Blog Archives

Of all the processes that make up product fulfillment, pick-and-pack can be the most cumbersome. Extensive organization, as well as your personalized working methods, are required for your pick-and-pack fulfillment to succeed.

It’s wise to think of the pick-and-pack process as similar to a factory assembly line: the client places an order and your business then receives, prepares, and ships it. Following that process is the first step; here are other important details.

It’s ironic that in a field where visual media has never been more prominent, there’s perhaps never been a greater use of words. Despite critics saying that visual media is making us stupid, the information age has lived up to its goal of providing knowledge to the public.

This has become important for marketers and product fulfillment companies. And now, studies are showing that clients want more legitimate information to help educate them in their consumer decisions. The use of informative content as marketing tools is called content marketing, and it can be an excellent way to improve business.

There are so many ways to deal with clients: via mail, a web site, the phone, social media, mobile apps, and any combination of the above. With so much activity, you might be wondering how each is faring.

So how do you find out? With cross-channel analytics. These help you measure the results of your multi-channel operations, as well as plan for the future. Here’s what you need to know.

Video is capable of entertaining, inspiring, and influencing us in ways most other media cannot. Thus, with such importance and demand, there’s a constant need to create more. For those in product fulfillment, this is your cue to create videos that can help promote or represent your business.

Pre-Production

Planning out and producing a video isn’t difficult. Start by determining what you want your video to show; there has to be a point to someone watching a piece about your product fulfillment business.

With the Internet leading to a greater exchange of personal information than ever before, it’s increasingly important to keep personal information safe. In product fulfillment, you are going to be handling a lot of information from clients and other businesses, and it’s up to you to know how to handle it properly and securely.

Storage

Security is key if you are going to operate a proper fulfillment center.

While it’s easy to criticize people using older technology for not getting with the times, it’s easy for your product fulfillment business to do the same thing. And unfortunately, this can be a mistake that leads to reduced sales. This can be avoided through creativity, new ideas, and stimulated business activity.

Watch and Learn

Before you set about doing creative direct marketing or any other revisions to your business, take a good look around your industry for ideas.

While spending your summer in a classroom might not seem very exciting, furthering your education can greatly benefit your product fulfillment business. There are a lot of interesting courses to take, many of which can easily be made to fit within your schedule.

Higher Learning

As you’re already employed in product fulfillment, you don’t have the time to go back and earn your MBA. That’s why continuing education exists, allowing you to work and study at the same time.

These days, even social media can supplement a product fulfillment business’ online fulfillment techniques.

The most popular social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, all differ in how they are used; this is also true when incorporated into e-commerce fulfillment trends. It’s through these trends and practices that so many product fulfillment companies are embracing social media as a business tool and utilizing it to the best of their ability.

In product fulfillment, errors are just another part of the business. There are so many parts to a high-functioning product fulfillment business that things are just bound to go wrong at least once along the way.

If this happens to you, you need to be ready to act. By incorporating the philosophy of a business analyst, you can obtain a better idea of how to fix errors in your product fulfillment business and improve the company’s efficiency overall.

Some companies can go it alone, but others need partnerships to succeed. And even for those that don’t need help, partnerships can lead to new business opportunities.

In product fulfillment, finding a successful partnership is simply a matter of knowing what sort of company to partner with and how to ensure that partnership has the greatest chances of success. Here’s how to make the wisest decisions about future partnerships.

Coming to Terms

Before even deciding to embark on any professional partnership, a self-assessment is necessary. Determine what your business does well, what it can do without assistance, and what areas are lacking. For example, you may have quality products but lack a skilled direct marketing firm to help promote them.

You also have to consider the reverse; what can you offer a partner? If you operate an online business, you might have e-commerce fulfillment services that another firm could benefit from. Or if your products are considered exotic for your location, you could serve as a means of outsource fulfillment for another business.

From here, work toward making the contacts needed to form a partnership. Engage in networking, go out of your way to meet others, and/or attend a convention to meet the right people.

Once in talks, outline what you wish to achieve with your partnership, such as accessing a particular area or demographic. You also have to consider what sort of partnership you want to enter into. Some businesses do so on a trial basis first just in case, looking at the results before committing to anything long-term—a practice you way wish to consider using.

Renegotiation

When committing to any partnership, be sure to get it in writing. A legally binding contract will help set the appropriate terms of each partnership; just make sure it’s fair for both parties. If using a trial period, make the contract for the short term.

Then, once the partnership proves successful, it’s time to renegotiate in order to take it to the next level. If, for example, your Miami-based company is experiencing growth, it’s time to sit down and determine how your allied business can help you become the best direct marketing company in Florida—a goal that, with the right partnership, is both realistic and easily attainable.

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.