Choosing the right partner can make or break your company’s logistics, customer service, and repeat purchases. Using a fulfillment center frees you from navigating the fulfillment landscape with zero stress. We’re partnering with top tier fulfillment companies like Shipfusion who are able to take your business to the next level by upgrading your fulfillment infrastructure.
Many eCommerce businesses come to a point when they wonder whether or not it’s the right time to use a Fulfillment Center. Each company and each brand is unique, but there are a few questions you can go through to help make your decision. Some companies have been using fulfillment services since day one of operations. Others sign up with fulfillment services when faced with difficulties during inventory management, shipping large orders and shipping orders internationally. There is still time to get ahead of the holiday rush, but you need to act FAST!
To better understand when it is a good time to take the leap and partner with a fulfillment center, let’s review what fulfillment companies can do for high-growth eCommerce brands.
What is Order Fulfillment?
Order fulfillment refers to keeping track of orders, processing and shipping them to the customers. In simple terms, an efficient order fulfillment process delivers products to the customers as fast as possible while also providing adequate information about the delivery process's status. Due to lack of resources, managing an order fulfillment process is generally not possible for small businesses, which is why partnering with a third-party order fulfillment company to manage the logistics makes more sense. In fact, even large companies prefer to hire third-parties to take care of their order fulfillment.
Questions to Ask a Fulfillment Center:
- How much time does your team take processing order fulfillment, from receiving inventory to shipping and returns?
- Do you have a dedicated team just for fulfillment?
- How much money is your current fulfillment solution costing you?
- What is your software solution for inventory management and order fulfillment?
- Are you leasing warehouse space to hold inventory?
- How many marketplaces are you selling products on?
- Is your product distributed at multiple warehouse locations across North America to lower shipping costs?
Advantages of Outsourcing Product Fulfillment Services
Lower Shipping Rates
Whether dealing with bulk or small quantities, businesses managing international clients often face problems with shipping. Shipping charges spiral out of control, and companies find themselves paying exorbitant hidden fees in customs and unforeseen taxes. Hiring third-party logistics always prove to be less costly; they have access to lower carrier rates. Logistics companies do this every day, and providing competitive carrier rates is more of their core competency. They usually have a network of carriers and can find the lowest freight rates whenever they have to fulfill an order.
More Storage Space
Small businesses cannot afford to have big warehouses to store all their products to fulfill orders. Less storage also means that they can take fewer orders from the customers. However, by using a third-party logistics company, they do not need to have their own warehouses for inventory management. This will not only save costs of warehousing but will also save staffing and utility expenses.
Time & Money
Speed up and increase your shipping and receiving by outsourcing the responsibility to a fulfillment center. In most cases, you will find that using a third-party logistics company will lower your overhead costs while decreasing shipping costs.
Growth
Outsourcing your fulfillment needs to a 3PL company allows experts to handle all aspects of fulfillment, freeing your time to focus on increasing sales and developing new products.
Scale
It is important to remember that outsourcing fulfilment is a business investment, NOT a business expense. Using a strong fulfillment company will help your business focus on essential tasks with growing profitability such as marketing, manufacturing, customer support, etc. You save money on all aspects associated with shipping.
Become Agile
Expanding your eCommerce business by bringing on a fulfillment company with multi-warehouse locations will allow your business to expand into new markets and new areas across the globe.
Returns
‘Returns’ sounds simple but the process of getting items back, reviewing them and judging what can be done with the returned product should be dependent on the client’s expectations—understanding what can be restocked and what should be disposed of. It tends to be more complicated than you think, which is why it’s great to find a fulfillment center that can automate your returns solutions for you.
Who is Shipfusion?
Shipfusion is a Canadian fulfillment company based in Toronto that specializes in enabling ecommerce brands to grow efficiently. Loop has been working closely with Shipfusion to help high-growth eCommerce stores reach their full potential by setting up a robust fulfillment process that allows business owners to save time and money.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of how partnering with a top tier fulfillment center like Shipfusion can streamline your holiday rush.
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