Entrepreneur Outsource Order Fulfillment
So you’ve developed an amazing niche product. You are looking into a third party ecommerce order fulfillment company because you’re probably picking, packing, and shipping products yourself or with a small team. You are growing tired of throwing packages in your car and rushing to the post office or UPS to meet the dreaded 5pm cutoff time. You are handling all of this while also focusing on hiring new employees, balancing your books, making sure you’re meeting all your states employer guidelines, and using Youtube to learn how to market with Facebook ads to make sure you sales don’t dip. It’s enough to frazzle a small team, let alone a one man show.
Nowadays many entrepreneurs have opted to outsource some or all of their supply chain management functions to a third party logistics company. There are many reasons as to why you would want someone else to handle your e-commerce order fulfillment. Let’s walk through some of the advantages.
1. It’s Budget-friendly
One of the major advantages of using an ecommerce order fulfillment company is lowering overhead. If you outsource, your storage fees will be based on the amount of space that your inventory is currently occupying in the warehouse of a third party logistics company. As you inventory depletes, you’ll take up less space and have lower storage fees. You also don’t have to worry about the variable costs of labor during slow seasons since the order fulfillment fees are calculated on a predetermined per shipment basis. Both of these things will allow you to have more control over your profit margins because your costs will fluctuate throughout the year.
2. You’ll save time with ecommerce order fulfillment
We all know that time is something that once spent, you cannot get back. You’ll have extra hours added to your day that would have been spent on building and manager a crew of warehouse staff eliminating the need to setup interviews, manage schedules and payroll. Your time can be focused on the things that will actually help your business grow, like improving customer service, marketing your product and inventing new product lines. Maybe use your extra hours to squeeze in a yoga class or try that new restaurant with a loved one.
3. No Maintenance Issues
Another major advantage of using the third party logistics is that they will worry about the maintenance of the warehouses and warehouse equipment such as forklifts. As a bonus, you won’t have to commit to a long term leasing agreement for a commercial building. You can agree to a month to month order fulfillment contract that allows you greater flexibility as your business expands and contracts.
A company providing third-party logistics specializes in getting you product to your customer in an efficient and timely manner. You can spend more time fine tuning the marketing and manufacturing side of your business. Outsourcing your ecommerce order fulfillment will allow you to save on variable costs throughout the year focus on the core services you provide that will help your business grow.