Category Archives: E-Commerce Fulfillment

Supply chain management (SCM) is a vital part of any business. In the most basic sense, it is the process of overseeing the flow of goods and materials from suppliers to manufacturers to retailers to consumers. However, SCM is much more complex than simply managing the movement of physical goods. In this blog post, we will discuss the different elements of supply chain management and how they impact businesses.

How Does Supply Chain Management Work?

In today’s global economy, supply chains are often vast and complex, spanning multiple countries and involving hundreds of different businesses. To effectively manage a supply chain, businesses need to have visibility into every step of the process, from raw materials procurement all the way through to end-consumer sales. This requires close collaboration between all supply chain partners, as well as real-time data tracking and analysis.

There are many different supply chain management strategies that can be employed, depending on the needs of the organization. The most common supply chain management system is just-in-time (JIT) production, which minimizes inventory levels by producing goods only as needed. Other supply chain management strategies include lean manufacturing, agile manufacturing, and supply chain integration.

Elements of Supply Chain Management

Although it may seem like a simple process, SCM is actually a very complex and dynamic field that involves many different elements. Here are five of the most important:

1. Planning: In order to ensure that products are delivered on time and in the correct quantities, SCM practitioners must carefully plan every step of the process. This includes forecasting demand, estimating lead times, and creating production schedules.
2. Sourcing: Another key element of SCM is sourcing. This involves working with suppliers to procure the raw materials and components needed to produce finished goods. In some cases, sourcing can also involve reverse logistics or the process of returning defective or surplus items to suppliers.
3. Manufacturing: Once the necessary materials have been sourced, it’s time to start manufacturing products. This stage of SCM requires close coordination between different departments, such as engineering, quality control, and assembly.
4. Delivering: The next step is to get products from the manufacturing facility to customers. This can be done through various distribution channels, such as direct shipment, retailers, or wholesalers.
5. Returning: Finally, SCM practitioners must also be prepared to handle returns and other post-purchase activities. This can involve anything from providing customer support to processing refunds and exchanging defective items.

Why Is Supply Chain Management Important?

Supply chain management is important because it can have a significant impact on a company’s bottom line. Not only can it help to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction, but it can also help to ensure that products and services are delivered in a timely and effective manner. Ultimately, supply chain management is important because it can help to make a company more competitive and successful.

Contact APS Fulfillment for the Best Supply Chain Solutions

Get all your supply chain management needs handled by APS Fulfillment, Inc. As a premier fulfillment center with state-of-the-art warehouse management software (WMS), we make inventory management and goods tracking easy. We’ll also support your business and automate the warehousing, prepping, shipping, picking, and packing of your orders!

Get in touch with us and one of our consultants will tailor a fulfillment plan designed to grow your business. Book a consultation by calling (954) 582-7450 or emailing [email protected]

Tips to Increase Your Holiday Sales

The holiday season is a time when businesses can make a lot of money. If you want to take advantage of the holiday sales in 2022, then you need to start preparing now. One of the best ways to do this is by moving to an e-commerce fulfillment service. This will help you manage the process easily and ensure that your customers have a positive experience. If you’re looking for ways to increase holiday sales in 2022, here are a few key strategies you can use.

1. Learn the Holiday Shipping Deadlines

Many customers wait until the last minute to shop for gifts, so it’s important to have your holiday fulfillment solutions in place well in advance. This will ensure that your orders are shipped on time and that your customers are happy with their purchases. In addition, you should consider implementing free shipping or offering discounts for early orders.

2. Be COVID Conscious

As the world slowly emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses are reevaluating their e-commerce and holiday fulfillment strategies. In order to compete in the coming years, it will be essential for businesses to offer safe and convenient e-commerce solutions that will allow customers to shop from the comfort and safety of their homes.

3. Give Your Website a Festive Look

Giving your website a festive look can be as simple as adding some holiday-themed banner ads or changing the color scheme of your site. You can also update your product descriptions to highlight gift-giving occasions. This will help get shoppers into the holiday spirit and remind them that your store is a great place to find gifts for their loved ones.

4. Provide Exciting Offers for First-Time Buyers

Offer special promotions and discounts for first-time buyers to encourage them to buy from your store. You can promote free shipping or discounts on certain items or offer special bundles or deals on popular items. By offering incentives, you’ll encourage shoppers to buy more from your store this holiday season instead of going to your competitors.

5. Offer Free Shipping and Easy Returns

E-commerce fulfillment is one of the main concerns for customers when shopping online. This is because customers want to be sure that they will receive their holiday purchases on time and that they can easily return them if they are not satisfied. You can increase your holiday sales in 2022 by offering free shipping and easy returns.

6. Create Custom Holiday Packaging

One way to increase holiday sales is to create custom holiday packaging. This will not only make your products stand out from the competition, but it will also provide your customers with a unique unboxing experience. In addition, custom packaging can be used as a marketing tool to promote your brand and drive repeat business.

7. Run Cart Abandonment Campaigns

Cart abandonment campaigns target shoppers who have added items to their cart but haven’t completed the purchase. By sending targeted emails or ads to these shoppers, you can encourage them to come back and finish their purchase. Additionally, e-commerce businesses can offer discounts or free shipping to sweeten the deal and increase the chances of a sale.

8. Automate and Outsource Your Fulfillment Early

E-commerce businesses often see a spike in sales during the holiday season and fulfilling orders can be a challenge. By automating your fulfillment processes and outsourcing to a third-party provider, you can ensure that orders are processed and shipped quickly and efficiently. This will also free up your time to focus on other aspects of your business.

Take Advantage of APS Fulfillment’s Holiday Fulfillment Solutions

As an e-commerce fulfillment company, APS Fulfillment, Inc. offers a wide range of flexible options that enables you to gain freedom over your own time. This is especially important over the holiday season.

With APS Fulfillment’s real-time processing, we can confirm your order, have it picked and packed, and shipped with one of our trusted partners, in just 24 hours. There is a wide range of benefits to working with a third-party logistics company that uses the best-quality software systems to manage your warehouses. Other product fulfillment companies may offer a similar set of services, but APS Fulfillment, Inc. goes the extra step. We take great pride that our quality control procedures are state-of-the-art.

Get in touch with us and one of our consultants will tailor a fulfillment plan designed to grow your business. Book a consultation by calling (954) 582-7450 or emailing [email protected].

When importing or exporting goods, it’s important to be aware of the charges that may apply if your cargo is delayed. These charges are known as demurrage, detention, and storage fees. In this article, we will provide an overview of these charges and discuss how a customs broker can help you avoid them.

What Is Demurrage?

Demurrage is a charge that a shipper incurs when a shipment remains at a port beyond the allotted time for loading or unloading. The port provides a certain number of “free” days that a shipment can stay, but after that, it will begin charging the shipper each day.

Demurrage fees are intended to compensate the ship owner or operator for delays caused by the shipper. This is also done so that ports are not congested and so that freight does not oversit, thus causing even more issues. In some instances, demurrage fees can exceed the value of the container. When demurrage charges are incurred, they must be paid in full before the shipment can be released.

What Is Detention?

Detention applies to the container itself and the time a carrier holds cargo after it has been loaded or unloaded. There are a certain number of days in which a shipper is allowed to take the container to their warehouse of choosing and empty it. If those days exceed the allotted amount, detention fees are applied per day per container.

This is to ensure containers are not stolen and that they are returned, as well as to make sure a container does not miss its sailing time.

What Are Storage Charges?

Storage charges happen when the port stores the goods in its own warehouse or facilities. In some cases, these charges may also apply if there is a delay in loading or unloading a shipment. Storage charges are typically assessed on a per-day basis, and the amount will vary depending on the size and type of cargo being stored.

Unlike demurrage, which is charged by the shipping line, storage charges are charged by the terminal/port. Both charges can be incurred simultaneously. Storage charges can add up quickly, so it is important to factor them into your overall shipping costs.

What Causes Demurrage?

Failure to retrieve products from the port within the timeframe given will cause demurrage to apply. Demurrage can be caused by a number of factors including bad weather, port congestion, and mechanical issues. In some cases, it may also be levied if the shipper fails to load or unload the cargo within the allotted time. After the free days are up, customers must retrieve their products or incur demurrage.

How Can I Avoid Demurrage Fees?

Keep an eye on timelines. In order to avoid demurrage charges, shippers must schedule their shipments carefully and ensure that their cargo is ready for loading or unloading within the allotted timeframe. You will be updated accordingly on the ship’s status, as well as its delivery time and when it passes customs. It is paramount to make sure that once it passes customs, trucking is sent to retrieve it, or every day the cost will increase.

Be vigilant on the incoming arrival of goods. Ensure all paperwork is submitted to the freight forwarder and customs broker ahead of time. Make sure to be available for any phone call clarification or payments that need to be made.

What Role Do Customs Brokers Play?

Customs brokers are your liaison to government agencies, port authorities, shipping lines, and trucking services. They are there to help make sure all the documents are in order and that customs, duty, tax, demurrage, storage, trucking, and other payments are paid. They also provide the following benefits:

Facilitate the Customs Clearance Process

Brokers need to be knowledgeable about all possible applicable fees, ensure all forms are submitted ahead of time, and be aware of incoming shipments and associated wait/pickup times (demurrage, storage, etc.)

Correctly Identify Goods

Customs brokers should be also aware of all necessary FDA and port regulations for incoming shipments. For instance, tobacco, food, or alcohol all require certain specifications such as labeling on the outside of the containers.

Help with Paperwork

Customs brokers can help you with the BOL (bill of lading), which is the legal document that needs to be signed by the exporter, shipping line, and/or importer. They can also help you with the commercial invoice and the shipping bill/bill of export.

Make Clearance of Shipments Easy

By working with a customs broker, you don’t have to concern yourself or be on the edge of your seat waiting for the potential shipment and possibly missing/incurring additional fees.

Contact an Expert at APS Fulfillment, Inc. to Help You Connect with the Right Broker

At APS Fulfillment, Inc., we can facilitate connecting our clients with a customs broker and make sure they have the best ones suited for them. In addition, we also have a quick turnaround time for container unloading, so that our clients don’t get hit with demurrage, detention, or storage fees.

We offer full-service e-commerce fulfillment out of Miami that includes state-of-the-art warehouse management software (WMS). We make inventory management and goods tracking easy and simple. We’ll also support your business and automate the warehousing, prepping, shipping, picking, and packing of your orders!

Get in touch with us today and one of our consultants will tailor a fulfillment plan that will help grow your business. To book a consultation, call (954) 582-7450 or email [email protected].

Customers care about packaging materials. While it may not be immediately obvious just how impactful the right packaging material can be, consider this: Ipsos found that 72% of Americans said that a product’s packaging often influences their purchasing decisions.

That means that if your business isn’t offering the right packaging material types, you may be losing out on a sale. What’s more, 55% of online shoppers said that they would return to a website if their purchase came in custom packaging, highlighting the importance of packaging customization in customer retention.

All that said, let’s take a look at a variety of packaging material types, and what each material is best suited for.

One huge benefit of our deeply interconnected (and online) world is that there is a wealth of data just waiting to be leveraged to help your e-commerce business succeed. In order to maximize the potential of your e-commerce order fulfillment business, you need to be aware of these data points, so you can use this knowledge to make profit-maximizing decisions.

All that said, let’s go through seven shocking statistics related to e-commerce and discuss what they mean for your business.

When it comes to e-commerce fulfillment services, the margins can be razor-thin, and the difference between profit and loss on a given delivery can come down to a few simple decisions.

E-commerce fulfillment companies often face many challenges. Understanding those challenges and how best to overcome them is one of the fastest ways to boost profits at your business. As a top e-commerce fulfillment center, we know what it takes to maximize profits and how to avoid common pitfalls.

In order to fully participate in the e-commerce market, businesses need to have access to Amazon and its enormous customer base. But when it comes to Amazon fulfillment, there are a number of choices that you as a business owner needs to make.

The first is whether you’re looking for a vendor central arrangement (Amazon buys directly from you) or seller central one (you list your products on Amazon, but still own your inventory). Next, you need to determine if you want Amazon FBM (fulfillment by merchant) or FBA (fulfillment by Amazon).

As the e-commerce and online shopping market continues to grow, order fulfillment options are also growing in tandem. Nowadays, these fulfillment services are tailored to specific e-commerce platforms, each offering their own qualities and shortfalls. In this piece we’ll be diving into eBay order fulfillment services in Florida, so you can begin to evaluate which fulfillment option is right for your business.

As the e-commerce market grows larger and larger with each passing year, the options for fulfillment are increasing in tandem. But which fulfillment option makes the most sense (e.g., saves the most money) for your business?

Perhaps the two most common order fulfillment options right now can be broadly categorized as fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and fulfillment by merchant (FBM).

Looking to create efficiencies is the hallmark of any strong business. In essence, that’s all that “streamlining” means – cutting away bloat and creating a faster, smoother, more cost-effective business process. And when it comes to creating streamlined order fulfillment services in Florida, APS Fulfillment, Inc. is an expert.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the best ways to streamline e-commerce fulfillment services in Hollywood, Florida.