Keeping up with customer demands can be challenging as your business grows; this is where a fulfillment center comes in.
A fulfillment center is an enterprise designed to handle the shipment, storage, and delivery of inventory for small-scale to medium-scale businesses. Fulfillment centers, fulfill customers’ orders and ensure that the correct orders are delivered to the right customers.
It is large in size, even more, significant than a warehouse. Rather than transfer these tasks to many other companies and spend more, you can pay one company to keep your products until customers make orders, and then the products are shipped to them.
The fulfillment center combines inventory warehousing and order fulfillment processes, reducing costs. When customers place orders through an eCommerce store, the fulfillment center fulfills their order.
A fulfillment center also helps to make the shipping faster and returns easier. Shipping companies negotiate prices with fulfillment centers with large-scale businesses, and sometimes, vendors are presented with the opportunity of shipping to customers for free.
Returns can be sent to the fulfillment center rather than being sent to the vendor. Doing this saves the customer from having to pay the vendor for restocking.
A fulfillment center is of utmost importance to eCommerce retailers as it saves them space and time. Rather than handle fulfillment operations themselves, they outsource to fulfillment centers. Many mistake a fulfillment center for a warehouse, but both are different. As we go on, you will know the difference between a warehouse and a fulfillment center. You will also learn what a fulfillment center does and how it works.
About Us – Atlas Packaging Inc
Atlas Packaging & Displays was founded with the vision of manufacturing innovative, value-added packaging materials and products from recycled and renewable materials. We help small businesses, eCommerce companies and franchises design packaging designs that suit every company. Check out our service page to learn more about our services.
Difference Between a Fulfillment Center and a Warehouse
A warehouse is where products are stored for sellers for a given period. It is a large facility designed in such a way that it can keep your products until you need them. Most people who sell seasonal products make use of a warehouse.
Some warehouses contain storage bins, pallets, and containers used to store different products, while others are fitted with shelves and forklifts used to move containers around. Some companies own and manage their warehouse to keep their excess products until it is ready to be shipped, and other companies that cannot afford to have their warehouse rent out the warehouse space.
At the same time, a fulfillment center serves not only as a storage facility but also for other purposes. In that case, a fulfillment center can serve as a warehouse, but a warehouse can not serve as a fulfillment center.
What does Fulfillment Center do?
1. Helps business owners free up their space
Fulfillment centers help eCommerce companies to free up their workspace. Rather than have your store littered with boxes, you can make use of a fulfillment center so you will be able to focus on more pressing duties and grow your business.
Having an unorganized store will make work appear hard, stressful, and confusing. Yes! A cluttered store is terrible for business, hence the need to use a fulfillment center. You will have more time and enthusiasm to grow your business when you do away with the labor that comes with a disorganized store.
2. Increases your scale
A fulfillment center helps you increase your scale. By outsourcing fulfillment, your business will be able to handle an increased number of orders. Some small businesses may be able to manage their order fulfillment, but as the business grows, managing the company will most likely pose a problem, and that is where a fulfillment center comes in.
At this point, will you be able handle this increase while focusing on making your customers have a better customer experience? The importance of a fulfillment center will likely make you slack in your duties to your customers, and you won’t want that to happen.
3. Improves Customer Service
Good customer service is instrumental to the growth of every business. Many businesses have lost a large number of customers as a result of poor customer service. A fulfillment center helps improve your customer service by responding to customer orders on time. It also communicates with customers over the phone or email, making exchanges, returns, and refunds easy. This way, you will retain your customers.
4. Provide Customized Packaging
Fulfillment centers study customers’ demographics, birthdays, and preferences and, with the information, help you create custom coupons and shipping boxes. Of course, doing that will make your customers more loyal and also increases your business growth.
5. Reduces Shipping Costs
The cost of hiring employees, maintaining quality products, buying packing supplies, and even renting a space is very high; this is why a Fulfillment center is essential, as you can share resources and pay with numerous other sellers. Most fulfillment centers interconnect with national facilities, giving them access to large-scale delivery, resulting in discounts that reduce shipping costs. You will only have to spend a little with a fulfillment center storing your products, organizing them for delivery, and ensuring they get to the customers.
6. Ensures customer orders are rightly packed
Outsourcing for fulfillment helps to ensure the right products are packaged for the right customer when orders are placed. Fulfillment centers allow employees to collect and package the right products before sending them to the customers. This way, customers will receive what they ordered, and there will be no room for mistakes.
How does a Fulfillment Center work?
Outsourcing for fulfillment involves sending the products you want to sell to the fulfillment center. Once your products are received, the quality checked, and other necessary procedures are taken, the product will then be stored properly.
Mode of storage actually depends on the type of product it is. You can start taking orders as soon as the required processes are carried out and your products are on your website. The fulfillment center processes these orders, and discussions are made with the customers if needed.
The ordered product is well packaged and confirmed to be the right product. Confirmation emails and dispatch updates are also sent. Where emails are not sent, text messages are used. The already packaged products are shipped to the customers whenever orders come in. Most big fulfillment centers network with big couriers, and as they ship many customers’ orders every day, the cost of shipping is reduced for customers’ benefit.
Conclusion
There are many good companies running fulfillment centers you can patronize and be sure of getting what you want. All you have to do is, know what you intend to achieve or your purpose of outsourcing fulfillment and research companies that can do it; the keyword here is research. Ensure you do your research.
About Us – Atlas Packaging Inc
Atlas Packaging & Displays was founded with the vision of manufacturing innovative, value-added packaging materials and products from recycled and renewable materials. We help small businesses, eCommerce companies and franchises create packaging designs that suit every company. Check out our service page to learn more about our services.
