Choosing the right order fulfillment service for your ecommerce business can be overwhelming because each fulfillment firm comes with unique services, fulfillment locations, customer support, price, scalability, etc.
But hold on!
What exactly is an order fulfillment service—especially in the context of ecommerce business?
When you select an order fulfillment service, you have access to a third-party storeroom that gathers and dispatches your customers’ orders from its fulfillment centers.
You save a lot of time, money and energy by leveraging a team of experts who manage everything on your behalf.
But plan things properly before you do anything, gather relevant info and familiarize yourself with the basic steps.
To choose an ecommerce order fulfillment service:
- Understand What Ecommerce Order Fulfillment Service Entails
- Familiarize Yourself with Key Order Fulfillment Companies
- Confirm the Order Fulfillment Cost
- Verify Shipping Speed
- Determine the Proximity of the Fulfillment Warehouse to Your Target Audience
- Confirm Order Fulfillment Tools
- Choose a Trustworthy Fulfillment Company
- Choose an Order Fulfillment That Has Branding Options
- Select an Order Fulfillment Company That Has Packaging Options
- Work With a Company that Has a Return Policy
1. Understand What Ecommerce Order Fulfillment Service Entails
To choose a reliable ecommerce order fulfillment service, understand what the service entails.
Remember: With an ecommerce order fulfillment service, you have access to third-party warehouses that collect and ship your customers’ orders from their fulfillment centers. That way, you rely on a team of experts who manage everything on your behalf.
Choose a fulfillment service provider that fits your budget and the kind of business you deal with.
Verify key factors such as order fulfillment requirements, business model and industry experience so you can make the best choice for your business.
Take note of fulfillment locations, customer support and adaptation to technology
2. Familiarize Yourself with Key Order Fulfillment Companies
To pick an appropriate ecommerce order fulfillment service, familiarize yourself with key order fulfillment companies.
Pay attention to the following key players:
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): Choose FBA to get services for multi-channel sales, a vast warehouse network, a reliable shipping policy and discounted shipping rates.
- FedEx Ecommerce Fulfillment (FEF): Subscribe to FEF and access multi-platform integration, reverse logistics, an excellent tracking system, and supply chain consultation.
- Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN): Pick SFN to access affordable pricing options, quick shipping to several US locations, and smart inventory allocation technology.
- Fulfilled by Sears (FBS): Use FBS for easy integration with other popular ecommerce solutions, global shipping service, and affordable shipping rates.
- eFulfillment Service: Choose this service to experience flexible pricing options, get tracking codes for shipments, cut-price shipping rates, multiple shipping options, and insurance coverage for ground shipping services.
Keep in mind the order fulfillment service you choose can make or break your ecommerce business.
3. Confirm the Order Fulfillment Cost
To choose an ecommerce order fulfillment service, know the cost implications and check the recurrent subscription fees.
Know what you’re getting yourself into and calculate the fulfillment cost per order (CPO)—that is, the sum of warehousing expenses (such as setup fees, intake fees, storage fees, packing fees, shipping fees, etc.).
Pay attention to the following fulfillment cost factors:
- Setup Fees: You pay a one-time fee that covers charges for the type of business you operate and the fulfillment volume expected.
- Intake Fees: You pay for the services a fulfillment center provides to receive and process your inventory.
- Storage Fees: You reimburse charges for storing items. The charges depend on the type, size, and time needed to receive your inventory.
- Packing Fees: You pay for picking and packaging items for shipment.
- Shipping Fees: Shelters the cost of shipping an item to the customer from the fulfillment center to the customer’s destination.
- Return Fees: You pay for receiving, inspecting, assembling, and returning faulty items to the manufacturer (where the manufacturer isn’t your fulfillment service provider).
- Account Management Fees: Covers monthly administrative charges (usually added to your monthly invoice).
Confirm the fees per transaction to know if it’s something you can work with.
Speak with the fulfillment company’s customer service and ask for a breakdown of their charges (including hidden charges) so you won’t pay more to earn less in your business.
4. Verify Shipping Speed
To decide on an ecommerce order fulfillment service, verify shipping speed so you know how fast customers get their orders.
Choose a fulfillment service that has a considerably short order fulfillment cycle (the time from when you place a customer’s order to when a customer receives the item).
Verify the supply chain for each fulfillment service to know what you are up against. A chat with their customer representative can come in handy.
To calculate order fulfillment cycle time, add the source time (the time when a customer places an order) plus production time (the time it takes to manufacture or package the order), plus delivery time.
5. Determine the Proximity of the Fulfillment Warehouse to Your Target Audience
To pick an ecommerce order fulfillment service, know the proximity of the fulfillment company’s warehouses to your target audience.
Pick a fulfillment service provider that offers worldwide shipping. That way, you have proximity options for multiple fulfillment locations.
Choose an ecommerce order fulfillment service provider with close proximity to your end customers as this (to some extent) shortens the order fulfillment cycle time.
Check the addresses of order fulfillment service providers to see if they have a network of warehouses around your country. That way, you get to quickly meet customers’ demands, shorten delivery time, and—to some extent—reduce the fulfillment cost.
Visit the contact page for each website to get information about the order fulfillment service location. This gives you an idea of what to choose.
6. Confirm Order Fulfillment Tools
To choose a reliable ecommerce order fulfillment service, confirm the software the shipment company uses.
Make sure the fulfillment services provider incorporates certain key tools in its day-to-day operation.
But most importantly, ensure you can seamlessly integrate that software into your business app or platform.
Look out for features such as inventory management software and inventory control systems. Both tools are useful for seamless fulfillment service delivery.
Ensure that the fulfillment service has a data reporting tool and allows mobile phone integration so you can track orders.
Verify the inbound freight management tool (a tool that helps you create and distribute content that draws people into your website).
Also, confirm the outbound freight management feature (a tool that enables you to proactively reach out to customers to arouse their interest in a product.
7. Choose a Trustworthy Fulfillment Company
To pick an ecommerce order fulfillment service, choose a reliable fulfillment company to work with. Note that trust is a key factor in the ecommerce business, so choose a trustworthy order fulfillment service.
Choose a fulfillment service provider with a physical address. That way, you get to reach them whenever there are shipping issues.
Check customer reviews to see what previous customers are saying about the company’s services.
Weight the percentage of happy customers against the unhappy ones from each fulfillment service provider. Know why their customers are happy or angry about their services.
Make sure they have a tool where consumers can track shipments in real time.
8. Choose an Order Fulfillment That Has Branding Options
To hand-pick an ecommerce order fulfillment service, choose one that comes with a variety of branding options, as most customers buy more brand-specific products.
Pick an order fulfillment service that offers unique branding on products they ship. Check to know if the company ships products in generic brown boxes or branded boxes.
Remember, branding boosts your business recognition and distinguishes you from every other ecommerce brand in the marketplace.
Check for the brand’s shipment boxes for vital branding features such as box design, unique logo, slogan and pattern of packaging.
9. Select an Order Fulfillment Company that has Packaging Options
To skim off a reliable ecommerce order fulfillment service, choose one that comes with packaging options. That way, you know the right type of packaging for your products and you can prevent products damages.
Note that there are several types of packaging for order fulfillment services, such as corrugated boxes (made with cardboard), and paperboard boxes (folding carton boxes that are flat when not in use).
Also, pay attention to fulfillment service providers that come with packaging options such as plastic bags, foil-sealed bags, and rigid bags. Do your research properly to choose the right shipment service for your business.
10. Work With a Company That Has a Return Policy
To choose an ecommerce order fulfillment service, work with a company that has a return policy to mitigate controllable product issues.
Be sure the fulfillment company has a software that helps identify “serial returners” (those customers who repeatedly make purchases and return them).
Choose a fulfillment service that helps you take care of issues such as incorrect products or damaged items. Make sure the company has a trained team who carefully and appropriately package every order to minimize possible damages.
Pick a fulfillment company with which you have current info about the return process, allowing you to track what’s going on. You can choose what happens to faulty items. With this, you have full control of the entire process.
Recap
To choose an ecommerce order fulfillment service, understand what ecommerce order shipment service requires—and familiarize yourself with key order fulfillment companies.
Confirm how much the fulfillment company charges and how fast it ships items to customers.
Determine the proximity of the fulfillment company’s warehouses to your target audience and confirm order fulfillment tools for an easy business experience.
Choose a trustworthy fulfillment company that comes with a variety of branding options.
Finally, select a fulfillment company that has packaging options. Also, a company that has a product return policy so you can manage faulty item issues.
