Have you ever wondered what happens once you purchase a product online? Does every company have a gigantic warehouse of products waiting to be shipped out daily? Many businesses don’t have the resources, for example, Amazon. They will instead outsource order intake, packaging, storage and shipping needs with a fulfillment partner. These companies have become increasingly important due to the rapid growth of eCommerce transactions. The industry doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Let’s take a look into what order fulfillment is, and how your business could benefit from working with an order fulfillment company.
Types of Order Fulfillment Strategies
By definition, order fulfillment is the entire process of what occurs from when an item is purchased or ordered. This includes all the way to receiving that product. This covers booking the order, processing and packaging the product, and successfully delivering it to customers.
As you can imagine, a lot can go wrong in that process. Even having an incorrect label could hinder the time it takes to get to your customer. This is why many business owners and entrepreneurs work with an outsourced fulfillment partner to handle their order fulfillment needs.
Check out what fulfillment options are available to your venture below:
In House Fulfillment
As the name suggests, in-house fulfillment is managed internally, and comes with its perks and downfalls. A huge advantage of doing this in-house is that you retain control over the entire process. Changes may be easier to roll out across the entire organization. For entrepreneurs who come equipped with logistics experience, these changes may be done more efficiently as it relates to their product.
On the flip side, operating in-house can get tremendously costly. Let’s consider what line items a successful fulfillment would take:
- Storage
- Equipment (e.g. forklifts, trucks)
- Packaging lines
- Logistics software
That is not even including the cost of employees. If you’re running a small Shopify website for fitness gear, this might not be the optimal solution for your order fulfillment needs.
Third-Party Fulfillment
Third-party fulfillment companies are ideal solutions for companies who might not have the necessary storage facilities in place. They will store the inventory, and as orders come in, will package and ship products to your customers. It’s important to note that third party fulfillers do charge you for any inventory storage upfront. This differs from the dropshipping method below.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is the cheapest route to order fulfillment. In this model, the seller works directly with the manufacturer or wholesaler of the products to create, package and ship any orders.
Many of the costs associated with other order fulfillment methods are eliminated with dropshipping. However, it also has the lowest margin. The seller is taking a small percentage off of what the manufacturer profits.
Benefits to Outsourcing Order Fulfillment
Working with an outsourced order fulfillment service provider comes with many benefits. Aside from cost savings, outsourcing order fulfillment frees up your team’s hands to accomplish other tasks for the business.
Time Saver
Letting professionals accomplish your fulfillment needs is going to remove the long nights printing package labels from your schedule. Fulfillment centers incur the time and costs associated with processing, packaging, and shipping products. They ship packages at scale, which discounts their overall shipping costs and subsequently yours.
Cost-Effective
Maybe your business sells a larger product, or demands shipping internationally. You must consider the storage, packaging, and shipping costs that those processes demand. Fulfillment centers have the space, equipment, and expertise needed to get orders to your customers. Print Bind Ship offers discounts to customers that need bundled services. These can include product packaging design and in-house printing, “free product just pay shipping” campaigns, and so much more.
Managed Inventory
Depending on the size of your product, storing inventory in a warehouse might not be a choice. Regardless of the product, it can be advantageous to store your inventory where it’s processed and sent from to expedite ship time to customers. We offer free storage in our onsite facility when fulfilling your orders.
Client Retention
Your customer will appreciate the prompt ship times and sturdy packaging offered from an order fulfillment company. Knowing they can order any time day or night, have multiple shipping speeds, and that their package will arrive damage-free will provide a sense of trust and legitimacy to any eCommerce business.
One of the best parts of working with us is knowing your customer. Unlike major third party seller platforms, you lose the opportunity to see who is purchasing your product. With Mel’s order fulfillment you gain the ability to see your customer’s contact details and can reach out for future business.
Want to wow your customer with a custom printed box? We can do that too! Check out some of our latest designs.
Dedicated Staff
With Print Bind Ship, you never have to worry about hiring warehouse or shipping staff. Our dedicated team handles your inventory with expert hands and ensures each package gets to your customers.
Industry Knowledge
We’ve been in business for 60+ years, we always offer expert advice on how to handle your fulfillment needs the fastest and most cost-effective way.
What’s Next: Order Fulfillment With Print Bind Ship
If you’re ready to take the next step in growing your business through your order fulfillment, we’re here to help! Let us know how we can take your business to the next level and get your product wherever in the world you need it. Learn how you can save time and money when you trust order fulfillment professionals, leaving you to focus on the core of your business