Four benefits of outsourcing online store fulfillment

For eCommerce sellers growth might mean finding a partner for online store fulfillment in order to work on growing their business in other areas.

Choosing the right partner to fulfill your orders starts by making the decision to work with an order fulfillment service provider.

Third-party fulfillment providers warehouse your products and fulfill orders on your behalf. A good fulfillment service will integrate their software with your eCommerce store (whether it’s Amazon direct, an alternative or even a hub like ChannelAdvisor) to streamline the entire fulfillment process. Once they receive an order, they pick, pack, and prepare the product for shipment.

A trusted partner will also coordinate and schedule shipment pickups with carriers like FedEx, UPS, and USPS.

Fulfillment providers typically charge a flat monthly storage fee. The flat fee is determined by the number of bins/palettes you warehouse in their facility. Then, once they ship an order, they charge additional fees.

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What are the benefits to outsourcing online store fulfillment?

1. Reduce Operating Costs

Warehousing and fulfillment is a thriving industry partially because more businesses recognize the potential cost-savings. In fact, the warehousing and storage industry in the U.S. alone is valued at $22 billion and employs more than 600,000 people.

Generally speaking, with fulfillment services you only pay for what you use. Most service providers charge a flat storage fee for your products that are being warehoused. After that, you’re only charged for picked, packed, and shipped orders.

While you may experience a seasonal increase or decrease in sales, that won’t impact your base costs. Your storage expenses only change when the number of units you warehouse changes.

This is more of a predictable situation that allows you to plan for certain costs. It also helps to avoid a scenario where your bills suddenly increase because your storage rates were raised on anything that didn’t sell during a particular season or timeframe.

2. Improve Your Customer Service

Maintaining excellence in your customer service and support functions is a critical part of running a business. Many online store fulfillment providers offer round the clock support through email or phone. This includes executing easy returns, exchanges, and refunds.

Additionally, fulfillment services can help you meet evolving customer expectations. Shoppers have come to expect short delivery times, even same-day delivery options. And nearly all of us expect estimated or guaranteed delivery dates.

Offering multiple delivery options can turn into a logistics nightmare if you’re not set up for it. The good news is that order fulfillment providers are.

Fulfillment services can help retailers offer these delivery and pickup options for retailers to meet those evolving demands and keep customers satisfied.

3. Use Technology to Streamline Order Fulfillment

Innovative third party fulfillment companies use the latest technology to process and ship your products. Their systems integrate with your eCommerce store, and the result is a streamlined order fulfillment process that includes services such as:

• Payment processing
• Item tracking
• Inventory management
• Security
• Carrier selection
• Shipping and handling

4. Your Focus Turns to Marketing, Selling and More

Outsourcing your online order fulfillment also created efficiencies for your retail business. While order fulfillment is more manageable for smaller businesses, the task often becomes more challenging as you grow your business. As you receive an increasing number of orders from various sales channels, order fulfillment can significantly eat into your working hours.

Partnering with the right vendor and putting the heavy lifting on your order fulfillment center will help you spend more time doing what you love — growing your business. Focus your time and effort on design, marketing, and selling your product.

Next Steps?

Now that you better understand the benefits of outsourcing eCommerce order fulfillment, you may be ready to explore the possibilities for your own business. Learn About our eCommEdge Solution for Fuflfillment

Additional Resource

In addition to finding a third party vendor for fulfillment, you may be wondering how to grow business. Download our digital guide to Running a Successful eCommerce Outreach Campaign below.