It is no secret that eCommerce has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. A report by eMarketer estimates that by 2023 more than $1 trillion in sales will be transacted online, with almost half of these sales being taken up by mobile devices. This growth has led to the rapid expansion of many startups into this space, with many launching their eCommerce businesses from scratch.
While starting an online store may seem like an easy endeavor on paper, numerous challenges are involved when running one successfully. For instance, you will need to focus on several things, such as inventory management and logistics, if you want your business to grow faster than your competitors. However, why wait for these problems to arise when solutions are available? Here’s how fulfillment centers can help your startup grow faster.
Help Your Startup Grow
By outsourcing your fulfillment, you can focus on sales and marketing. You can focus on what’s necessary for your business to grow: product development, customer service, lead generation, and other core competencies.
Fulfillment centers also help save money. By allowing them to handle all the physical aspects of running an eCommerce business—such as shipping orders or processing returns—you won’t have to hire additional employees or pay for expensive equipment like industrial-sized printers and packing machines.
Save Money
There are many reasons why fulfillment centers can help you save money. Here’s a look at some of them:
- Storage and shipping costs: By storing your products in an off-site facility, you’ll be able to eliminate the need for expensive warehouses and reduce your operating expenses. It means you won’t have to spend as much on rent, utilities, insurance, and other costs associated with owning a warehouse.
- Labor costs: Handling orders manually is more time-consuming than using automation software like Shopify’s Shopify Shipping API or Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). When you use one of these APIs or platforms, order fulfillment becomes automated, which could significantly reduce hiring needs compared to traditional order processing systems that require human intervention.
- Marketing costs: Getting traffic to your website requires significant investments in marketing campaigns such as Google AdWords ads or Facebook Ads, which can get expensive over time if not managed properly. A better way would be through SEO techniques such as search engine optimization (SEO), but this will take months for results unless done strategically by an expert.
Focus on Sales
Outsourcing your fulfillment can be a big help to a growing business. You don’t have to deal with the logistics of shipping and handling orders, so you can focus on sales and customer service instead. It is especially helpful for companies just starting because they don’t have enough capital or manpower to invest in their warehouses and distribution centers. They also may not even know how to run an efficient warehouse operation.
Avoid the Hassle of In-House Order Fulfillment
It’s a hassle to manage inventory, customer service, and shipping. It takes time away from what you should be doing: running your business. You can avoid all this hassle by outsourcing fulfillment services to a third-party company specializing in eCommerce order fulfillment. Fulfillment centers have the resources and expertise necessary to handle all the administrative tasks associated with taking orders—picking, packing, and shipping them out—so you don’t have to worry about it yourself.
Avail Flexible Shipping Options
You may have heard of eCommerce businesses that ship their products directly to their customers. It is often the most cost-effective way to send and allows you to avoid the fees associated with third-party fulfillment centers. However, you may need a more flexible shipping option than direct shipping because your business can’t handle all the customer service costs that come with having an in-house operation.
In this case, third-party fulfillment centers can give you the best of both worlds. A low overhead cost for receiving and packing orders and limited liability for customer service issues since your customers are dealing directly with someone who isn’t part of your company.
You Can Grow Your Business Faster With Fulfillment Centers
You can grow your business faster with a fulfillment center. No matter how great your idea is, most startups struggle to generate enough sales. With a fulfillment center, you can focus on sales instead of worrying about order fulfillment.
Fulfillment centers are also cheaper than hiring staff members to handle all the orders in-house and do not require high maintenance costs for equipment or software upgrades. They also offer flexible shipping options depending on what kind of goods you sell. It includes same-day delivery services that save customers time waiting for their orders at home or office.
Conclusion
We know that the world of eCommerce is big, with endless possibilities and opportunities. But if your business is starting, you probably don’t have all the resources to fulfill orders on your own. By partnering with a fulfillment center, you can focus on growing your brand and making sales.
