When purchasing products online, customers expect their orders to be packed and shipped as quickly as possible. In fact, most customers cite convenience as the main reason they choose to shop online instead of in-store.
To store, pack, and ship products efficiently, you need an ecommerce fulfillment strategy. Some companies choose to fulfill orders themselves, while others use fulfillment partners to manage inventory, pack orders, and arrange delivery.
The best fulfillment solution for you depends on the size of your business and the type of products you sell. This guide covers the basics of ecommerce fulfillment, popular methods, and how to choose fulfillment providers.
What are e-commerce fulfillment solutions?
Ecommerce fulfillment is the process of picking, packing, and shipping online orders to customers. This includes managing inventory, new zealand email list packing products, and the logistics of delivery.
Fulfillment companies process orders for multiple online stores. They operate fulfillment centers in strategic locations to store inventory near cities and transportation hubs to reduce delivery times.
How do you fulfill your e-commerce orders?
Small sellers typically manage their own orders, where to find the best compression springs for sale online while larger companies use fulfillment companies and other third-party logistics (3PL) solutions to reduce costs. Ecommerce retailers who use a dropshipping business model hand over the entire fulfillment process to manufacturers or suppliers.
You should know these three methods:
self-fulfillment
New businesses and those with special shipping needs often handle their own fulfillment. Small businesses can track orders, bahrain leads handle returns and exchanges, and offer the same delivery service as larger retailers.
In-house fulfillment may mean managing your own inventory, providing customer support, and employing staff to process orders.
third-party fulfillment
As order volumes increase, most e-commerce companies can no longer store, pack, and ship their products in-house, so they switch to third-party warehousing or fulfillment solutions. These companies work with merchants to process orders and negotiate lower shipping rates from carriers.
With outsourced fulfillment, the process becomes easier for e-commerce businesses. In many cases, orders can be sent directly to a fulfillment partner who will handle packing and shipping. All retailers need to do is make sure their fulfillment providers have enough inventory to meet order demands.
Drop shipping
Dropshipping is an e-commerce model in which merchants are not responsible for fulfillment. Instead of producing or storing inventory, a store routes orders to manufacturers or distributors who ship the product directly to customers.
This fulfillment method helps online stores establish themselves and avoid upfront costs. However, it can reduce merchants’ control over shipping and customer service and result in longer delivery times.
The 7 Best E-Commerce Fulfillment Solutions
If you’re looking to partner with a fulfillment company, it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start. This list will give you an overview of the best ecommerce fulfillment solutions.
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
- ShipMonk
- Flexport
- ShipNetwork
- ShipBob
- Red Stag Fulfillment
- ShipHero
1. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
Fulfillment by Amazon is a convenient option for merchants who sell their products on Amazon.
Brands that do the majority of their sales on Amazon may decide that the easiest process is to outsource their fulfillment needs to Amazon.
With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), new sellers can benefit from promotions such as free shipping to fulfillment centers, warehousing, liquidations, and returns processing.
By sending products to Amazon’s fulfillment centers, you also enable your customers to ship packages using Amazon Prime Two-Day Shipping.
Amazon’s fulfillment costs are based on the size and weight of the product.
