Fulfillment

Fulfillment is an essential part for e-commerce to work correctly. If you want to know more about everything this service entails, then stay and read this article where you will find out:

• What does this service refer to and why is it so important today for the maintenance of businesses, especially e-commerce.
• Under what circumstances is it preferable to carry out fulfillment on your own and when is it better to leave it in the hands of a third party ?
• Some companies that are dedicated to carrying out this type of logistical procedures and how much their services cost.
• Tips for hiring a fulfillment service that is right for your business.

What is Fulfillment?

Fulfillment in Spanish means ” fulfillment ” and refers to the entire process that occurs from the moment a customer places an order until they receive it at the door of their home. In this sense, it goes from storage to delivery . Currently, not only the quality of the product that a buyer will receive is important, but also how efficient the purchasing process has been. This is why fulfillment is very important for e-commerce, since whether a customer continues to prefer one business or another depends on quick and problem-free reception. But even, given the characteristics of the current times, even physical businesses have to opt for this system so as not to be left behind or stagnant in a reduced market. In any case, as the owner of an e-commerce you can choose to carry out everything related to the outsourcing and distribution of products on your own. It is an option as valid as hiring the service of a company that is especially dedicated to it. However, one or the other is not always more convenient. Everything will depend on your availability of time and money . If you have more time and less money, it is more convenient to do this procedure yourself. But if you have money and less time, then you will require the help of a logistics company.

Characteristics of Fulfillment in logistics

As we have told you, the importance of fulfillment is increasing. In reality, it has more advantages than you imagine. Some of them are:

• Leave your clients satisfied with a complete and quality service. With this they will want to buy your products again and even recommend you so that it reaches many more people.
• You will reduce the problems that arise when shipping goods, such as damages, accidents and delays.
• Your business will be able to go much further than it would without the fulfillment service.
• If you hire a company specialized in this service, you will save costs and you will have a complete system that is already being successful in its application.

However, there are also certain disadvantages that you will have to face if you hire a fulfillment service:

• You will have to keep your inventory in the company’s warehouses, which can be detrimental to your finances.
• Inventory control is not so simple, which gives rise to errors.

In addition to this, there are several types and you can choose the one that best suits the needs of your business:

• Logistics services by third parties . It is also known as 3PL and is when a logistics company does all the fulfillment. They have all the products in your inventory in a warehouse, receive the orders and are responsible for delivering them through the distribution process. An example of this is Amazon FBA.
• Dropshipping . In this case, there is a factory that handles the production of the items and all the fulfillment.
• Auto Fulfillment . In this type of case, you yourself are in charge of carrying out all the compliance processes.

Filfillment service in the USA

Currently, the prices for this type of service are based on a monthly fee that is broken down as follows:

Recommendations to hire a Fulfillment service

• Research very well the rates and characteristics of services offered by each company. Make an evaluation of the current situation of your business and its needs. From this, choose the one that best suits the requirements of your e-commerce or physical store.
• Remember that it is not always ideal to hire this service, especially if your business is just starting and you have time to manage it yourself. In any case, you can hire a logistics company to manage some of the fulfillment operations. It doesn’t matter if it is storage, receipt and management of orders, distribution, etc.

If your business is still small and you have the possibility of managing each shipment on your own, you may find it convenient to use traditional logistics means. At US parcels we provide you with a list of companies that provide this service in the United States.

Frequent questions

What should I do if the company makes a mistake when delivering an order? +