Outsourcing Your Ecommerce Order Fulfillment
When your eCommerce business grows to the point where you can no longer package and ship the orders yourself, it's time to begin outsourcing your order fulfillment. Although all order fulfillment centers offer the same basic services, their individual methods and costs will help you choose one over the other. When selecting an order fulfillment service, keep the following in mind:
Location
Order fulfillment warehouses are located all over the country. It's more important to select a warehouse that is close in proximity to your customers than to select one that is close to your business. For example, if your warehouse is located in California, and most of your customers are located on the East coast, your shipping rates will be higher than if you had a warehouse located in Kansas. Fulfillment centers located in the middle of the country will be able to ship to both the east and west coast for similar prices.
Size
Fulfillment warehouses range from small business with just a few employees to large companies such as UPS. Select a fulfillment service that can meet your daily order fulfillment needs. Do you have consistent orders each day or do your orders spike? If you have orders that spike, be sure to choose a fulfillment center that can handle the extra workload and still ship the orders within the agreed timeline.
Shipping Options
Most fulfillment centers offer a variety of shipping options. Make sure the fulfillment service you select offers all of the shipping options you currently offer your customers and the shipping options that you may want to offer in the future.
Turn-around Time
Each fulfillment warehouse has it's own policy regarding order processing. For example some fulfillment centers will ship all orders that arrive before 1pm on the same business day. If you miss the 1pm deadline, the order is shipped the next business day. This could impact your customers if a next-day order is placed after 1pm. In this case, next day shipping turns out to be two-day shipping.
Order Entry
Order entry methods can be very important when considering a fulfillment service. The most common methods include:
- Forwarding individual order invoices to the warehouse
- Entering each order on the fulfillment center's web-based system
- Emailing an Excel spreadsheet with all order once a day
Each method has a different affect on your business. For example, you may save money by manually entering orders into a web-based application, but it can be tedious if your business grows to the point where you have more orders than you have time to enter. You may pay a higher price to automatically email each individual invoice to the warehouse, but it may be worth the extra costs to have orders may be shipped as they arrive. Same day shipping could give you the edge over your competitor. On the other hand, if you have a high volume of orders, you won't want to individually enter each order into a web-based system and may not want to pay the extra charge of having individual orders emailed to the warehouse. If you don't mind shipping the next business day, you can send an Excel spreadsheet containing all of your orders once a day. Choose a warehouse that offers an order entry method that meets your business needs and fits your budget.
Communication
Communication is an important part of every business. There will be times when you need to contact the fulfillment center to modify a customer's address or cancel an order. Select a fulfillment center that is available via phone and email. You should not have to wait more than a few hours for a return email or call from the fulfillment center.
Error Rate
Mistakes will happen. Some customers will receive the wrong items or the items will be shipped to the billing address rather than the shipping address. When interviewing potential fulfillment centers, ask about their error rate and their process for remedying the situation. For example, do they issue UPS call tags to pick up the incorrect item and pay to ship a replacement item? Will they ship the replacement item at a faster rate to compensate the customer?
Costs
Each fulfillment center operates under a different payment schedule. Some use sliding scales and require contracts while others charge per order or per item with no contracts. You will also be charged a base fee to store your inventory at the warehouse and an additional fee per pallet or per item. Be sure you have a clear understanding of the fulfillment center's costs and any contracts.
When choosing a fulfillment center, create a checklist of the features you would like. Interview a member of the warehouse staff, as well as, their references to make sure the warehouse will meet the needs of your growing eCommerce business. When you outsource order fulfillment, the time that you normally spend packaging orders, managing inventory, and dealing with returns, can now be focused on growing your business. Use this time to expand your product line, enhance your online image, promote your business or expand into new markets.
Copyright 2004. Danna Henderson. All Rights Reserved.
About The Author
Danna Henderson started ZIP Baby in order to provide parents with comprehensive breastfeeding information and a large selection of parenting products. For more information visit Breastmilk Banks.
 Google News Updated : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:51:51 GMT US cancer boss in mobiles warning - BBC News
BBC News - The director of a leading US cancer research institute has sent a memo to thousands of staff warning of possible higher risks from mobile phone use. Cell phones: The next cigarettes? Group sees possible link to brain cancer Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:35:11 GMT Sudan's president boogies on last Darfur pit stop - AFP
AFP - EL GENEINA, Sudan (AFP) - A dancing Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir paraded as a man of peace on Thursday during a heavily protected tour of Darfur defying accusations that he masterminded genocide in the region. Sudan counters charges with diplomacy Al-Bashir in Sudan peace pledge Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:15:43 GMT Hunt begins for Karadzic helpers - BBC News
BBC News - Officials investigating captured Bosnian Serb ex-leader Radovan Karadzic say they will track down and punish those who aided his false identity. Video: Karadzic plans to defend himself in The Hague Kenya: Karadzic's Fate a Lesson Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:47:45 GMT Obama to demand more from Europe in Berlin speech - Reuters
Reuters - By Caren Bohan and Noah Barkin BERLIN (Reuters) - US presidential candidate Barack Obama is expected to call on Europe to do more in hotspots like Afghanistan when he speaks in Berlin on Thursday in his only formal address of a week-long foreign tour. Berliners welcome Obama as they did JFK Obama Starts European Trip With Stop in Germany Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:25:11 GMT Finding Bale's dark side - Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times - BY BILL ZWECKER Sun-Times Columnist 'The Dark Knight'' star Christian Bale's alleged ''assault'' in London against his mother and sister is part of a long-simmering family feud. Batman star stays silent in Spain Christian Bale's lady sidekick: Sibi Bale Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:08:50 GMT Day After, WNBA Untangles Brawl - New York Times
New York Times - By MIKE OGLE Some of the WNBA’s biggest stars commanded national attention Tuesday night and into Wednesday - but not in a way their teams or the league wanted. Don't count on fights becoming WNBA trend WNBA may have a fighting chance Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:06:48 GMT Aurilia, Vizquel help Giants rally for win - San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News - By Andrew Baggarly It would be difficult to claim that the Giants improved their playoff hopes when they rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night. Aurilia gets key hit, makes pitch for old guys Giants rally in eighth to edge Nats Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:43:04 GMT More Web Site Traffic |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... Let's face it, there's just way too much information out... Read More ....there's much more to Google than you thought:With the wealth... Read More The Internet brought a great deal of benefits to our... Read More Online customer service is still one of the most frequently... Read More The use of electronic cash as a means of transacting... Read More With a third party merchant account you will have a... Read More Last time, we started to take a look at the... Read More We all know that accepting credit cards is the key... Read More The chief criteria for judging an ecommerce shopping cart are... Read More Some people do not understand the Internet idea of online... Read More What is the Internet?In order to provide a discussion on... Read More While getting less public handwringing than during holiday season, the... Read More Once you decide which products you are planning to sell... Read More We have to make amendments in existing substantive and procedural... Read More It is often assumed if you want to accept credit... Read More Can you encounter the number of times where a Credit... Read More Just because you've built your e-commerce website doesn't mean the... Read More Your stock is tempting, your prices right - your ecommerce... Read More PayPal is secure in its domination over the electronic payment... Read More For a web site to get close to fulfilling its... Read More Online shopping can be a little frightening to people who... Read More Inherent (or Business) RiskInherent Risk is the risk that exists... Read More A year ago, I had big plans to re-vamp my... Read More This article will explain in depth the steps needed to... Read More As the holiday shopping season begins in earnest, consumers say... Read More
Adsense
websites
How To Stay Cutting Edge In Online Business
Gooooooooooogle It!
Rules for Achieving Online Success
Online Customer Service - The Cornerstone of a Successful Online Business
Cyber Banking
Effective Management Of Your Customer Services
Are You Making These E-Commerce Excuses? (part 2)
How Merchant Accounts Can Save You Money
Shopping Carts For The Faint Of Heart
10 Second Internet Person, sound familiar?
The Origins of E-Commerce
The Five Most Commonly Encountered, Off-putting E-commerce Errors
How to Receive Payments for Your Online Sales
Creating Legal Framework for E-commerce Taxation; non-tax statutes
Accept Credit Cards Online Without A Merchant Account
How To Eliminate Credit Card Refunds From Digital Thieves
10 Tips To Build, Manage And Profit From An E-Commerce Website
Why Arent People Buying From Your Ecommerce Website?
Google to Compete with PayPal?
Two Pillars of a Successful Web Site
Guide To Safe Online Shopping
Managing Project Risks and Issues
Are You Making These E-Commerce Excuses? (part 1)
How To Sell Websites Fast !
Online Shoppers Say They?ll Buy from Small and Large E-Businesses Alike
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
Beginner Ecommerce Mistakes
This is a short article because in the constraints of... Read More
Home Sweet Home Page
"Your home page is the world's introduction to you and... Read More
Tell Site Visitors What To Do
Your site visitors make all the choices when it comes... Read More
Mr and Mrs Smith Go Online, as Internet Technology Moves from Fantasy to Normality
According to NOP World, 48% of all Internet users have... Read More
Keep Your Customers Happy by Organizing Your Payment Options
Anyone using a slow, or an awkward payment processor had... Read More
Is It Easy to Build An E-commerce Web Site?
--Online Commerce--E-Commerce website is all about selling products and services... Read More
Shop: Is Shopping Online Secure?
Is shopping online becoming popular and safe enough for you... Read More
10 Reasons Why People Wont Buy A Second Product From You
1. You didn't follow up after the first sale. After... Read More
Intranet Portals ? Collaboration through Team Rooms
Knowledge Management for beginnersKnowledge Management (KM) can be defined simply... Read More
Something new in e-commerce: the Echo System Build
How four partners build and manage an exclusive art posters... Read More
Your Affiliate Web Site Is Built ? Now What?
When I first got my web site built, I thought... Read More
7 Must Have Scripts to Look for When Shopping for E-commerce Hosting
When shopping for e-commerce hosting there are a lot of... Read More
E-Commerce Is Back On The Fast Track
How much holiday shopping did you do on-line this year?... Read More
Turn Your Rusty Junk Into eBay Gold
Often times people to stop to realize the income potential... Read More
Selling Online for Newbies
If you are interested in selling online, it is quite... Read More
Expand Your Local Business Through the Internet
To obtain more local customers for your business, consider expanding... Read More
The Rise of Multinational Virtual Corporations
The virtual corporation is the emerging organisational form, which best... Read More
Why Ecommerce is Not Ready for My Daughter or Me
As the mother of a teenage clothing fanatic I'm often... Read More
Selling Globally Through a B2B Exchange
Participation in B2B Exchanges is increasingly becoming one of the... Read More
When Do You Ask For A Refund?
Have you ever asked to have your money refunded after... Read More
The Five Steps of E-Commerce
You set up a retail business, you advertise in your... Read More
How To Accept Credit Cards Without a Merchant Account
To increase sales on your website, you must accept credit... Read More
Using Drop Shipping for E-commerce
Thanks to the ubiquity of the internet, online virtual businesses... Read More
Conducting Business through B2B E-marketplaces
Businesses, which are still sitting on sidelines and not doing... Read More
Stakeholder Analysis and Stakeholder Management
What is a Stakeholder?Try "define: Stakeholder" in Google and you... Read More
E-commerce |