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Home-based businesses represent a little noticed but nevertheless vibrant and important part of the American economy. Stay at home entrepreneurs range from the career professional attempting to supplement their own income to the dedicated start-up business visionary determined to forge their own career path.
But the home business can only stay home based for so long. Inevitably the business must branch out into new facilities capable of handling the increased amount of sales or else choke on its own success. The inventory of a growing business can also quickly overwhelm the home, and the family-based staff desperately trying to keep up with their growing gift fulfillment responsibilities can fall behind or decide to quit helping out altogether.
The best solution for the home based business owner whose business is growing is to outsource the order fulfillment process to a fulfillment provider.
A Surprising Definition of Outsourcing
Somewhat contrary to the popular lexicon, “outsourcing” doesn’t necessarily mean sending parts of a business overseas, to companies or labor pools that fill the position and obligations for next to no money. When a home-based business outsources their fulfillment to a fulfillment services provider they move their warehousing, shipment processing, and shipment preparation to a business that specializes in order fulfillment elsewhere in the United States.
These companies then assume supervision and control of the entire order process. A fulfillment house streamlines the order process by performing those tasks at a rate of speed, accuracy, and efficiency that would otherwise take years for the client business to achieve on its own. Service provider companies are overseen by managers and supervisors who claim years of efficiency and logistics management, so they’re incredibly well-versed in insuring every product reaches its destination in a safe and timely manner.
What Outsourcing Costs Your Business
A better framework when considering using the services of a third-party fulfillment company involves the savings. Because the service provider manages every aspect of the back end, the client company can more quickly segue into their next phase of business growth, using the saved revenue otherwise spent on operating costs to propel their expansion to a faster rate.
Most service providers deduct a percentage of the profits from each product fulfilled as the cost for their numerous services. This gives them the strong advantage to remain efficient and prompt in their operations, as they benefit by every client continued growth.