Understanding Product Fulfillment Services
Your business has made the decision to start outsourcing product fulfillment services and the task at hand is to find the right fulfillment company. Whether you run a one-person e-commerce operation or a fast-growing business with many employees, you can benefit from outsourcing product fulfillment. It allows you and your staff to concentrate on developing new products and finding new customers.
The importance of a product fulfillment company cannot be overstated. The top ones strive to serve your business and take care of your inventory as if it was their own. They can become invaluable partners, taking care of your customers and constantly strategizing to assist you in maximizing growth and profitability. You need a company that listens to your specific needs and seamlessly adapts their team and resources to fit your product, processes and system. If you begin your selection process with these key principles in mind, you will make the best choice.
When you outsource to product fulfillment houses, you get to hand off the time-consuming process of packing orders and shipping them to customers; tasks such as careful packaging, labeling and shipping your products. Some product fulfillment companies will even handle customer service and product returns. They take orders, integrate with your website to fill e-commerce orders, warehouse your product, do kit assembly, monitor and track shipments, report progress and more.
Another important factor is to choose a group of fulfillment professionals with decades of experience in the industry. Find out if your chosen fulfillment company has a proven record of being proactive and staying within budget. An established product fulfillment company ensures that all systems are in sync during the critical transition of product fulfillment. An experienced team will know about you and will get your business’ product fulfillment smoothly transitioned.
That is because each day, they process thousands of orders for product fulfillment and premium merchandise distribution using a variety of data feeds, such as real time processing through API calls, batch order files in most all formats, EDI, Fax, Phone, and Mail. Upon arrival, mail and fax orders are immediately entered for expedient processing. Website/e-commerce orders are immediately keyed in their fulfillment system for real-time order processing and fast shipping.
Product fulfillment houses are a lifesaver for manufacturers, distributors and retailers who don’t have the resources to dedicate to mail order, customer service, packaging and shipping. Choose one that takes over the complete process of order fulfillment and offer customized solutions backed by experienced management and staff for unparalleled customer satisfaction that will truly separate you from your competitors.