If you have your own retail or fulfillment business, you likely have a lot of pride, and rightfully so—it’s your business and you want the best reputation and highest profits. With that in mind, you likely want to oversee every job yourself, believe this will allow you more control over its operations.
The downside of this way of thinking is that you might find that, despite your best efforts, there are too many tasks, and a decrease in efficiency as a result. No matter how hard you think you can work to manage all of your e-commerce jobs, you likely won’t be able to handle them all.
That’s where outsourcing your e-commerce operations comes in. It has benefits that many retailers never consider, including:
1. You Save Space
Holding and shipping out your own products requires a lot of space, which is costly and has to be managed, including process control and product requirements like refrigeration. This is a lot of work and exceptionally burdening, especially if you don’t have a surplus of space onsite. Outsourcing your e-commerce helps you reduce your physical space needs, as a third party can hold and manage your products for you.
2. You Cut Costs
It sounds ironic that by paying someone else to handle your e-commerce needs that you’ll save money, but consider the big picture and what specific expenses you’ll save on:
a. Gear and Equipment
The necessary equipment to do all your fulfillment jobs, like storage units, assembly lines, and packing tools, will all require a large sum. However, outsourcing saves you the majority of these fees.
b. Staff Wages
Once you have the gear, you’re going to need the right people to operate it. While you likely have no qualms with paying other professionals to do quality work, you might not have the budget to support their wages and the management time to make sure their needs are always attended to.
c. Packaging and Shipping
Supplementary equipment needed to get orders out is also a necessary expense. Containers, labels, and shipping or logistics services will also add to the fees and cost you of a lot of funds that are better directed elsewhere. An outsourced e-commerce order firm can offer you a comprehensive fees package that will save you money in the long run.
3. You Build Professional and Client Relationships
By associating with outsourced fulfillment firms, you build up connections that are imperative in modern fulfillment. Working together allows you to expand your network of suppliers, distributors, and logistics professionals that can make it easier for you to meet customer’s needs. An outsourced fulfillment company also provides clients with a call center to contact to address and resolve any issues that arise as soon as they happen.
4. You Can Improve Efficiency
If you’re involved in fulfillment, you have a lot of jobs to do. And the more you have to do, the more your company’s efficiency declines; this results into potentially unrepairable damage to your reputation. Having a partner firm to tackle the jobs you need done can help keep product distribution and workflow moving along smoothly. Many fulfillment companies now also have quality tracking logistics and packaging services that improve on existing efficiency.
5. You Can Focus Your Efforts More Elsewhere
With the variety of electronic and mobile marketing options, you should be focusing your efforts on these areas to make sure you stay competitive. If you get someone else to perform on-the-floor fulfillment, you can focus on the more pressing management aspects of your fulfillment company.
There’s no shame in getting extra help for your fulfillment business. If you can spread the workload around a bit more, you can improve all facets of your business while creating opportunities for profit.
Need solutions to your product fulfillment problems? APS Fulfillment, Inc. has the knowledge and services to make your direct mail and product fulfillment ventures more successful. Contact APS Fulfillment, Inc. by e-mail at [email protected], visit their web site at www.apsfulfillment.com, or phone at (954) 582-7450.
