Flexible providers make eCommerce fulfillment easier
Who uses a fulfillment company?
Anyone that needs their products picked, packed, and shipped to a destination can use a fulfillment company. Fulfillment centers manage the receiving, storage, and shipping of all inventory for eCommerce sellers. By handling inventory control and order fulfillment, fulfillment centers make it easy for eCommerce brands to focus on growing their core business. Fulfillment companies offer many services and can handle volumes of all sizes.
DTC eCommerce businesses
eCommerce businesses shipping direct to consumers use fulfillment companies to pick, pack, and ship their orders. It is difficult for a brand to focus on growing while also meeting the high expectations of today’s consumer. Instead, let fulfillment companies focus on meeting customer expectations so you can concentrate your resources on growth.
B2B eCommerce companies
Companies selling products to other businesses online use fulfillment centers to manage their inventory and ship orders. More businesses are buying online and there is demand for fulfillment centers that are flexible enough to meet B2B business requirements. eCommerce business clients are coming to expect the same experience as consumers.
Omnichannel sales
Today’s competitive environment requires eCommerce companies to sell goods across multiple channels using an omnichannel strategy. Omnichannel sellers use fulfillment centers to simplify inventory control and fulfillment of orders that are placed from multiple sources. Fulfillment centers use technology that easily connects to multiple order channels for omnichannel fulfillment.
What is a fulfillment service?
A fulfillment company offers order fulfillment services to businesses selling their goods online to consumers and businesses. Fulfillment services make sure customers get their orders when they should. Most fulfillment centers offer standard services for online sellers such as receiving, picking, packing, and shipping. Fulfillment centers also perform unique custom services for clients upon request.
Some of the standard fulfillment services include the following.
Inbound processing
Pick, pack, & ship
Light assembly & kitting
Inventory control & inventory management
Returns processing center
Distribution center
What are the roles and functions of fulfillment centers?
Inbound processing
All goods arriving at the fulfillment center undergo itemized receipt to ensure goods are received in good condition in the correct quantites. Each receipt is sorted, inspected, counted, and compared to the expected quantites. Inbound processing is the first time the fulfillment center handles the goods and is critical.
Inventory control
Fulfillment centers are responsible for managing the inventory within their facility. The fulfillment center must know exactly how many of each product are in each warehouse location for accurate inventory control. Accurate inventory control ensures products are ready to be picked when the customer places their order.
Pick, pack, & ship
Getting the order to the customer on time is critical to the customer’s experience so fulfillment centers make sure your orders are shipped within the agreed Service Level Agreement (SLA). Fulfillment centers normally offer same day order processing for DTC orders placed until early afternoon.
How do fulfillment services work?
Fulfillment services are a way for eCommerce sellers to outsource their daily order fulfillment workload. Never again rush to finish packing those 52 orders after a busy Tuesday morning of meetings with manufacturers and the graphic designer. Instead, those 52 orders are packed and shipped before lunchtime, and you didnt have to do a thing! This is how fulfillment services work.
Once you find a fulfillment center, ship your goods there to be received into inventory. The received goods are then stored until an order is placed by the client’s customer. When an order is placed on the client’s website the order is immediately sent to the fulfillment center where they begin picking and packing. Once the order is packed and a shipping label is printed, the fulfillment center sends the tracking details back to your system and to the customer. The process is seamless, and from the customer’s perspective, all of the work is completed by your team.
Should I use a fulfillment company?
Deciding whether to use a fulfillment company is always a unique decision, and must be carefully evaluated on factors beyond cost alone. As a general guide, it is effective to use a fulfillment company if you have 25+ orders per day and the profit margin is large enough to cover the costs of using a fulfillment company. Fulfillment companies are great partners for small and medium businesses, but there may be reasons that prolong or accelerate starting to use a fulfillment company.
Fulfillment companies have more to offer beyond outsourced labor for order fulfillment. Fulfillment centers are experts at what they do and as their customer, you get their expertise along the way. They often have discounted shipping rates, better technology systems, and a larger logistics reach to offer than an eCommerce company can achieve on their own. If you want to grow your business faster it is best to use a fulfillment company.
How do I find a fulfillment center?
Finding a flexible fulfillment center to work with is hard and takes time. The most common ways to find a fulfillment center are through word of mouth or via online research. Many business owners ask around to find out what fulfillment centers others in their network are using, or to find where they should be looking for fulfillment centers. Online research is also a good way to find fulfillment centers, but you must sort through many junk listings to find better quality providers.
eCommerce sellers must interview fulfillment centers to find the best fit for their needs. It is costly to change fulfillment centers once inventory arrives so careful consideration must be given during initial provider selection. How will you know what inventory you have in stock? Who will you contact if there is a question or problem about your goods? What will you be charged for standard types of work you expect to be done? Asking simple questions like this will help you find the right fulfillment partner for your company.
How can I get started?
- Contact our team
- Quick call (with a WE owner-operator) to confirm details and client need
- WE send you Rates, and provide a few sample invoice scenarios based on the details gathered during the call
- You award Warehousing Etc the job
- Prepare your shipment(s) for delivery to our Tampa warehouse
- You produce, we warehouse