When growing a company, you may reach the point where you can no longer handle all of your customers’ order needs. When this time arrives, companies need to consider outsourcing pick, pack, and ship fulfillment services to a third-party specialist. “Pick, pack, and ship” in its simplest terms means receiving customer orders, selecting the correct item out of your inventory, choosing the correct packaging, and shipping the order to your customer. Outsourcing this process to a third-party fulfillment company, such as Logistics Plus, can help you grow and expand your e-commerce business much faster than doing so on your own. However, there are important considerations that come into play at each step in the process. Addressing each of these areas requires a third-party partner that can full integrate itself into your shopping cart or order management system, has the knowledge on which transportation modes and packaging are best for your products, and can provide the necessary tracking, follow-up and real-time inventory management updates you’ll need to stay current.
If you’re still on the fence, here are additional reasons why you might consider outsourcing your pick, pack, and ship fulfillment services:
Organization and Speed
The main concern of most companies is customer satisfaction. With that being said, being organized and quick to pick and pack orders only means that a customer will receive their products faster. Third-party fulfillment companies are experienced and know what it takes to correctly fulfill an order in a timely fashion.
Lower Overhead and Fixed Costs
As your business expands, you may consider renting or purchasing a warehouse with enough space to store your inventory, while leaving enough room for the fulfillment process. As you can imagine, renting or purchasing a warehouse can be extremely costly. At that point, you will also need someone to run the operation, costing you more money, no matter the number of orders placed. By outsourcing to a fulfillment company, you can avoid several of these fixed costs and focus more on building your brand and selling your products.
Scalability
Outsourcing your pick, pack, and ship fulfillment services allows you the flexibility to grow your company as it grows with you. Fulfillment companies already have a large client base they fulfill orders for daily. This means that if your business triples in size, it will be much easier for a fulfillment company to adjust to the new volume of your orders, rather than you trying to adjust yourself.
Technology Solutions
A third-party logistics company often provides beneficial technology solutions that help level the playing field. Two of these specific systems include warehouse management system (WMS) and transportation management system (TMS). These systems can add tremendous value to your company because they provide detailed information regarding inventory, upcoming trends, and rate analysis through a web-based program. These technology solutions can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but can be available to you just by outsourcing to the right pick, pack, and ship fulfillment service.
Shipping from Ideal Locations
Most large 3PL’s have several locations throughout the country and sometimes world. Since shipping carriers base rates on location and time of delivery, having an ideal location for your product inventory can be crucial. This will save money on shipping, while saving time the customers must wait to receive their order. Outsourcing fulfillment services to ideal warehouse and fulfillment locations will also help you expand your business and help you reach markets and places you may not have thought were possible.
By outsourcing your pick, pack, and ship fulfillment services, you may be able to save time and money, while allowing you to focus on the most important parts of your business: selling products and building your brand! Logistics Plus is ready and willing to assist you with all of your e-commerce fulfillment needs.
