It is very common for scaled-up businesses and small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) to bring their operations in-house as a starting point, but as the business grows, pain points start to show. For example, making the tough decision of whether it’s more beneficial to expand your own warehouse space to support business growth, or whether onboarding a fulfilment partner is the most strategic option.
To give you a better understanding of why outsourcing your fulfilment might be the right option for you and your business, here are some clear warning signs that suggest it’s time to consider finding a fulfilment partner.
Depending on your product range and your target market, if your sales are showing consistency or growth, you would be reluctant to commit to your own workforce, warehouse space and additional costs. Remember, with onboarding a dedicated in-house team, additional warehouse space and equipment, you’re committing to fixed costs before any orders have been shipped out. With a fulfilment partner, you eliminate these pain points, risks and additional costs from the offset.
If you and your team are spending a lot of time picking and packing product orders to ship your orders to your customers and often taking those orders to local couriers, the likelihood is that you won’t be spending enough time focusing on brand strategy and growth. As a business owner, the main focus is usually scaling up, expansion and innovation, whether by sourcing new products and ideas, or expanding your current customer base.
With outsourcing fulfilment, everything is managed externally. In most cases, your online store directly connects to your fulfilment partner and everything else is managed by them until your customer receives their order from you.
Service Quality. One of the most common stumbling blocks when choosing a fulfilment partner is cost. Price is important, but finding a company that is a good fit for your needs is just as important. Equally, you don’t want the standard of service, quality or reliability to suffer as a result of choosing a lower-cost option. Unsatisfied customers could end up costing you more in the long run which may have a detrimental impact on your business. You may be forced to spend more time resolving mistakes by your fulfilment center, rather than focusing on strategy and innovation.
Technology and innovation. It is important to source a partner that can easily integrate with not only your current business, but also your existing integrations, systems and processes.
Data and reporting. Knowing your inventory and orders is the biggest influencing factor to your success and your cash-flow. Finding a partner that can provide real-time data and scheduled reports will save you time and allow you to make informed decisions about stock holding and promotions.
Finally, when choosing a partner for your business, remember that the fulfilment center should show a genuine interest to get to know more about your products, people and long-term goals. A partnership is about collaboration and this is something that 8Commerce prides itself on.
Our team are keen to help new and existing clients to innovate and reach their fullest potential, so why not get in touch and speak with one of our specialists today so you can:
- Save up to 73% in shipping costs
- Save 80% of time fulfilling orders
- Free onboarding and integration
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