Image by Isle Concierge via Flickr
If you are in the business of selling food products you need a fulfillment solution that is designed to handle perishable items. Trying to accomplish all the crucial functions that comprise the execution of these services by yourself or with a small staff can be tricky and ultimately result in losses or inefficient processes that could potentially drop your profit margins.
A professional fulfillment company is able to receive and accept your goods directly from the supplier. Once they have received and properly stocked your merchandise in the warehouse they are ready to process incoming orders which include packaging and shipping to your customers.
If you actually manufacture the food product, choose a partner that will take care of business and free up your time to stay focused on improving your product and run other important aspects of your business. Select a partner that ensures your food fulfillment orders are finished efficiently, correctly and on time.
Faithful customers that order on a continued basis as well as word-of-mouth referrals from these satisfied consumers can dramatically increase your orders. This will only happen if you choose the right food fulfillment company for your business. As you search all the providers and peruse their information and services, keep a few things in mind:
* Narrow your search to companies that understand the shelf life of your specific products.
* Pinpoint the providers with a state of the art warehouse distribution center offering the latest logistics technology.
* Consider fulfillment centers that can promise fast, cost effective shipping.
* Make sure that the food fulfillment company provides access to timely, on-demand reports and analysis that demonstrates the accomplishments of the processes they have in place.
* Have a contractor agreement which will outline all services the provider will be responsible for.
If you are also in the business of selling gift baskets a fulfillment company can even help with these items too. A fulfillment company can assemble gift baskets to customer specifications and ship them directly to them quickly while you sit back and enjoy your profits without doing any of the complicated work. The provider will even include your company name on the shipping label and insert marketing materials for your business into the final package.
