Running an e-commerce business is hard work. There are many tasks to juggle - from creating and marketing your products to dealing with customer service inquiries to organizing and shipping orders. So, why spend your valuable time on tasks that can be completed by someone else? Outsourcing order fulfilment is a great way to delegate some of the responsibilities of running your business so you can focus on selling! This article will outline why you should outsource order fulfilment.
Before getting into how outsourcing order fulfilment benefits your e-commerce business, let's go over what outsourcing fulfilment is!
Outsourced warehousing delegates the responsibility of storing, packing, and shipping orders to a third-party logistics company, also known as a 3PL. 3PLs can do this for all orders or only for orders that are too large or complex to ship from your warehouse. When customers place an order online through your e-commerce website, the order is sent to the warehouse of your chosen fulfilment company. The employees at the warehouse will then pick, pack, and ship the orders to your customers on your behalf.
When looking for a logistics company to outsource warehousing, finding a quality 3PL that can meet your needs is essential. Here are some things you should always look for when choosing a 3PL:
By choosing a 3PL that meets all these criteria, you can be sure that your orders will be processed quickly and accurately. This helps to ensure that your customers are happy with their shopping experience and will return to your store again.
Outsourced fulfilment for your e-commerce business has many perks. For one, outsourcing order fulfilment frees up your time (and hands) and allows you to focus your attention on selling.
Leading a successful e-commerce business means exceeding your consumers' expectations while matching their needs. There is no room for error regarding order fulfilment; no customer wants to feel like they've wasted their time and money after receiving the wrong products or missing parts of their order. Consumer expectations are always high, so it's crucial to fulfil all orders correctly.
Let's look at the benefits of outsourcing order fulfilment in more detail.
1. More time to sell
All successful businesses have one common trait: the ability to sell. Therefore, you want to free up time to focus on selling. Now storing inventory, packing orders, or shipping them out yourself is no longer a worry. Instead, you can use your newfound time to create new marketing campaigns and work on product development!
2. Increase shipping speeds while lowering costs
What deters many businesses from outsourcing any labour is the expense of paying someone else to do work you can feasibly do. However, what is appealing about outsourced fulfilment is that 3PLs will save you money across multiple areas over the long run - which is what you want, right?
Partnering with the right logistics company means having warehouses scattered across the country and potentially internationally. 3PLs enable you to store your goods closer to consumers, reducing shipping costs by as much as 25%.
Another benefit of having your product scattered across multiple warehouses is increased shipping speeds. You can deliver faster when you place your product inventory closer to your buyers.
E-commerce warehousing is one of the biggest ways you can get an edge over competitors and is advantageous overall. Amazon Prime has changed the name of the shipping game and has set a new expectation of order delivery time. Since Amazon Prime came to market, 67% of American online consumers expect their orders to be delivered in two days or under. Meeting these expectations is by no means easy, but with the help of an order fulfilment company, it's more than possible. So now your e-commerce business is in the same race as the country's top retailers.
3. Improve your market outreach
One overlooked perk of outsource warehousing is that goods are no longer confined to one location. This allows you to sell in new markets and quickly reach a wider audience! In addition, receiving orders from other states and countries means you have the inventory close to them to make fast and cost-effective deliveries.
This also frees up the brain power and time used to calculate shipping rates and shipping times. Not to mention knowing international shipping rates, which now means recalling multiple regulations and currency exchanges.
Reaching a more expansive customer base is the dream of every e-commerce retailer. Why limit yourself when there's so much growth potential? When you outsource
4. Shipping information is accurate and communicated to customers
Fulfilling orders in-house can quickly become a nightmare if not done correctly. Miscalculating shipping rates, forgetting to include promotions or discounts, and providing the wrong delivery date are all too common and easily avoidable mistakes.
Hiring a 3PL to subcontract order fulfilment means an expert team is now responsible for ensuring that all the information provided to customers is accurate. This team will ensure that shipping rates are correctly calculated, promotions are applied, and delivery dates are updated in real-time, giving your customers a much better overall experience.
Including accurate shipping information communicates to your customers that you value their time and business. It also forms trust between you and your clientele, which is essential for any e-commerce business!
5. Improve customer relations
Sometimes stating the obvious is needed. One of the main pros of outsourcing your e-commerce warehousing is that it will make your customers happy.
When you outsource, you are delegating all the tasks related to fulfilling orders to a team of experts. This team will have the knowledge and experience to ensure that each order is fulfilled quickly and accurately.
This will lead to fewer customer service issues and happier customers overall. And we all know that happy customers are loyal customers.
Outsourcing your e-commerce order fulfilment is a big decision that comes with a lot of advantages. Here we've listed some of the many perks you'll experience when you switch! Ready to take your business to the next level? Contact us today to get started.
