When it comes to running a successful business, you have to become a master at delegating. After all, you can’t do everything by yourself. The key is knowing what task to keep in-house and which task will become outsourced.
I know Mr. CEO, it can be tough to hand over the keys but if you want to grow and scale, you’re going to need to outsource certain functions of the business. One time consuming task you can pass on is order fulfillment.
What Is An Order Fulfillment Services?
Order fulfillment companies are quite similar in the services they offer, focusing on fulfilling your orders and warehousing product. According to Thill Inc., a fulfillment service is defined as a third-party company that provides order fulfillment steps on behalf of another party, such as eCommerce marketers, direct response marketers and subscription box sellers.
Now that you understand what order fulfillment services focus on, let’s talk about how they can benefit your system.
What Are The Benefits Of Outsourcing Your Fulfillment?
With the right fulfillment partner, you can potentially;
- Reduced operating cost
- Lower shipping rates
- Improve customer service
One of the biggest reasons companies outsource their order fulfillment is so they can focus on other areas of their business. Amazon is the perfect example of this as no other company on earth has mastered order fulfillment better than them.
Amazon has forever changed the way we shop and their push for same day delivery was no fluke. Elon saw a gap in the market and as Amazon has in many cases, they plugged the market gap and the rest is history.
It was Amazon that led the charge and now around 15 percent of retailers offer same day delivery. That’s nothing, the company is currently testing with Amazon Prime where you can get your order in a 1-2 hour window. Now, that’s efficient fulfillment.
The Trends In Same Day Delivery And Next Day Delivery
Laura Forer published a great article on Marketing Pros.com where she shares several fascinating metrics in this arena. If you’re a retailer, listen up.
49 percent of shoppers say same-day delivery options are enticing enough to get them to shop online from a specific retailer. Let’s think about that, half of all shoppers are attracted by same-day delivery.
63 percent of shoppers want estimated or guaranteed delivery dates, and companies with same-day delivery tend to gain an advantage over 85% of their competitors. This is huge, we’re talking about 6 out of 10 shoppers want at least an estimated delivery date. Think about yourself, how many times are you checking your tracking after ordering a product? I find myself doing it all the time.
You can see Laura’s full article here.
Technology In Order Fulfillment
Technology is a beautiful thing and as it pertains to order fulfillment, order fulfillment companies are using some impressive software to streamline fulfilling orders. The great thing, a lot of this software will integrate with your ecommerce software.
There’s a lot that goes into fulfilling orders efficiently.
- Inventory Management
- Tracking Product
- Warehousing And Storage
- Selecting Carriers
- Payment Processing
- Security
The use of technology can make greatly improve your order fulfillment.
Final Judgement
You have a lot going on in your business, why not outsource all of your fulfillment so you can focus on growing your business, not just “working in your business.”
There’s no question that the right fulfillment company can drastically grow your business.
Due to recent trends, we know shoppers are loyal to brands who can ship same day and offer next day shipping.
Outsourcing your order fulfillment can also lower your shipping cost, as much as 15-35 percent.
With so many benefits, it’s certainly something all executives need to think about.
