Shipfusion Blog

Beginner’s Guide to Third Party Warehousing and Order Fulfillment

If you’re planning to launch an online business, you may have factored in order stocking, shipping and delivery. But what about warehousing and order fulfillment?

Your goal is to bring in sales. But what happens when you receive an order from your customer? You need to come up with a way to make sure the product reaches customers.

Typically, you have three options:

  1. You make sales via a drop shipper (the person who fulfils orders on your behalf),
  2. You handle orders on your own (alone or with the assistance of a team),
  3. You collaborate with a third-party order fulfillment company that handles inventory management and delivery for you.

In case your business is expanding swiftly and you have liquid cash to outsource these services, the third option seems quite practical.

While we discussed the benefits of working with a third-party order fulfillment company in the previous blog, here we address when companies need to make the switch.

Signs It’s Time to Outsource Warehousing and Order Fulfillment to the Experts

Irregular Sales

If you experience volatility in the number of orders being received throughout the year, it may no longer seem practical to own a warehouse.

Warehousing usually involves leasing the space, hiring personnel and dealing with pertinent issues. On the other hand, having an e-commerce logistics company can simplify order processes for you, while adapting to your business requirements.

You Have a Lot on Your Plate

If your focus on logistics is taking away time and efforts you could spend on other essential business operations, it’s time to start outsourcing order fulfillment.

Being an e-commerce store owner, you must have sufficient time, money and energy to devote to marketing, sales, management and other facets of successful business operation.

Lack of Infrastructure

If you’re expanding, chances are that you may eventually outgrow your existing infrastructure.

This puts a lot of stress on business operations, slowing down growth. However, when you outsource order fulfillment to a third-party company that concentrates on logistics, you will be well-equipped to take up various challenges.

We understand that no single solution fits the needs of various businesses. Therefore, at Shipfusion, we provide customized order fulfillment solutions to businesses seeking answers to their product inventory and shipping dilemmas.

Shipfusion sets your business on autopilot and combines flexible, reliable fulfillment with powerful, real-time technology. Shipfusion has multiple fulfillment centers across the US and Canada– making it easy to manage your eCommerce business. For more information on how to set your business on autopilot, contact one of our fulfillment specialists today.