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Making the right decision when it comes to hiring a fulfillment company requires some careful consideration. As a matter of course you want your business to have all the fulfillment resources as possible at its disposal.
But, small businesses with limited resources might not want to spend a lot of money on extra services that often come bundled as part of order fulfillment.
Your potential fulfillment service provider will be able to provide you with statistics, client testimonials, and other information to help you make the right choices from their menu of services. If your business is small you may not need to have customer service reps available 24 hours a day, or you might only want to do a direct mailing to customers once a year.
There are a wide range of services offered by fulfillment houses and you don’t need to take advantage of all of them if you don’t need certain services. You’ll probably want to enlist at least the basic bundle of fulfillment services, which typically include:
Warehousing: fulfillment service companies operate and manage their own warehousing facilities, supervising them with a cherry-picked staff of inventory specialists and making sure the inventory storage space is electronically controlled and scientifically climate controlled. They can accept deliveries on your behalf directly from your manufacturer or supplier, meaning your inventory worries are over and done as soon as the outsourcing goes into effect.
Staffing: Like warehousing, your staffing needs can become a huge expense as you meet your order fulfillment needs. But your service provider hires and trains their own staff or workers, equipping them with the most efficient order processing stations and supplies. Your product inventory is quickly processes and prepared for shipment, and the staff also labels each package with your company logo to make sure your order fulfillment carries your company information.
As you choose your services remember that having your service provider handle all your back end logistics management needs will maximize your own profit potential. By keeping everything centralized, you take advantage of the expertise and experience that your service provider can provide while keeping your own operating costs at a minimum. Those savings can quickly add up, leading you to further business growth now and in the future.
