SarahMonec
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| Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:27 am Choosing on Order Fulfillment Service |
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When your Business website grows to the point where you can no longer package and ship the orders yourself, it’s time to begin outsourcing your order fulfillment. Although all order fulfillment centers offer the same basic services, their individual methods and costs will help you choose one over the other. When selecting an order fulfillment service, keep the following in mind:
Location: Order fulfillment warehouses are located all over the country. It’s more important to select a warehouse that is close in proximity to your customers than to select one that is close to your business.
Size: Fulfillment warehouses range from small business with just a few employees to large companies such as UPS. Select a fulfillment service that can meet your daily order fulfillment needs.
Shipping Options: Most fulfillment centers offer a variety of shipping options. Make sure the fulfillment service you select offers all of the shipping options you currently offer your customers and the shipping options that you may want to offer in the future.
Turn-around Time: Each fulfillment warehouse has its own policy regarding order processing. For example some fulfillment centers will ship all orders that arrive before 1pm on the same business day. If you miss the 1pm deadline, the order is shipped the next business day. This could impact your customers if a next-day order is placed after 1pm. In this case, next day shipping turns out to be two-day shipping.
Order Entry: Order entry methods can be very important when considering a fulfillment service. The most common methods include:
• Forwarding individual order invoices to the warehouse
• Entering each order on the fulfillment center’s web-based system
• Emailing an Excel spreadsheet with all order once a day
Communication: Communication is an important part of every business. There will be times when you need to contact the fulfillment center to modify a customer’s address or cancel an order. Select a fulfillment center that is available via phone and email. You should not have to wait more than a few hours for a return email or call from the fulfillment center.
Error Rate: Mistakes will happen. Some customers will receive the wrong items or the items will be shipped to the billing address rather than the shipping address. When interviewing potential fulfillment centers, ask about their error rate and their process for remedying the situation. For example, do they issue UPS call tags to pick up the incorrect item and pay to ship a replacement item? Will they ship the replacement item at a faster rate to compensate the customer?
Costs: Each fulfillment center operates under a different payment schedule. Some use sliding scales and require contracts while others charge per order or per item with no contracts. You will also be charged a base fee to store your inventory at the warehouse and an additional fee per pallet or per item. Be sure you have a clear understanding of the fulfillment center’s costs and any contracts. |
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