There are so many factors to consider when running a business, and while it can be difficult to keep up with them all, it is also important that you know what is worth outsourcing and what is worth doing yourself for you and your company.
Fulfillment companies are a great allrounder for businesses that do not have a lot of space, are not in a position to hire many employees, and need to operate on a ‘pay as you go’ style.
If this sounds like something that is of interest to you, then keep reading to find out what fulfillment companies can do for you and how they do it!
What Are Fulfillment Companies?
Fulfillment companies offer to complete a large chunk of processes that need to be undertaken as a third party. These processes include, but are not limited to, warehouse storage for products, picking out orders, and packing and shipping orders on demand. They also sort out the intricacies between these large procedures, such as finding the lowest shipping costs.
Outsourcing your picking, packing, and shipping to a fulfillment company is a good strategy to free up resources to focus on other aspects of your operations.
Other benefits include helping you keep impeccable customer service, as the chance of not being able to ship something on time and other issues are drastically reduced.
Send Your Stock to Them
When working with a fulfillment company, the first and main step is to get your inventory to them so they can handle everything. If you make your own products, you will have to ship these in bulk (more cost effective) and give the company a heads up that they are expecting an inbound delivery – they will then take it from there! This process can be even more simple if you purchase your items from a manufacturer, as you can simply have them delivered straight to the fulfilling company without it having to exchange any other hands.
Your products will be stored safely in your own container space and will only need to be accessed when fulfilling any orders.
Customer Orders Can be Routed Straight to The Fulfilment Company
You have two options when it comes to the fulfillment company completing orders. Many businesses prefer to manually give the fulfillment companies their orders as and when they come in, but you can also choose a more direct approach, where customers’ orders are routed straight to the company itself. This helps you cut out even more time, allowing you to get on with the work you need to be doing. To do this, you will need to use a point-of-sale system or opt for complete integration so the company can see exactly what the customer has ordered and all of the important details to go with it.
Then, fulfillment companies simply process, pick, pack and ship your order to your customers. You will then be notified of the shipped order, along with your customer– it really is as simple as that!
