How to choose the right fulfilment company
Growth is likely to be a key objective for most trade businesses, but as more orders for your goods come in, fulfilling these orders in your current facility can become a challenge. If you’re thinking about outsourcing your fulfilment, Hallmark Consumer Services highlights a few things to look for to help you select the right partner.
Outsourcing your fulfilment operations creates the potential for business growth. There are many benefits to outsourcing, but it’s important to choose the right partner to reap the rewards of these benefits.
The benefits of outsourcing:
- More storage for stock
- Avoids large set up costs and overheads
- Sophisticated fulfilment facilities and IT systems
- Specialist knowledge from fulfilment experts
- Packaging and shipping discounts
- Ready-made workforce so no need to worry about employing staff
- Geared up to cope with peaks and troughs
- Efficient international shipping, helping to broaden your customer base
In addition to the above, working with the right fulfilment company and allowing an expert to do the work for you frees up your time, meaning you can focus on sales and spend more time on the business, rather than in it.
What makes a good fulfilment business?
A good fulfilment company will take the time to fully understand your business – its values, objectives, seasonal trends and potential for growth – and then offer solutions to help you achieve your vision. It will therefore help in the long-term if your fulfilment firm has values which are aligned with those of your own business, for example, if they are focused on building lasting relationships with clients, rather than favouring quick wins.
Responding quickly to orders to ensure goods are delivered on time should be a given, but how they handle peaks in demand is important for maintaining a good reputation. Timely deliveries should reduce the likelihood of complaints or negative reviews. Because most shoppers nowadays expect a next-day delivery option, especially if you’re an Amazon seller, it’s a good idea to check that a potential fulfilment partner is capable of handling these quick turnarounds.
Reliable and intelligent systems are essential for the smooth running of order fulfilment. The ability to report on activity, such as how certain products are performing and other buying patterns, will help you to grow your business. Looking at client testimonials here will help to get a better picture of how sophisticated a fulfilment business is.
Making the right decision
If you’re unsure as to whether outsourcing is the right option for your business or haven’t yet found the right fulfilment partner, contact one of our friendly client managers who will be happy to help you find the right solution. Drop us a line here or call 01664 485000.
You can also take a look at our case studies to read about how we keep our clients happy.