Why Should You Use Third Party Warehouse Services?
Outsourcing your order warehouse services is a necessary step to grow your Shopify business. You’ll be able to get lower shipping rates, lower operating costs, and a larger reach to expand into different markets.
A lot of the providers offer discounts on their shipping rates as well and this may be true for both domestic and international shipments.
If you’ve shipped internationally before, then you know how tedious it can be to fill out the shipments forms for customs. With an order fulfillment provider, you don’t have to worry about that anymore!
When you’re working full-time on building your Shopify business, you know you need to take things to the next level.
Plenty of people can make Shopify stores, but successful ones need to know what steps to take as they expand. You can’t do all of the work by yourself forever, especially if you have a flood of orders coming in.
Not having the time or manpower to fulfill the orders yourself is a huge problem. Turning to these professional providers makes the process much faster and gives your customers the service they want.
What Does This Process Look Like?
After you’re set up with a logistics company and can start to have your orders fulfilled, there isn’t a lot left for you to do. You just need to make sure that there is enough inventory.
Your orders will generally be sent to the logistics company and they will take care of packing the order and shipping it to the customer.
If you’re running a Shopify store, you will want to consider staying on top of your inventory production. Inventory is what makes your business work after all and without it, you won’t have any loyal customers.
Make sure that the logistics company and the fulfillment center or distribution center are always on the same page.
Besides this factor, the entire process is very hands-off on your part and you’ll be able to focus your energy elsewhere.
How to Choose the Best Option for Your Store
The right service for you is going to depend on different factors, including the needs of your business on Shopify and the specific services that the fulfillment services offer.
For instance, if you only sell small items in bulk, you’ll need to ensure that you find a warehouse service that can handle the delicacy of small items in large quantities.
You may need a very expansive fulfillment operation, however, if you have complex inventory or need orders carefully timed out.
Being able to link up with shipping companies and getting packages to your customers is always the first priority, but you need a product warehousing operation that focuses on all of the other details you need, too!
Consider whether or not your company needs special packaging. Are your items fragile?
If you have specialty services, like batching or subscription boxes, you need to make sure that the fulfillment center or distribution center is able to do those types of jobs for you.
Not all warehousing services are going to be the same, so having these conversations before you choose one is absolutely crucial.
Common Fulfillment Company Services
If you have a mid to large operation through Shopify, some of the merchandise warehouses’ services you may need include:
Order and delivery confirmations
Packaging
Shipping and tracking orders
Inventory management
Return processing
Reorder processing
No matter which company you go with, you’ll need to make sure that they share the same goal as you: getting orders out quickly, correctly, and efficiently to achieve customer satisfaction.
Fulfillment Centers vs. Distribution Centers
To learn more about the difference between fulfillment centers and distribution centers, click here to read about both of them.
The main thing to know is that while both of these are buildings designed to help sellers, they perform different functions.
Fulfillment centers will help finish a product before shipment and will allow you to store your product, even in bulk, before shipment.
Distribution centers are almost always going to be more focused on business and will handle all parts of the process, including selling, with an emphasis on care for your items.
Each of these has its own pros and cons, so knowing which is best for your needs is the first thing to do before narrowing down your search more.
Find the Best Services for Your Shopify Store
Now that you know more about warehouse services, you are likely ready to get started and find that perfect match for your Shopify store!
Luckily, there are a lot of options out there and all of them may be able to benefit you in one way or another.
Do a little bit of research to come up with the warehouse services that closely align with the goals you have for your store.
Are you looking for more business tips and tricks? If so, check out some of the featured articles on our website to learn additional information about growing your operation.
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