Order fulfilment refers to the set of processes that stretch from the moment a customer places an order on your eCommerce website, through to the arrival of the order at their front door.
Order fulfilment involves everything from; locating the relevant products within your inventory, correctly picking them, packing them, selecting a courier and ensuring that the order arrives with the customer quickly and correctly.
Where this becomes difficult for your company to keep up with demand of sales and or your company has grown to a stage where you are unable to maintain the above process, it may be that your company needs to look at outsourcing their fulfilment to an order fulfilment company which specialises in the fulfilment part of your eCommerce company on your behalf. This is what a fulfilment service is and is typically referred to as 3PL partner.
Thanks to companies like eBay and Amazon, the quick dispatch and receipt of parcels for start up and small business have become the industry standard to the point where you may lose customer if experience isn’t smooth convenient, smooth and fast.
This is exactly why order fulfilment companies, like Choice Fulfilment Services exist. They allow you to grow and grow with your small business of start-up company.
Order fulfilment companies have specialist knowledge in the eCommerce industry whether it’s setting up recurring orders and deliveries for subscription box stores, or scaling up to meet the demands of peak periods such as; Christmas and New year. 3pl companies also work with clients who have similar backgrounds and/ or business needs and much like their clients and partners, they grow with them.
What are the benefits of using an order fulfilment company?
Cost effective
While outsourcing fulfilment comes at a cost, so does self-fulfilling. Many start-up eCommerce companies are working out of their basements, attics, garage – just about anywhere they can store products and supplies. Often, these “work spaces” become an unorganised mess of bubble wrap, boxes, and other packing supplies. With a fulfilment centre, you can unload all these duties off to your service provider so you can focus on more important aspects of your business, like keeping your customers happy.
Delegate
Running a successful business means you need to delegate, let’s be honest, we can’t do it all and some things we do maybe done by someone with more experience in half the time. Letting go of certain processes or tasks is key – it frees up your time and allows you to upscale your business. We have had it countless times where clients find it hard to hand over the picking and packing reins and let their “baby” go, rest assured, we invite every client in before they send their stock to us and we encourage them to come in on the first 1 – 2 days to ensure all processes and packing expectations are met or improved which is very reassuring we are told. Choice Fulfilment has an open-door policy so no client needs to make an appointment to come in and visit.
Increase shipping speeds
The impact of having a warehouse with close links to the A38 and M5 like Choice Fulfilment is beneficial to shipping speeds. By placing inventory closer to your buyers, outsourcing fulfilment allows you to provide faster delivery. This is a massive advantage for retail businesses. Customers expect their goods to be delivered in two days or less. A speedy fulfilment partner may be the only way for you to meet those high demands and compete with the country’s biggest chain retailers.
Extend your delivery reach.
Fulfil your orders internationally. Whether you receive an order from another town or from another country, with the right order fulfilment provider, you’ll be ready to take your business to the next level. When you self-manage shipping, it can be really hard and time consuming to try and figure out delivery rates and predict delivery times (how much for France again?). International shipping rates are even more complicated because they involve different regulations, currencies, and Tariff codes. As a result, many retailers keep their shipping options fairly local. Outsourcing fulfilment can help you extend your reach and unlock a wider market.
Fulfilment expertise
By choosing an order fulfilment company such as Choice Fulfilment, you’ll be able to take advantage of the decades of experience these companies have in fulfilment, doing so will allow you to focus on the growth of your company.
Save time
Every process of picking and packing orders will be handled by the order fulfilment company. Many fulfilment companies will have stock management or provide low stock notifications too. Taking such a huge chunk of time away from your day will allow you to scale your business up and focus on more important elements of your business-like customers service, new products and markets. Most importantly if you wanted a weekend away or a break, you know your orders will continue to be picked, packed and dispatched!
Customer Satisfaction
An order fulfilment company completes all fulfilment for you, from sourcing the sold item stored right through to posting the item. Order fulfilment can work with you to provide a fast an efficient and reliable service all round. It might seem obvious in retrospect, but it needs to be mentioned. Faster, cheaper shipping, accurate delivery information, global reach, and more time spent on marketing and sales leads to more, happier customers. This is the entire goal of your business, and outsourcing fulfilment can make a massive impact in helping you achieve it.
Time to outsource your fulfilment?
If your eCommerce business is growing and you’re thinking about making the switch from in-house to outsourced fulfilment, then speak to the team at Choice Fulfilment today.
We can help your business grow. Contact us on 01752 936 896 or through the below form.
