Fulfilment as a Service: How It Can Benefit Your Business
02/09/2021 | Share:
Fulfilment services can benefit all businesses, but more so entrepreneurs and smaller establishments. By outsourcing ecommerce fulfilment, there are a great number of advantages such as reduced operating costs, lower shipping rates, and a broader consumer reach.
A fulfilment service will also increase the time a business owner has to put to other uses and grow the business more smoothly. This post will look at the different benefits that outsourcing your ecommerce fulfilment will bring to your business.
What is Fulfilment Service?
A fulfilment service is a third-party warehouse that picks, packs, and ships products to customers on behalf of a retailer or retailers. Orders are of the highest importance to both businesses and consumers for any e-commerce company. An order fulfilment service, such as Ogden Fulfilment, takes care of the preparation and shipping of all orders, ensuring a seamless and speedy process. Partnering with a fulfilment provider like Ogden Fulfilment can streamline operations and enhance customer satisfaction.
It works like this:
- Goods in: You send products to a fulfilment centre, or warehouse, to be stored. Often a fulfilment centre can help with the collection of this.
- Storing: When your products are received at the warehouse, they will be securely stored on your behalf.
- Pick and Pack: When an order comes in, the warehouse team will assemble goods, pack them professionally, provide a tracking code and prepare for dispatch.
- Shipping: The fulfilment company will use their own couriers or a courier from their network to ship your product to the consumer. By choosing a fulfilment provider that operates seven days a week, your customers are more likely to receive their purchase without delay.
- Returns, Refunds, and Exchanges: Choosing a company that offers a returns management service takes the pressure off you to deal with unwanted goods. Fulfilment centres can manage any returns, refunds, or exchanges on your behalf.
What are the Benefits of Using a Fulfilment Service?
Here are some of the more notable benefits of using a fulfilment provider, such as Ogden Fulfilment, and other fulfilment companies.
Time-Saving
When you outsource any aspect of your business, it releases time and energy resources. By outsourcing fulfilment, you can significantly increase your working hours to be more profitable, by being able to spend time focusing on other areas of your business.
You will have the time for doing the things that matter most, such as growing and developing your business. By focusing your time and effort on marketing, designing, outreach, and selling your product you could reap some great rewards. Fulfilment companies are the experts, so there will be no learning curve (and errors), and your orders will be shipped efficiently.
By outsourcing your fulfilment, you won’t have to process the orders yourself. Instead, you can automate the process so that your fulfilment company is instantly notified when a consumer places an order.
Saves Money
When you plan the logistics of order fulfilment yourself, there are a lot of costs involved that you may not have considered. Warehouses, for example, come with large overheads, which can mean a considerable investment. Storage facilities tend to have long leases, too, ranging from 6 – 18 months, tying you into a contract of paying for storage you may not need.
Especially if you’re just starting out, a fulfilment company would be a wise idea as they are the experts and won’t make the costly mistakes you might make in the beginning.
As well as the money saved with storage, money is also saved as you’re able to put yourself and staff to work in other, more profitable areas. By leveraging fulfilment solutions, you can further reduce costs and streamline your order processing and shipping.
Takes Away Business Stress
If anything goes wrong, your fulfilment company will be the ones to deal with this. They will have the experience and the network to ensure that any issues are short-lived and don’t heavily impact your business. It won’t be you or your staff on the front line dealing with a mishap.
In addition to potential problems, orders can fluctuate, meaning that without a fulfilment company, you could be paying staff when they’re not actually needed.
Saving Customers and Ensuring Customer Satisfaction
Reliable customer service is an integral part of running a successful business. Many order fulfilment service providers offer 24-hour support through phone or email. This includes executing quick refunds, exchanges, and easy returns. Fulfilment services can help a business to meet the evolving expectations of customers.
According to recent data, almost half of online shoppers state same-day delivery options are enticing enough to get them to choose a particular retailer. 63% of consumers want a guaranteed or estimated delivery date, and businesses with a same-day delivery policy gain an advantage over 85% of their competitors.
These are all aspects that a fulfilment company can help with.
Problem Solving and Inventory Management
The best fulfilment providers will be using the latest technology to manage the fulfilment process and ship their retailer’s products. Their systems integrate with companies’ ecommerce stores, resulting in a streamlined order fulfilment process which will likely include; item tracking, inventory management, security, shipping and handling, carrier selection, and payment processing. With all these things in place, your brand will gain a reputation of trust and reliability, with no stress, inconvenience, or expense to you.
Customer Expansion
A well-established fulfilment company will have a large framework in place to ship and deliver orders worldwide. This global platform can extend your company’s reach and allow you to grow into new markets. Doing this yourself can be a hugely costly venture, with lots of room for error initially.
A fulfilment company will have a realistic idea of shipping times and costs to different countries to keep customers in the know. They will also likely be able to ship worldwide at a much lower price than you could due to bulk orders and a strong network.
Scalability
Scalability is a crucial aspect of any fulfilment service. At Ogden Fulfilment, we understand that businesses grow and evolve over time, and their fulfilment needs change accordingly. Our fulfilment services are designed to scale with your business, ensuring that you can handle increased demand without compromising on efficiency or customer satisfaction. With our flexible pricing model and adaptive storage space, you can easily adjust your fulfilment needs to match your business growth. This means whether you’re experiencing seasonal spikes or long-term expansion, our services will adapt to meet your requirements seamlessly.
Faster Shipping Speeds
In today’s fast-paced ecommerce market, meeting customer expectations for quick delivery is essential. At Ogden Fulfilment, we offer fast and reliable shipping options, including same-day and next-day delivery, to ensure that your customers receive their orders promptly. Our strategic warehouse locations and partnerships with leading shipping carriers enable us to provide fast and cost-effective shipping solutions tailored to your business needs. By leveraging our network, you can enhance your customer experience and stay competitive in the market.
Technology
Technology is at the heart of our fulfilment services, enabling us to streamline processes, reduce errors, and improve overall efficiency. Our advanced technology platform integrates seamlessly with your sales channels, providing real-time inventory management, order tracking, and shipping updates. This integration ensures that you have complete visibility over your operations and can make informed decisions. Additionally, our technology automates many routine tasks, allowing our team to focus on delivering exceptional customer service and support. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, we help you maintain a smooth and efficient fulfilment process.
Order Fulfilment Process
Our order fulfilment process is designed to be efficient, reliable, and customer-centric. Here’s an overview of our process:
- Receiving and Storage: We receive your inventory and store it in our secure and climate-controlled warehouses.
- Order Processing: We process your orders quickly and efficiently, using our advanced technology platform to ensure accuracy and speed.
- Picking and Packing: We carefully pick and pack your orders, using custom packaging materials and inserts to ensure that your products arrive safely and securely.
- Shipping: We ship your orders using our network of shipping carriers, providing fast and reliable delivery options to meet your business needs.
- Returns Management: We handle returns and exchanges efficiently, providing a seamless experience for your customers.
Integration With Your Sales Channels
We understand the importance of integrating our fulfilment services with your sales channels. Our advanced technology platform integrates with a wide range of ecommerce platforms, including Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce, as well as marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Our integration enables real-time inventory management, order tracking, and shipping updates, ensuring that your customers receive a seamless and efficient shopping experience across multiple sales channels. By connecting your ecommerce business with our fulfilment solutions, you can streamline operations and enhance customer satisfaction.
Conclusion
Working with a fulfilment company can bring many of the above benefits to your business, but when choosing a partner, it’s important to choose one that offers the services you need. At Ogden Fulfilment, our services are very flexible and we’ll work around your bespoke requirements to ensure you receive the very best service.
