Online shopping was already becoming immensely popular when COVID-19 hit the world. However, the lockdown led to a significant increase in its popularity as more and more people had little option but to depend on online shopping instead of going to the store.
As a result, the demand for eCommerce fulfillment services also skyrocketed. Read on to find out what exactly is this service as well as 5 benefits of eCommerce fulfillment in 2022.
5 Benefits Of Ecommerce Fulfillment In 2022
If you’re an online seller, eCommerce fulfillment is the most important part of your business. Your marketing, website design, social media ads, email copy, and everything else you do to target potential customers will eventually prove to be less fruitful if you don’t have a strong eCommerce fulfillment strategy.
After an online order is placed, the process of delivering the shipment to the customer’s doorsteps is known as eCommerce fulfillment. This includes receiving the inventory, storing it in ideal conditions, processing the order, packing boxes, and transporting the shipment to the required destination.
Some sellers choose to take eCommerce fulfillment into their own hands as they believe it would save them money. This is a huge mistake. Initially, as a new seller, you may save some money by not outsourcing eCommerce fulfillment. However, as soon as your online shop starts gaining traction, this would become a huge hassle.
Soon, you will be spending all your time packing boxes and running to the post office and will have no time to focus on growing your business. Moreover, if you hire people to help you with the packing and delivery, you will most likely be paying them more than you would for an eCommerce fulfillment service.
Therefore, here are some major reasons you should outsource eCommerce fulfillment.
1. No Warehouse Management Responsibilities
If you don’t outsource eCommerce fulfillment, you will be in charge of the storage space. You can either store the inventory in your garage or rent a warehouse. While the former isn’t a viable long-term option, the latter wouldn’t be as beneficial as you might expect. This is because renting and managing a warehouse is a huge responsibility. You will have to hire additional staff, pay their salaries, purchase insurance, and buy security equipment, among other things.
On the other hand, hiring an eCommerce fulfillment service means that they would be responsible for storing and managing the inventory. This will free you from all of the above responsibilities and allow you the time and energy to focus on growing your business. This is arguably the biggest benefit of outsourcing eCommerce fulfillment.
2. Save Money
The purpose of any business is to make as much money as possible. At face value, having to pay a warehouse management service may seem like an additional expense. However, in the long run, it will save you a lot of money. Most eCommerce fulfillment services have flexible pricing. If you’re going through a slow period or even an exceedingly great period, they will be able to make adjustments to adapt to your current needs.
Since they have established space for more than one seller, they won’t have any trouble reducing their service prices during low seasons. On the other hand, if you are managing your own warehouse, you will have to make lease payments and pay the staff their salaries, irrespective of seasonal fluctuations. And as they say, every penny saved is a penny earned.
3. Extend Your Reach
As a small-scale seller, you might have trouble managing orders across borders or even far-off places within your country, as the shipping may cost you more than your profit. This can significantly limit your target market and prevent you from reaching your full potential. For instance, did you know that there were 2.14 billion digital buyers in 2021? That’s more than 25% of the world population. To limit yourself to a single city or country can seem like a huge mistake when you look at these numbers.
An eCommerce fulfillment service can help diminish this distance. It will also significantly decrease shipment costs, which will lead to more people across the world purchasing your products. However, make sure to consult a fulfillment service that has an international network. Additionally, before you add a country to your online store, thoroughly read through their import and export rules and regulations to avoid any hassle in the future.
4. Benefit From Their Expertise and Experience
If you’re trying to run a business, you’re probably not looking to become an expert in eCommerce fulfillment. If you still choose to take this responsibility, you will have to spend a lot of time learning about managing the warehouse and staff for your eCommerce fulfillment.
However, outsourcing eCommerce fulfillment won’t just save you from this unnecessary learning curve, but their expertise in the field will actively benefit your business. As a result, the whole process of delivering the shipment would become seamless for you.
5. Customer Satisfaction
You’ve probably heard that keeping an old customer is easier than finding new ones. However, it is estimated that poor customer service can cause companies to lose up to $62 billion each year. And with so many competing products on the market these days, each customer is important.
By having an easy exchange, return, and refund policy, you can ensure that the customer returns to your store even if they aren’t satisfied with the product; since they know that they can easily return or exchange it. Managing these back and forth deliveries yourself can be a huge headache. However, an eCommerce fulfillment service can make the process much easier and more satisfactory for your customers, as well as for you.
Conclusion
Whether you are just planning on starting a business or already have an established business but are struggling to keep up with the deliveries, outsourcing eCommerce fulfillment is something all online sellers should consider. Even if you aren’t having any troubles with managing your shipment at the moment, outsourcing it will certainly prove beneficial as you’d have more time to focus on your business.
