You need a reliable online fulfillment service to return, ship, pick, warehouse and pack your products as your ecommerce store grows. An order fulfilment service prepares and delivers your customers’ orders, a process that helps improve customer experience and increase profits.
Fulfillment services help out in various ways. For example, you need a dependable online fulfillment service if most of your customers live in a remote location, your sales per month increase, your third-party logistics company charges more, or your business scales up.
When you consider the shipping time, fees, software integration, pricing and other factors involved, finding the right online fulfilment service can be a challenge. This article teaches you, precept upon precept, how to find the right online fulfilment service for your business—and how to continue making massive income.
To find the right online fulfilment service for your ecommerce store:
- Understand What a Fulfillment Service Is
- Check the Company’s Industry Experience
- Consider Technology and Integrations
- Check the Ecommerce Platform the Company Supports
- Look at Data and Analytics
- Maintain a Balance Between Quality and Price
- Check the Company’s Past Successes
- Check If the Company Offers First-Class Customer Experience
- Don’t Rush
Ready? Let’s get started!
1. Understand What a Fulfillment Service Is
To find the right online fulfilment service, understand what a fulfillment service is. This provider picks, packs and delivers products to your customers—in addition to storing your inventory before patrons place orders.
A fulfillment service runs from a physical location. Shopify Fulfillment Network, ShipMonk and ShipBob, to name three, are among the most popular fulfillment services.
2. Check The Company's Industry Experience
To choose the right online fulfilment service, check the company’s experience. Fulfillment services differ in their modes of operation. Use the company’s success stories to validate the company’s experience with ecommerce order fulfillment.
For example, most fulfillment services focus on specific niches. Ensure the fulfillment service you choose supports your niche. Before you choose a fulfillment service provider, check the company’s delivery speed. For instance, Amazon and ShipNetwork offer a two-day delivery.
Does the fulfillment service provider provide a top-notch customer support? Check how fast the company responds to customer queries to decide if the company is perfect for your business.
Consider transparency and visibility before you select your fulfillment service partner. Also, confirm if the company supports product tracking—the right company should provide details about which products are in the warehouse and which are out for shipment.
3. Consider Technology and Integrations
Examine the company’s technology and integrations before you select the right online fulfilment service for your business. Check if you can easily integrate the fulfillment service company into all the ecommerce platforms you sell on.
Also, the company’s technology must fit your ecommerce store platforms to make order processing faster. For example, Shopify Fulfillment Network’s (SFN) technology offers recommendations to keep your inventory close to your customers. Furthermore, SFN’s technology notifies you of the fulfillment center to restock based on seasonal trends and sales.
Most importantly, consider a fulfillment service that supports the use of mobile phones to track order processing. For example, mobile technologies allow you to track your products better with your mobile phone, adequately integrating mobile technologies so that you can track all dispatch orders effectively while you maintain communication with the fulfillment center.
Check if the fulfillment service provider offers seamless integration into your shipping providers. Amazon FBA, ShipMonk, ShipBob, Deliverr, etc. offer seamless integrations with FedEx, USPS and UPS.
4. Check the Ecommerce Platforms and Marketplaces the Company Supports
To find the right online fulfilment service for your business, check the ecommerce marketplaces and ecommerce platforms the company supports. This is imperative if you sell on multiple ecommerce platforms. Ensure the “right” company supports all the platforms you sell on.
ShipBob, for example, is omni-fulfillment and thus supports popular ecommerce platforms and marketplaces like Amazon, Shopify and eBay. Consider ShipBob to fulfill your orders if you sell on Amazon, Shopify and eBay simultaneously.
If you run a Shopify store, use Shopify Fulfillment Network as your ecommerce fulfillment service provider. However, ShipBob, ShipMonk, Red Stag Fulfillment, ShipNetwork, Amazon FBA and more also offer seamless integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento.
For marketplaces integrations, ShipBob, Deliverr, Falcon Fulfillment, ShipMonk and Fulfillment.com offer seamless integrations with Amazon, eBay and Walmart marketplaces.
5. Look at Data And Analytics
To choose the right online fulfilment service for your ecommerce business, look at your business data and analytics. You need data and analytics to make the right decision about purchasing, inventory, and allocation—and to monitor events that happen in your store.
Shopify Fulfillment Network provides end-to-end package tracking and, most importantly, customer data.
6. Maintain a Balance Between Quality and Price
To keep your store running with the perfect online fulfilment service, maintain a balance between quality and price. Price is important, but so is quality. Check if the provider’s quality of service is worth the price.
A quality fulfillment service processes, packages and delivers your customers’ orders promptly. Find out if the service includes key factors that determine your store’s success, including tracking, mobile technology integration, customer data and customer support.
For example, Deliverr, Simple Fulfillment, ShipBob and eFulfillment Services have no setup fees. Picking, storage and fulfillment fees vary for each fulfillment service provider. Compare the companies’ fees to select one based on the company’s offerings and your budget.
7. Check The Company's Past Successes
To zero in on the perfect online fulfillment service provider, check the company’s past successes. Find out what other store owners say about the service provider in terms of packaging and shipping speed.
Inquire about similar ecommerce businesses the company serves to validate the company’s integrity.
Review what other business owners say about the company on TrustPilot. Search “Company’s name + review” on Google to read what people say about the company in terms of product warehousing and delivery. Find out when the company started operations and what awards or certifications the company has acquired.
Also, investigate the company’s past and present clients. Examine if the company partners with other reputable ecommerce businesses. Do a thorough research about the company’s credibility before you consider partnership.
8. Check If The Company Offers First-Class Customer Experience
To find the right online fulfilment service for your business, inquire if the company offers top-notch customer experience to buyers. Ensure the fulfillment service includes fast and cheap delivery, a great combo that creates a positive customer experience.
Impress your customers with eye-catching branding and packaging—therefore, make sure personalized experience via customized branding and packaging is part of the fulfillment service.
9. Don't Rush
To keep your store running and choose the right online fulfilment service, don’t rush. Confirm if the company is competent to fulfill your orders.
The company’s location is an important order fulfillment competence test. How far is the company’s warehouse location to where your customers’ live? If the company’s warehouse location is remote, you pay more for logistics. For example, ShipNetwork runs multiple fulfillment centers in the U.S. to provide quick delivery.
Confirm if the company is legitimate—so read the company’s trade references. Don’t rush to partner with an illegitimate company.
Popular Ecommerce Fulfillment Services
To find the right online fulfilment service provider for your business, consider any of these popular companies:
1. Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN)
Shopify Fulfillment Network is best for new entrepreneurs who have a Shopify store. With Shopify, your shoppers see the exact date they get what they ordered. Shopify Fulfillment Network offers a two-day order delivery to ensure your customers receive their purchases quickly. When returns occur, Shopify manages them for you. Also, Shopify stores products for the first six months for free.
2. ShipNetwork (formerly Rakuten Super Logistics)
If your customers are in the U.S. only, consider ShipNetwork, as Rakuten offers a next-day delivery rate, which means the company ships the products the next day whenever your customers place orders. Also, ShipNetwork is compatible with many ecommerce merchants—so irrespective of your niche, the company still serves you well.
3. Fulfillment By Amazon
If you sell your products mostly on Amazon, Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) is best for you. As a new seller, you enjoy free return processing, free storage, free shipping to fulfillment centers, and free liquidation. Amazon’s FBA offers 24/7 customer support, two-day shipping, and more.
Other popular and reliable ecommerce fulfillment services include ShipMonk, ShipHero Fulfillment, Red Stag Fulfillment and ShipBob.
Recap
Making sales is an exciting part of ecommerce and to keep selling, you must get the items to your customers’ hands. To find the right online fulfilment service provider, understand what a fulfillment service is and validate the company’s industry experience.
Consider the company’s technology and integrations. Confirm the ecommerce platforms and marketplaces the company supports. Look at data and analytics and maintain a balance between quality and price. Ratify the company’s past successes. Then, check if the company offers a first-class customer experience to buyers and don’t rush.
