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Many companies stand or fall depending on the efficiency and reliability of their order fulfillment. Especially within the online marketplace, where the reliability and security of purchases sent via mail or other delivery service defines a company’s reputation, having dependable order processing, shipping, and tracking remains of paramount importance.
Maybe you haven’t switched yet because you’re leery of trusting your inventory and your order delivery systems to an outside enterprise. Maybe you think you can handle the growing needs of your business. Most small businesses reach a point where their success begins to work against them, finding more demand for order fulfillment than they can speedily and efficiently handle.
Once that happens the business can start to fail even though orders are pouring in. Having a solid fulfillment infrastructure in place before that happens will make sure that when your marketing efforts pay off and the orders are coming in fast and furious you will have the processes in place to handle them.
What You Get With Outsourced Fulfillment
The biggest advantage that comes with using an order fulfillment company is saving money. By outsourcing to a logistics management specialist you save yourself the myriad operating costs of handling your mail order fulfillment yourself. These costs include but are not limited warehouse construction or rental, property costs, facility and physical costs, and utility expenses.
Staffing the warehouse is a whole other headache, too. Staffing requires you to cover the expenses of hiring and training a body of workers to load and unload inventory, process orders, and the keep the warehouse facilities in good condition. You also have to pay payroll taxes.
But by shifting your outsourcing and fulfillment needs to a third party specialist, you reduce operating costs by dispensing with all those hefty cash allocations, virtually overnight. Instead, you’re free to concentrate on developing your business’ front end, including expansion into ecommerce, marketing and direct marketing initiatives, and renovation or graphic re-design.
How To Make the Change
As with any important decision, the first thing you need to do is complete due diligence research. Look carefully at several order fulfillment companies, and consider their advantages and incentives as much as their potential drawbacks. Finding the right logistics management company will also involve requesting testimonials and references from previous and existing clients, getting first hand yet subjective information about how the fulfillment service company services its customers.
