Whether you are a new small business owner or not, dealing with shipping orders can be a stressful experience. Things may start off running smoothly but then all of a sudden your sales jump and you find yourself in over your head and unable to ship out all the orders in time. The last thing you want is to have to deal with disgruntled customers who didn’t receive their orders on time.
Something you might want to consider is sourcing out your order fulfillment to another company who specializes in it. It takes the stress off of you and guarantees that your customers will get their orders on time.
It’s very important for a small business, especially a new one to keep their shipping obligations. You want to be able to keep your promises to your customers to ensure they will always come back to you for future business. It’s not about making sure an item is shipped properly one time but every single time an order is placed. This type of consistency will make you a favorite among customers.
There are many services out there with varying fulfillment cost structures. They specialize in making your small business run smoothly when it comes to order fulfillment.
When it comes to any part of your business, don’t be afraid to shop around and find the best alternative to outsourcing that your business needs. Below are a few outsourcing options for you, they are great companies that will make your life much easier by ensuring that your customers are well taken care of.
Whether you have an online business or a storefront these services will benefit you greatly.
eFulfillmentService
This company has been around for awhile so you know you are dealing with an established brand. Once you visit their website you will see clearly that their primary focus is on customer service and making sure the customer is happy. The integration between your company shopping cart and theirs is a free service for you. The best part is they allow you to have a 30-day test period where you can have items shipped and get a taste for their fulfillment control system. If you are dissatisfied in any way, eFulfillmentService offers a full money back guarantee. What more could you ask for in an order fulfillment company?
Shipwire
Shipwire is currently one of the newer companies on the block but no less professional about the services they provide for your customers. They also have a free trial so that you get a taste of doing business with them without the commitment. They have a very crystal clear pricing structure so that there are never any surprises. If you have an online store for your small business Shipwire allows you to integrate with their application interface. The benefit of this of course is it allows for a smooth experience for all of your customers.
Fulfillment by Amazon
Amazon is of course a well known company, one that you can trust and feel comfortable doing business with. They know what it’s like to have to ship large quantities of products all over the world. You couldn’t get a better company to handle your order fulfillment. Their services range depending on the size of your business. One of the great benefits to using Amazon is you are within the Amazon sales network which means you could attract a lot more customers just by being a part of their online shipping directory. Many people are already familiar with Amazon and trust the company to ship their orders on time, every time.
There is a downside however and because you are part of the Amazon database, everything you sell through them is branded as Amazon which doesn’t exactly put your own business name in the minds of new customers. They do however have exceptionally low shipping fees so in the end it may be worth it to you to work with them. Everything is also backed up with quality guarantees so you have peace of mind that your customers will be happy.
Webgistix
Webgistix is a well known company that offers simple and traditional customer service. They have warehouses all over that allow for some seriously fast and most importantly affordable delivery options. Because the warehouses are strategically placed, orders get to customers much faster than if the warehouse was in just one location. They have a SmartFill technology that gives you real-time access to all your orders so you can see where they are in the system.
Regardless of the company you choose to go with, I believe that outsourcing order fulfillments is a great benefit to your small business.