By clicking the "Place Order" button, your customer initiates the fulfillment process. Now your product must be packed, labeled, handed over to the delivery service, and soon reach the buyer’s hands. This is a separate area of logistics that trade giants have perfected. Take advantage of their experience and use fulfillment services.
Fulfillment is a full cycle of operations with goods (storage, picking, packaging, shipping, and returns handling). If you have an online store, you are definitely familiar with the process. Most often, small businesses fulfill orders themselves from their physical store, office, or warehouse.
But the more purchases, the harder it becomes:
Therefore, when scaling, businesses turn to fulfillment partners. What is included in turnkey warehouse logistics:
Are you considering fulfillment for online stores or planning to enter a marketplace? Study the pros and cons of outsourcing delivery and warehouse logistics.
Fulfillment warehouse services are useful for different types of businesses. For example, you have expanded, and now you have many customers across Ukraine. To reduce waiting time, you can use warehouses in several regions.
Or you decided to start selling on Amazon Marketplace or eBay. Standard delivery from Ukraine to the USA or Europe takes weeks. By using Amazon’s fulfillment, you will reduce the waiting time to a few days. And to prepare the goods for acceptance by the platform, DiFFreight provides prep center services for you.
| Advantages of Fulfillment Outsourcing | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Cost Optimization Savings on warehouse rent, maintenance, staff hiring and training, and purchase of packaging materials. |
Loss of Direct Control over Order Assembly All delays, errors, and technical failures are beyond your control, but your business reputation suffers. |
| Scalability and Flexibility A third-party provider adapts to increased workloads during peak seasons. |
Storage and Service Fees While you save on rent and staff salaries, you still pay for fulfillment services. |
| Increased Speed Outsourced companies actively use automation, with well-established processes ensuring fast order assembly and shipping. |
Dependence on the Operator By outsourcing, your business becomes dependent on the warehouse’s quality and efficiency. |
| Geographic Expansion A warehouse network allows faster delivery to remote regions, increasing customer loyalty. |
Challenges with Non-Standard Goods Fulfillment for fragile, bulky, or perishable goods will be more expensive, and not all providers will handle it. |
Outsourcing is a strategic decision that should benefit your enterprise. We have prepared a checklist with criteria for reliable providers:
✓ Experience
The longer the company has been in business, the more experience it has with standard and non-standard goods. Take time to read reviews, case studies, and request recommendations.
✓ Technology and integration
Find out which system the partner uses to manage the warehouse. Integration is also important — synchronization with your online store’s CMS or marketplace account for automatic data transfer. High-quality integration allows you to:
Some outsourcers offer a functional Personal Account where you can view reports on order picking and even receive photo and video evidence.
✓ Geography
It is most reasonable to choose a location close to your main customers or to the marketplace warehouses. This will speed up logistics between points, reducing costs. For large shipments, consider cross-docking services:
Cross-docking is relevant for large importers and exporters.
✓ Terms of cooperation
As a rule, providers charge several fees:
Calculate the profitability of fulfillment for your sales volume and speed. Communication with management also plays an important role: make sure there is customer support in case urgent issues arise.
We have described the main advantages of outsourcing the process. Now it’s time to look at statistics and figures. About 74% of consumers consider free or low-cost delivery to be one of the key factors when making a purchase. Fulfillment helps speed up and reduce the cost of logistics:
The overall savings for small and medium-sized businesses range between 10%-30% (of total logistics costs). This is a strong reason to use fulfillment! DiFFreight will help you choose the best model and also provide prep center and cross-docking services for international shipments.
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