs associated with product returns is to allow customers to return items. Online purchases can be expensive for businesses, and returns can quickly deplete a business’s profit margin. In addition to labor costs, shipping and handling fees can eat away at a retailer’s profit margin. Fortunately, ReCommerce allows businesses to sell returned products on their website for a profit.

Companies can use ReCommerce to maximize the return rate by offering free returns to consumers. Many consumers are now more likely to return products if a retailer provides a convenient network of return points. It can save money on printing labels and providing packaging at the end of the return. Consumers will appreciate the convenience of free returns. 

It reduces the demand for new goods.

The theory behind reCommerce is that consumers will use a used item for a shorter period before buying a new one. The sustainability movement places a high priority on reducing the consumption of new goods. By reducing the need to purchase new goods, the environment is helped at both ends of the consumption cycle. However, the idea of recommerce has been met with resistance in some quarters.

ReCommerce has become an important strategic goal for businesses. Organizations without recommerce policies will find it increasingly difficult to gain the trust of their shareholders and consumers. Stringent environmental laws, scarcity of raw materials, and supply chain volatility drive businesses to adopt recommerce models. Consumers, employees, and shareholders will abandon the brand without eco-conscious practices. Fortunately, the recommerce trend has caught the attention of major brands. Burberry and H&M have recently launched their reCommerce business models. In addition, Patagonia recently announced plans to open a brick-and-mortar store exclusively featuring their reCommerce collections.

It increases margins

Increasing margins in e-commerce requires several strategies. First of all, increasing the price of your products is not a good strategy. However, increasing the average order value can significantly increase revenue. Increasing the average order value can be achieved by bundling products, expanding your product line, or acquiring more traffic. Fortunately, increasing average order values does not affect your gross margin. It is much more difficult to reduce product-related expenses.

Moreover, if you have a bestselling item, you can easily resell it multiple times. That way, you can increase your margins for this item. However, you should be aware that reselling can lead to slim margins. Despite that, it is good to set a minimum amount for a product to increase the AOV. It is also helpful to bundle products or offer coupons to increase the AOV.

It reduces wasteful business.

Recommerce is a growing industry that offers more benefits than simply recycling. It saves money, but it can also reduce the environmental impact of products. Every time an item is purchased, several materials and energy are used to create it. According to McKinsey research, buying one used thing would be equivalent to taking 500,000 cars off the road for an entire year. Aside from this, recommerce is an increasingly popular choice for consumers who want to avoid contributing to the growing environmental problem.

While the term “recommerce” might suggest a less wasteful way to shop, the concept is essentially about preserving the retail industry and helping the environment. Recycling is a critical component of the circular economy, which can help to limit the negative impact of product-based pollution. In addition to recycling, recommerce offers consumers a way to purchase previously owned products that are no longer wanted or are only partially used. This practice was previously limited to brick-and-mortar stores but has become widely available online. It brings systemic changes to waste management and how valuable materials are recovered. In addition, it helps retailers to avoid hazardous production processes, which are causing the waste problem.

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Business

Adaptive Leadership Helps Your Brand’s Chances of Success

leadership

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us a lot about the need to stay flexible and ready to adapt to change. The companies that thrived during the quarantines and lockdowns were those that could adapt their businesses into an online ordering and delivery type of operation.

In hindsight, this may have seemed like a ‘no-brainer’ of a decision, but at the time it became apparent that certain drastic steps would have to be taken to ensure a brand’s survival; you can be sure there were some sleepless nights before and after companies made the switch. And many of the most successful brands who made that switch had managers who had been trained in adaptive leadership.

This leadership model is simply a systematic approach to adapting to changes in the workplace, recognising trends in the market and making the most of them, or keeping a team of colleagues firmly focused on a common goal. The model has three main determining factors that are used in making the decisions that represent adaptive leadership.

Experimentation and Intelligent Risks

No company can grow without taking a risk on an untried product, system, or innovation. It’s what differentiates one company from another and sets the better companies apart. But experimenting is also a risky undertaking. You have to have trained managers that can look at the cost versus the benefits from an objective viewpoint, and ensure that the results align with the company’s goals.

You also have to have managers that can learn from the mistakes encountered along the way and make use of them. Adaptive managers know that experimentation is always valuable in concept. But making it pay off in practice takes leadership.

Crucial vs. Expendable

Adaptive managers and leaders know that anytime a brand is growing, they’re in a continuous state of upheaval. Managers can’t afford to be sentimental about a process that’s comfortable if it’s also impeding growth and expansion.

The ability to judge the crucial versus the expendable spans the entire scope of your brand’s operations. While a factory’s operation may be easy to judge based on the time and costs saved, it can be more difficult to judge the value of jettisoning a supplier that has been with you for a long time. A manager who has been trained to be adaptive and analytical in their approach to this process can objectively make value judgments for the benefit of the company’s future.

Focused and Disciplined Assessment

Having taken the plunge into an era of experimentation, it’s now time to assess and integrate these new facets of your brand’s operations. Adaptive managers know that’s it’s important to be able to make any adjustment to these new facets to ensure they help lead the brand toward its goals.

By having a team trained in adaptive leadership, your brand will be in a much better position to respond to all the challenges in the years to come.

If you’re interested in learning more about a custom leadership education for your organisation, please contact the Center for Asia Leadership at our Kuala Lumpur office.

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Finance

A Bumiputera Loan Can Help Your Business Weather Covid

business loan

The Government of Malaysia, through the Minister of Finance Incorporated, has formed a wholly-owned subsidiary called Syarikat JaminanPembiayaanPerniagaan (SJPP), which administers and disburses funds through existing financial institutions. There are nine working capital guarantee schemes in total, and one of the schemes is designed to meet the needs of Bumiputeras who need a business loan to help their private business survive the economic downturn.

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has made the timing of the availability of these loan schemes all that much more welcome. People who have carefully built a well-respected business in their community and have maintained an impeccable credit rating while building the business do not deserve to have their hopes and dreams because of something they had no control over. Business may need a finance to recover from this pandemic situation and may look for an investor.

Financial Institutions Need Backing as Well

One of the main problems with an economic recovery during a pandemic, is no one knows exactly how long it will take. For financial lending institutions, this is an extremely crucial issue. The officers of the lending institution have no guide to know where they should draw the line on lending, so most of them take a more conservative path out of self-preservation.

But a financial lending institution that isn’t lending also isn’t earning any revenue. This stalemate causes further depression in an already reeling economy. The Minister of Finance Incorporated saw the dangers of this potential situation and created the nine schemes as a safeguard against this vicious cycle.

By supporting the lending institutions instead of issuing funds directly, a business can continue doing business with a lender that they already enjoy a relationship with. These lenders also enjoy another source of funding in which to help their customers.

What are the Details of the Bumiputera Loan?

The Bumiputera applying for a loan under the SJPP WCGS-B scheme, must have ownership of 51% of the shares (or more) of the SME business shares. And be incorporated under:

  • Registration of Business Act 1956
  • Companies Act 1965, or 2016
  • Limited Liability Partnership Act 2012
  • Respective authorities or district offices in Sabah and Sarawak: or
  • Respective statutory bodies for professional services providers

Once approved for the business loan, applicants can borrow a minimum amount of RM100,000 up to a maximum of RM3.0 Million over 15 years or until December 31st, 2035, whichever comes first.

The purpose of these loans must be for working capital or capital expenditure. The loan cannot be used to repay other outstanding loans. The loans can be issued in a number of facilities to suit the business owner’s needs, including term load/term financing, overdraft/Cash Line-I, trade facilities and Commercial Card.

For business owners reeling from the effects of the global pandemic, these loans can’t come at a better time. And for new business owners who launched their dream company shortly before COVID-19 became a reality, these loans can ensure that these SMEs have the chance to grow and become an asset to their communities.

For more information about these working capital guarantee schemes, please get in touch with your local financial lending institution or SJPP directly.

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Business

Benefits of Shipping Software For Your Business

Simply for its reputation, ecommerce has a vested interest in delivering a purchase. Customer satisfaction throughout the delivery process is of utmost importance. The shipping and delivery aspects are an extension of your brand. Shipping means the activity of sending goods to other people. This happens most probably by ship, but it could also be by any other means. Customers demand their product be delivered as fast as possible. Not only that, but they also want the comfort of being able to return the product if they are dissatisfied.

It is rather complicated to calculate shipping expenses. The reason being that it is determined by the parcel’s weight, dimensions, and shipping zones. What can you do to beat the competition when it comes to shipping? The answer lies in using shipping software. Shipping software does the shipping cost calculations for you, which calculations provide real-time reliable solutions. A shipping software can help you match your buyers’ demands, thus solidifying your relationship with your customers more. A good shipping software will have the option to print shipping labels in bulk. They also offer return management along with international shipping. The best shipping software is also equipped with reporting tools and shipping discounts. Make sure the one you opt for integrates USPS flat rate boxes, FedEx, UPS, and so on.

Increased efficiency

Utilizing a high-quality shipping software increases your business’s efficiency. Without a shipping software, shipping management would be way too time-consuming. If the shipping and delivery do not match the expectations of the buyer, you could lose them. 30% of the shoppers choose a different retailer if the previous retailer could not guarantee a delivery date. The disorder created by poor shipping management can negatively affect other aspects of your business as well.

More Choice

Buyers may want their delivery in their office. They may want it at a collection point. Alternatively, they may want to receive their package at home. There should be a variety of delivery options in terms of the physical location of the delivery. Customers are more willing to buy from you if they find a wide enough range of delivery options. This is because they want the delivery to fit with their schedule. A shipping software can help small ecommerce businesses deliver conveniently. Thus, even small business owners can cater to buyers in different time zones. Not to mention the prospect of shipping internationally.

Shipping Notifications

Buyers would also want to track their orders. They want to know where their order is at any given time. People who pay in advance tend to know the status of their order before delivery. Giving them the convenience of tracking their order helps in resolving their anxieties regarding their parcels. If a buyer receives updates on their order without having to reach out to the retailer, they become more assured and less anxious. A shipping software helps you stay updated with all deliveries.

Easy Returns

Sometimes the product does not match the expectations of the customer. This in itself is not necessarily a setback for your business. You need to give your customers the option to return the product. They should be clear on the return policies though. It is more likely that the customer returning your product will buy from you again if they have the option of easy return. A shipping software can make these returns simple for you as well as for the customer. It is important to know about the return statistics. You would like to know what kind of product is returned more often. With the help of return statistics, you can find the reason why some products are sent back more often than others. Ensure that the shipping software you use provides you with return statistics.

Faster Shipping

Customers feel uplifted when their parcels arrive to them as fast as possible. 78% of customers say that faster delivery is important. Faster delivery is how you can show your care to your customers. One of the reasons that Amazon and Walmart are so successful is that they deliver fast. The good news is you can compete with these giants by investing in a good shipping software.

Conclusion

A shipping software is essential to manage the shipping procedure from beginning to end. It allows you to separate your items into various categories. It integrates various channels and carriers. It makes customized branding of the packages possible. Many of the shipping software have a mobile app as well. You can access these from your smartphone. Faster shipping is the top priority of customers. You can ship faster, increase the choice of time and place of delivery, and provide easy return options by using a good shipping software. This can improve your business’s efficiency by a large margin.

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Business

Maximum Medical Improvement

When a doctor informs a patient that their condition has reached maximum medical condition, there is no further improvement that can be done. In minor injuries, MMI workers comp means complete recovery. In severe injuries, it means that the professionals have done the best they could to have you healed, but some effects will remain in your body. It is commendable to be patient until you get to the maximum medical improvement point to ensure that you have received all the benefits you deserve.

Employers need to take the workers’ comp insurance to protect employees when injured in their line of duty. If you have a minor injury, you can comfortably handle their claims without the help of an attorney. However, suppose an employee sustains severe injuries that threaten their life and ability to perform daily routines. In that case, they require the assistance of an injury attorney to help them navigate through the claims. The laws and regulations relating to compensation at the workplace are complex and are best understood by a legal expert.

An attorney helps determine a fair settlement in situations where a person reaches the maximum medical improvement. The victim has to choose whether to receive lump-sum compensation or continue to receive benefits that cater to the ongoing medical condition and other personal needs.

What is an employee eligible for after reaching MMI

Even though MMI is the ultimate point in the recovery process, a worker is still entitled to benefits such as;

Permanent disability benefits

If workers sustain severe forms of injury that render them physically unfit to continue working, they are still eligible for permanent total disability benefits from the employer.

Compensation for lost wages

In some instances, workers get injuries that make them unsuitable for their position before getting injured, and the company may relocate them to alternative departments. However, there are instances in which a person cannot work any longer, and in such cases, they are eligible for compensation of lost wages.

Settlement of lump sum

Upon reaching the maximum medical improvement, a victim may be offered a lump sum settlement. It is advisable to seek an attorney’s expertise before accepting such a settlement, especially if the injury was severe.

Rehabilitation allowances

Some companies have back-to-work rehabilitation programs to help employees resume their duties. If your workplace has such programs, then victims of work-related injuries are eligible for compensation for rehabilitation costs.

Percentage of permanent partial disability compensation

Employees who reach the maximum improvement can be compensated based on the percentage of partial disability sustained after the injury.

Relevance of MMI to your compensation

Employees that reach this level can have their claims moving towards settlement. There will be a need for further investigations regarding future treatment options and extra medical care. It allows for further preparation that caters to these needs. Injured victims might have already received the best medical care and are aware of the condition they will remain with for the rest of their lives.

If there are any interests in defending the victim, it allows for better evaluation of the circumstances. It allows the company to plan for the set reserves and settlement schemes.

In situations where the victim is not incapacitated, it allows for a good transition for the employee to resume their duties.

It is commendable for the company to make the first move in matters regarding employee compensation claims. The hiring company can get in touch with the compensation attorney and the employee to discuss the matter.

Victims should discuss with their attorneys and agree on the best time to settle claims after maximum medical improvement. This is because some conditions that victims are left with require medical attention from time to time, and resolving a claim would mean an end to all forms of compensation.

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Branding Business

Safety Ways To Protect Your Brand Data

Businesses have started using more and more data in recent years. This is a direct result of technology making its way into the hands of everyday businesses rather than just the largest companies. Now that a business of any size can collect data, you better understand what to do with the data after you have gathered it. It is not a good idea to store all your collected data in only one database on a single server.

There is more to protecting your hard-fought business data than having space on a database server. Business owners who are not tech-savvy may face additional challenges they never predicted when they started using data. Let other teams worry about how to best use your data while you spend some time putting together a plan to keep your data safe. It is impossible to make your data entirely secure forever, still there are ways to protect it. Here is how:

Software And Program Protections

There are many fronts on which you need to defend your data, and software is one such area. There are people out there who enjoy wreaking havoc on business servers and messing with data. To keep any unwanted breachers out, you need strong protections that will stop inappropriate remote access. Sometimes the same program that collects data for you will monitor your databases, like the PI system. Alternatively, you can set up your own network of protections.

If you do not have a protection and monitoring program already and cannot build one yourself, it is worth calling a security expert. They will assist you as this is an area where good enough will not work in the long-run. Your protection software should also include an access system where anyone who accesses the data is logged with unique passwords. So, if something goes wrong, you can see who the last person was to access the point.

Best Storage Practices

Data may not look like much, but once you start collecting it, it can create an incredible amount of digital information. Storage space can get expensive and tricky to maintain, but you can alleviate some of that worry by only storing the data you actually need. It may be tempting to hold onto every bit of data you have gathered over the years, but some of that data is useless. Not only does extra data fill up your stage, but if your database is breached, your customers will be the ones who pay for your data hoarding. Do not put your customers at risk over data you are not using anyway.

Physical Database

Maintain your physical database. Your data does not exist in the air as it is tied to a physical computer. That physical computer may be stuffed in the corner of the office, but it still needs attention and protection. If you have a physical access point for your database, it must be protected with a locked door and a unique password system. You do not want just anyone walking up to that pc and plugging in a simple USB drive that can ruin your entire system. Just because you trust your employees and visitors does not mean that security precautions are pointless.

Check Hardware

Computers can work for years on end, but they still need maintenance. Dust and hair will choke cooling fans over time, and you will need to open up the system to clean it out. If your computer overheats, it may shut down to protect itself from thermal damage. You will have to fix the issue or face potential damages. If you are not storing your data in the cloud or in a different system, you must also take care of your storage devices.

Spinning hard drives are still the common choice for mass storage. Do not be mistaken by drives designed to work in less than ideal conditions, those can fail after a few years as well. When a drive fails, you may lose data depending on how you have your storage set up. For a mass storage setup, get drives with the most extensive storage space you can find. Leave it in UNRAID with backup drive resiliencies to rebuild your data if one drive fails.

Back Up Everything You Care About

Most people never think about the day where everything goes wrong, and therefore, do not make plans to ensure that day never comes. Backing up your data is not fun or exciting, but you will be happy to have a separate copy if something happens to your primary data stash. You can pay for an off-site copy server that will automatically store a copy of anything on your central server. However, it is also possible to create a backup system in-house. There are massive external storage drives that you can stack together to create a brick of backup storage.