E-Commerce Fulfillment Explained

What Is E-Commerce Fulfillment? Definition, Processes, and Resources

Thriving e-commerce businesses all have one thing in common: outstanding e-commerce fulfillment. Here’s what you need to know.

The success of any online shop lies in getting e-commerce fulfillment right. It is key to keeping your discerning customer happy, maximizing profits, and minimizing returns.

E-commerce fulfillment centers focus on getting customers’ orders delivered intact and on time. This article goes into detail on what that entails.

What is E-Commerce Fulfillment?

E-commerce fulfillment is the flurry of systematic activity that results in getting goods ordered online to your customer’s doorstep. That is the basic definition from which all processes flow. The processes are systematic to take care of the countless steps that have to be followed in this particular supply chain.

Aside from communicating with the customer as to the status of their order at every stage, steps in part of our supply chain involve:

• processing orders
• order picking
• packing orders
• transporting orders
• documenting receipt of the order.

It makes no sense for every manufacturer or retail outlet to have its own order fulfillment system. First, it would not be cost-effective. Second, it requires a high level of expertise in this area alone.

Attempting to go it alone would place a needless financial burden on your business. Besides, it’s unlikely that your business would derive any cost-saving from the economies of scale.

That’s why 3PL (third-party logistics) companies like Fulfilltopia exist. Fulfilltopia specializes in providing a range of e-commerce fulfillment services that are best explained by watching our company in action in this short video.

You’ll find our charges detailed in the presentation document, too. Getting in touch with us directly for a quotation is the best course of action, though.

How Do Successful E-Commerce Fulfillment Centers Operate?

E-commerce fulfillment centers succeed because of precision e-commerce warehouse management. A well-organized warehouse is the basis of everything else that follows.

Huge advances in warehouse technologies and equipment have led to incredible improvements in warehouse workflow and storage. That includes a scientific approach to streamlined warehouse layout and design.

Our warehouses, based on the eastern half of the United States—thus following demographic demand—store your inventory for later release and distribution to your customers. Although this might sound easy, moving goods in and out of a warehouse can get tricky. Especially when you add demands for speed, efficiency, and accurate documentation into the mix.

Fulfilltopia’s warehouse facilities are adept at:

• Making the most of the available space
• Reducing the handling of items wherever possible
• Ensuring ease of access to goods stored on your behalf
• Achieving a high rotation ratio of inventory
• Maintaining inventory control

Our precision-based warehouse logistics systems allow our clients to store their goods on pallets or shelves. We also have strict company safety standards that comply with national and international requirements.

For Fulfilltopia, occupational health and safety is a priority for employees in its warehouse production departments and elsewhere.

Inventory Control

Fullfilltopia makes extensive use of automated warehouse management systems (WMS) that use RFID and barcode technology.

This allows us to maintain an inventory accuracy of 99.95% or higher. Using our fulfillment center services means that what you store with us stays with us until one of your customers needs it shipped to them! Accurate inventory control contributes to the success of your e-commerce operations.

With Fulfilltopia, you can specify restocking levels of all your SKUs (stock-keeping units). Our system will notify you when stock levels are low in our warehouses. This is crucial during peaks in seasonal sales, or during your promotional campaigns when a higher than usual offtake occurs.

Our inventory control is automated and integrated with our warehouse management system. Each time picking occurs for one of your customer’s orders, your inventory data is immediately updated when those goods are despatched from our fulfillment center.

After despatch, we know exactly where your customer’s order is, thanks to our reliable shipment tracking system. More about that later.

How Do We Know When Your Customers Order Something?

Talk to us about integrating your online shopping cart platform ordering with our WMS software to streamline to best effect.

Our head office in Virginia Beach and our other fulfillment centers offer automated integration with your platform, whether ERP software or a straightforward shopping cart.

Switching from another fulfillment center to Fulfilltopia is easy. Why? Because we can integrate with a host of e-commerce platforms, including:

• Shopify
• Woo Commerce
• Magento
• Amazon
• eBay, and
• Walmart

Your integrated online store is our priority. It is the “source,” as it were, from which everything springs. Our consultants can answer all your questions about platform compatibility and customer payment methods at checkout.

Our staff and the technology we use ensure that we provide the smooth order flow your business and customers expect. Not only is the speed of data transfer enhanced, but you can also rest assured that a high level of online security and data integrity is maintained.

Gone are the days of excessive paperwork, mostly misfiled or missing entirely. Our state-of-the-art systems ensure all the necessary information accompanies each order as it journeys from your online shop to the customer’s doorstep.

Our WMS handles the SKU information, an item’s location within the warehouse, date and time of entry and exit, order number, and customer details. We do all this with as little human intervention as possible. The fewer times an item is touched in our warehouse, the cheaper it is all-round—which means we make shipping and distribution savings on your behalf.

Our policy of reducing product touches helps keep energy consumption costs low. Our bespoke forklifts reduce product touches and speed up the workflow.

The People-Friendly Imperative

We are people-friendly when it comes to liaising with the staff at your business who manage your e-commerce operations. We are also people-friendly when communicating with your customers’ tracking queries and managing customer returns.

Our fulfillment centers are people-friendly, too. We are not referring to the great team of people who manage our fulfillment centers, so much as the dedicated training that we give to our forklift operators and other personnel so that they work in the warehouses safely. We seek to avoid accidents because they are costly in terms of the damage to goods and the loss of productivity caused by injury to personnel.

Our fulfillment centers process orders on three shifts, seven days a week. In other words, we are always there for you.

Our records reflect that all orders are processed within one business day or sooner. Half of all orders go out the same day they are received. And we offer same-day processing for expedited consumer shipments.

Resourceful Integration Management

The combination of our human resources and facilities means that Fulfilltopia has all the necessary resources for you to keep your promises to your customers. It also means that we can keep our promises to you because of our dedicated picking, packing, and distributing of your goods to your customers.

Tracking and Access to Your Data

AS our clients, you have around-the-clock access to your data online, thanks to our web-based system. You get real-time information on inventory, shipping and tracking, order management, backorders status, and returns. Reporting is detailed, but can also be in summary form.

Of course, some preparatory work is necessary to make this magic happen. When you set up your account with us, we have to upload your items and offers in the Order Management System.  We also have to determine—in consultation with you—every aspect involved in fulfillment center management.

Account Setup

For roughly five hours of labor for every 25 SKUs, we set up:

• Thresholds for reorder points
• Low-stock alerts
• Inventory receipts
• Returns notifications
• Backorders

Also, primary pick locations are assigned in our WMS, including the labeling of bins or containers. Your customized packing slip incorporating your branding is set up. We give you login in credentials so that you can access the system and the necessary training.

Part of the setting up of your account includes establishing internal shipping methods and rules in line with your requirements.

Integration Setup

Using the pre-integrated e-commerce platforms mentioned above, we connect your systems to the Nimble middleware application that helps us excel at our job every day. Integration setup and testing takes about three hours and includes:

• Mapping shipping methods from the client system to our WMS
• Testing connectivity
• Setting up the frequency of pulling orders from the client systems and the intervals of writing backorder updates
• Creating test orders to validate order flow
• Confirming that SKUs, offers, and shipping methods pass-through integration

We offer six different levels of integration management. What level you choose depends on the complexity of the service you need and the size of your operations. It is worth speaking to us about this in detail. We will recommend what we know will work best for you.

Account and Inventory Management

In many ways, a fulfillment center such as Fulfilltopia has two responsibilities. The first is to keep your customers satisfied by delivering their orders on time every time. The second is our client-facing responsibility to manage your account and your inventory.

As our client, you get a dedicated account manager who deals with your general inquiries. They also liaise between you and the shipping carrier in cases where packages are undeliverable and provide simple shipping quotes (weight only) as well as special project quotes.

Once your account and integration setup is complete, you gain online access to the licensed Order Management System that Fulfilltopia uses.

Getting granular for a moment, inventory management from the client’s perspective includes receiving information on:

• Backorder management, with the running of a daily backorder cycle to release
  orders as soon as stock arrives
• Cycle counts when inventory levels are low
• Restocking primary picking locations when necessary
• Inventory monitoring, usage analysis, and low inventory warnings
• Warehouse consolidation of goods

Our insistence on super-efficient operating systems is well known. It provides ample evidence of how much we value our relationship with our clients.

Branding and More

One great-to-have feature of our service is that you can have bespoke packaging for goods sold through your online store. Fulfilltopia’s system enables you to choose from various branding possibilities available for the packaging and documentation used to ship your goods. Speak to our consultants for details on how to get your logo and branding on the goods we ship for you.

Our services fall into several broad categories—our specialties. They show the type of expertise we have at our disposal:

• E-commerce fulfillment
• Retail fulfillment
• Subscription box fulfillment
• Crowdfunding and flash sales
• FBA Prep Services

While you might follow one type of fulfillment most of the time, you might have a one-off occasion that needs a different category of fulfillment. Or your business might expand, and you need to use the other services we provide.

For example, our subscription box service is a way for you to thanking your new subscription customers, and Fulfilltopia helps you do it!

As always, talk to us about it. You can do this through our friendly humans in the chatbox on our website, or get in touch with your dedicated account manager.

The USA and Beyond

Our resources are by no means confined to our fulfillment centers. Fulfilltopia relies on a well-connected logistics network that focuses on e-commerce fulfillment. We are mindful of the fact that many clients are expanding their customer base to include global customers.

It is no accident that we chose the excellent location of Virginia Beach for our head office. Virginia Beach is a major international logistics hub for road, rail, and sea freight. So, once again, our clients gain leverage from Fullfilltopia’s strategic thinking. It’s what we’re good at, and we’re happy to pass that advantage on to you.

Please contact us or give us a call if you would like to know more about how our order fulfillment centers work or about order fulfillment in general. We’re always ready to help you come on board so that you can experience better delivery performance and e-commerce success!

  

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What to Look For When Choosing a Fulfillment Service

7 Important Things to Look For When Choosing a Fulfillment Service

Sales in the U.S. e-commerce industry will reach a staggering $707.78 billion by the end of 2020. The growth is in part due to the shift by most brick and mortar businesses to online stores. Fulfillment centers are a crucial component of this blossoming e-commerce sector.

These centers focus on the process of receiving, packaging, and shipping of orders to consumers. You won’t meet your customers’ needs without proper logistical support for your online store. A fulfillment service is a useful companion for both budding and well-established companies.

You’ll avoid the last mile challenges most online stores face. The convenience is on top of the savings on the capital expenditure associated with in-house warehousing. This option also saves you the complications of loss and damages to shipped goods.

Do you need a fulfillment service for a flawless shipping process? Here’re things to consider when selecting the best fulfillment service provider.

1. Pricing

Cost-saving is one of the key reasons businesses opt to outsource services. When it comes to selecting the best fulfillment service, pricing should matter.

It’s essential to consider the recurrent monthly subscription or annual fees and their effects on the total cost. Also, be keen to assess the per-transaction fees and note their implication on the total bill.

The goal of paying attention to pricing is also to assess the possibility of any additional hidden costs. If the per-order expenses and other extra storage costs are high, it beats logic to consider the specific service.

One of the other essential factors to consider is the value of the service. Remember that cheap can be expensive. Ensure that while you wish to settle for a pocket-friendly option, you don’t end up compromising on the quality of the last mile process to your esteemed clients.

2. Location of the Fulfillment Service Provider

Same-day order delivery will grow by $9.73 billion during the 2020-2024 period. Customers are now used to the same day delivery as more e-commerce businesses focus on shortening the time between ordering and receipt. The ability to achieve this depends on a full range of other factors including proximity to the clients

When selecting a fulfillment service, the idea is to ensure that the products reach the intended destination sooner. The closer the fulfillment service provider is to the clients, the shorter the time needed to deliver. For this reason, location matters when selecting a fulfillment service provider for your business.

Are you looking to achieve a world-class delivery system for your business? It all starts with having a fulfillment service provider who can reach your customers within the shortest time. It would help to ask the potential fulfillment service provider about their specific location.

Such information will be useful in the determination of the fulfillment center that’s most convenient for you. It’s essential to consider the location given that it will affect the speed and the cost of the order.

3. The Provided Services

Shipping is a delicate process. You need a fulfillment service provider who can handle all your shipping needs. It would help to consider the provided services before making a decision.

Every fulfillment center should be able to offer basic warehousing, order fulfillment, and shipping services. However, the deal-breaker is in the ability to be creative and adaptive to suit your specific needs. The fulfillment center should demonstrate the ability to handle multi-items with utmost care.

The other important considerations include the providers’ ability to offer specialty services. Such extras include batching. Batching is the ability to send single items to multiple customers simultaneously.

You should also consider relevant services such as kitting. This is the dispatch of numerous unique items grouped then sold as one item.

4. Customer Support

Did you know that disposable personal income among American consumers increased by 0.2% to $39.9 billion in July this year?

With this more money in circulation, it’s essential to focus on customer satisfaction to enhance spending. One way of building your e-commerce business is to focus on building a customer-centric experience.

You aren’t anticipating problems with the shipping process. However, shipping thrives on logistics. Sometimes hiccups can derail the delivery of services.

Every customer can live with instances of technical hitches. Nevertheless, what’s appalling is a flawed approach to the communication process. How will the fulfillment center deal with customer support?

What medium of communication is most convenient for them? Such questions are vital, given that they often set the pace for future engagement with clients. Most clients are keen on real-time communication with customer support.

If the fulfillment service provider isn’t available to respond to client-related emergencies, this should be a red flag. The fulfillment service provider should also have multiple communication channels. The approach will ensure accessibility on various channels.

5. The Use of Technology

The use of technology is changing how e-commerce businesses are handling the shipping process. One of the main factors that should determine your choice of the fulfillment service provider is their technology use. Any fulfillment center worth your top dollar should have the latest technology in place to support their routine processes.

If the fulfillment center uses warehouse inventory management systems, then they are worth considering. A top-rated fulfillment center should use software that can support inventory management, enhance data reporting, and manage inbound/outbound freight.

Mobile Phone Technology

At least 5 billion people have access to mobile phones today. The best fulfillment center should be able to integrate mobile phone usage in the process of managing orders. Mobile phones play a critical role in the tracking process.

The fulfillment centers should be able to integrate mobile technologies in a way that ensures round the clock monitoring of all dispatched orders. This means that the clients can track orders on their phones and still keep communication with the fulfillment centers active.

Voice Tasking

What happens within the fulfillment center will affect your ability to meet your clients’ needs. As such, it would help to consider other useful technological applications within the fulfillment facility. The use of voice tasking can help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.

It would help to consider such additional technological applications when selecting the best provider. This will ensure that you give your clients the best possible service.

6. Consider Scalability

Your business might be starting, but this does not mean it won’t snowball in the next few years. The best fulfillment partner should be able to help you grow your business in the long-haul. The main problem with most fulfillment centers is the limitation when it comes to expansion.

An important consideration when determining a fulfillment partner should be their ability to scale up over the next few years. If the center cannot grow in line with your business in the future, it’s not worth your top-dollar. The growth of the e-commerce sector will spur most online stores’ expansion in the next few years.

What should worry you during this period of growth is the ability by fulfillment service providers to scale up their service offerings. You should avoid a situation where you grow in a rapid sequence only to mess up your ability to sustain the growth rates.

The fulfillment center should support your growth journey in the long haul by working with you during the improvement process. Scalability should include other factors, such as the integration of systems to meet your routine customer needs.

The fulfillment center should also plan ahead of time to ensure that they remain flexible to the industry’s changing scope. At Fulfilltopia, we are working round the clock to expand our reach to other countries to meet your growth targets.

7. Experience

You will be entrusting the satisfaction of your clients in the hands of a fulfillment service provider. As such, it’s imperative to ensure that you only work with a fulfillment center that has the experience needed. A greenhorn company that’s only starting can mess you up.

While the allure of a cheap service is overwhelming, it’s essential to work with a seasoned fulfillment company. You don’t want to end up with frustrated clients because of entrusting their needs to a beginner in the sector. Our team comprises highly experienced individuals with the capacity to deliver according to your expectations.

It’s Time to Outsource Your Fulfillment Service

Your e-commerce business needs logistical support to thrive. One way to ensure that you meet your client’s needs is to focus on a flawless last-mile process. Fulfillment service providers are your best bet during such instances.

With a fulfillment service provider, you’ll not only cut on shipping costs but also achieve greater efficiency. However, it would help if you considered aspects such as scalability, experience, and the use of modern technology when selecting a fulfillment partner.

Other factors that should matter include the facility’s location, the pricing, and the services on offer. Once you get a provider with all these characters, it might be time to go all out. Our services at Fulfilltopia meet all these essential qualifications.

Are you looking for a reliable service provider to offer you fulfillment options for all your need? Contact us today.

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New Amazon FBA Shipments Are On Hold: Fulfilltopia Can Help

A Hold on New Amazon FBA Shipments: How Fulfilltopia Can Help

With a hold on new Amazon FBA shipments during COVID-19, ensure your customers receive their orders with Fulfilltopia’s ecommerce order fulfillment services.

Every day, there are updates about COVID-19 and how it’s impacting the world.

If you earn a full-time or side income from Amazon FBA shipments, you likely already learned that you can no longer ship just anything to Amazon’s order fulfillment centers.

Fortunately, there is a way you can continue running your business. Keep reading to learn more about how our e-commerce order fulfillment service can help you through this crisis.

Restrictions on Amazon FBA Shipments

To protect their employees without preventing people from getting the things they legitimately need, Amazon has placed restrictions on what items can be shipped to their FBA centers.

The items that are currently allowed include:

• Household staples
• Medical supplies

If these are the only items you sell through Amazon FBA, then your business may not be affected and may actually be booming right now as many places are under quarantine.

However, if you’re selling anything that’s not already categorized as a household staple or medical supply, you may find yourself struggling to know what to do. Do you wait it out for what could be months?

We recommend finding a different option since nobody knows how long the situation will last. Even if selling on Amazon is only a side business for you, you don’t want to risk losing money if you can help it.

How We Can Help

We understand how difficult it can be to run an e-commerce business even in the best of times. As times are uncertain, things are even more difficult and we want to do our part in improving things for as many people as possible.

Now that many people are unable to continue running their business like they normally do, we’re stepping up our game to help in two specific ways.

Ecommerce Order Fulfillment

The best way to work around the restrictions being put into place by Amazon is to use an e-commerce order fulfillment company. These businesses work the same as FBA but are an outside company.

Our distribution centers are strategically placed around the country so that 70% of the US population can be reached within two days. This guarantees fast shipping time and improves your customer satisfaction rates.

We’ve already been in this business for over 10 years, so we know what we’re doing and aren’t just trying something new to take advantage of the situation.

Special Discounted Services

To further help everyone in this difficult time, we are currently offering up to 33% off some of our normal services. This is designed to help you continue to earn as much money as possible despite what’s going on in the world.

Want to Keep Selling on Amazon?

Now you know how you can get around the restrictions set in place for Amazon FBA Shipments. As you can see, the coronavirus can’t stop you from running your business if you use our e-commerce fulfillment services.

If you want to keep selling non-essential items through Amazon, contact us today. We would be more than happy to help you send your products to one of our warehouses so we can take care of your order fulfillment for you.

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How to Qualify for Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime

How to Qualify for Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime

Get Your Business Into Prime Time: 10 Tips To Become a Seller Fulfilled By Amazon
One way to level up your online business is by becoming a seller fulfilled by Amazon. Here are 10 tips on how to get your product ready for Amazon Prime!

If you’ve thought about selling your products on Amazon, then you’re already on the right track to a successful business. Amazon is one of the largest online retailers. With its ever-growing popularity, your business is sure to flourish when listing your products for sale on Amazon.

But successfully selling and shipping your products on this retail giant’s site isn’t a simple task. You’ll need to know how to get the most out of it, which will bring you the most profit in return. The seller fulfilled by Amazon Prime (SFP) program is a way to bring customers the convenience of Amazon Prime without costing the seller bundles of fees, product delays, and mishandled inventory.

Becoming a seller fulfilled by Amazon customer ensures the ultimate profit for your business. Ready to learn more? Continue reading below for 10 tips to become one today!

1. Know What a Seller Fulfilled by Amazon Is

Because Amazon Prime offers buyers many benefits such as fast shipping and free shipping, it’s become one of the top things buyers look for when browsing through products. If a product doesn’t qualify for Prime, then he or she continues looking for a similar product that does. Because of this, sellers who offer Prime to their buyers climb to the top of the search results while other sellers fall behind.

This ensures that investing in becoming a Primer seller is worth it. A seller fulfilled by Amazon is someone who offers Prime products and manages their own inventories and avoids fees that they’d otherwise acquire while using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). This also helps sellers manage any returns in an easier and simpler manner.

2. Create an Amazon Seller Account

Now that you have a better understanding of what a seller fulfilled by Amazon account is, it’s time to create your own. You’ll first need to start by creating an Amazon seller account. The next step is to choose a plan that best fits your needs. If you’re just starting out, it might be a good idea to choose the “sell as an individual” plan.

This is a great way to get started before applying for a seller fulfillment Amazon account. There are fees associated with each product that you sell if choosing this plan. If you plan on selling more than 40 items when you first start out, then it might be a better option to choose a professional plan.

You can then add your Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) account.

3. Consider Your Product Opportunities

The next step is to consider your product opportunities. Private labeling is the best way to leverage the FBA model. To do so, you’ll need to establish a brand and then apply it to your product to sell on Amazon. Now, complete an Amazon product search for the product you’re considering to sell.

If this product isn’t too popular and the other sellers are offering it at a cheaper price than you are, then you might set yourself up for a loss. Take the time to search for popular products, check competitor pricing, and improve on the product or seller it at a cheaper rate for the best success.

4. List Your Products for Sale

You’ll now need to list your products for sale. Log into your account and click on “Add a listing.” Include descriptions for each product and check off that the items will sell through FBA.

Don’t forget to switch the default mode of “Individual” to “Case-Packed Items.” This ensures that Amazon will track each of your items separately since you’ll be shipping multiple orders of the same item.

5. Prepare Products For Shipment

Now you’ll need to know how to prepare your products for shipment. You begin this process by clicking on “Work on Shipment.” You can then create and print shipping labels for your items.

There are several options to choose from. Once you choose your label, you’ll want to choose a carrier. You can then begin to print out your labels and ship out your packages.

6. Know the Eligibility Requirements 

Now that you’ve spent some time learning the beginning stages of selling through Amazon, you can now begin focusing on eligibility requirements for a seller fulfilled by Amazon account. The eligibility requirements are as follows:

1. Professional Selling Account with Premium Shipping– This is why we suggested you start out small and then work your way up to a professional selling account that offers premium shipping. Your account also needs to be in good standing with premium shipping of two-day or one-day services.
2. Send Out 30 Premium Shipping Orders the Month Before– The month before you apply for a seller fulfilled by Amazon account, you’ll need to have sent out at least 30 premium shipping orders.
3. Have a Set Delivery Pick Up Time– You must have a set delivery pick up time with your carriers of 4:00 pm or later with a preferred Buy Shipping Service delivery partner of theirs.
4. Meet the Baseline Requirements– There’s a performance tab in your seller account where you can check that you’re meeting Amazon’s requirements for a seller fulfilled account with Prime. The requirements include a 4.5-star rating or higher, 94% or more of the Prime orders sent with a valid tracking ID, 1% or less of Prime shipping orders canceled, and 96% or more of Prime orders delivered on time.
5. Sign Up For the Seller Fulfilled Prime Trial– Fill out the application listed on the seller fulfilled by Amazon Prime’s main page. You’ll answer some questions and provide some information.
6. Select Items to Sell During the Trial– If you’re approved for the Prime trial, select which products you want to sell during the trial. Do so by assigning SKUs to these products. Be sure not to miss this step because Amazon won’t count them towards your performance results.
7. Complete 200 Prime Trial Orders– If you complete 200 Prime trial orders, then it’s time to check your performance numbers. You’ll need a 95% rate or higher of using Buy Shipping Services, a 99% rate or higher on-time shipment rate, and a 1% rate or less of cancelations.

Failure to meet these requirements within 90 days of the trial will result in you needing to reapply. If you do meet these requirements, then you’ve made it!

7. Keep in Mind Some Key Facts About FBA

There are some key things to keep in mind when choosing a seller fulfilled by Amazon account. These key facts are as followed:

• Seller fees- Amazon takes a 15% cut on sales through FBA.
• You pay shipping fees- You’re responsible for shipping charges to Amazon.
• Additional fees- Any product handled by Amazon for packing or shipping includes a fee, storage includes a fee, and other additional fees exist.
• Sales tax- If you live in a state where you’re required to report sales tax, you’ll need to keep this in mind too. You also might be shipping to another state that has this requirement.

Keep these facts in mind to ensure that you’re making the right selection. Choosing a seller fulfilled by Amazon Prime account is a good way to reduce these fees.

8. Consider a Training Course

There are some training courses that you can sign up to take to help you through the process. There’s an Amazon boot camp that’ll help you through the process. There’s also a 7-day free email course, which will help you decide which option is the best for you.

Opting to take a training course helps you prepare for what to expect from different Amazon account plans.

9. Determine if It’s Worth it For You

After going through these several tips, determine if a seller fulfilled by Amazon account is worth it for you. Have you put in the time and effort into building a good customer base? If you’ve gone through these tips above and believe that you’re ready to meet the requirements needed to have a successful account, then it’s time to start considering applying for an account.

10. Find a Key Partner to Assist You

The process of having a successful Prime account is a difficult one, but it’s worth the effort. Having this account will ensure that you’re a quality seller selling to loyal Prime members. Your business will reap the benefits.

But one way to ensure your success is to find a key partner to assist you with your fulfillment account. Having a partner to help you through the process will help you meet Prime status quickly and smoothly.

Find Your Reliable Partner Today

So, what are you waiting for? Find your reliable partner today and get the process towards a successful seller fulfilled by Amazon account started! Contact us today to see how we can help you.

 

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How Does An Order Fulfillment Center Work in 2019

Order Fulfillment – How it all Works in 2019?

Ecommerce stores can reach customers worldwide. But where do they store the inventory and fulfill orders? Discover how an order fulfillment center works in 2019.

E-commerce is poised to become the leading sector of global retail sales by 2021. As the industry expands, it puts more pressure on e-commerce stores to keep items stocked and delivered in a timely fashion.

Some e-commerce businesses already struggle with product fulfillment. This will only become more difficult with increasing customer demand.

If you own an online storefront, you know how difficult it is to stay on top of online orders. Late shipping or shipping errors can impact your store’s image and reduce cash flow.

An order fulfillment center is one way an e-commerce store can maximize sales and keep up with shipping demands.

What is an Order Fulfillment Center?

Many e-commerce retailers choose to handle the shipping and order logistics on their own. But with increased growth, they may eventually find it impossible to manage without assistance. That’s where an order fulfillment center can help.

E-commerce businesses store their inventory at order fulfillment centers. When a customer makes a purchase, the fulfillment center gets notified. They’ll package the purchase and send it off for shipping. Order fulfillment centers can also process returns.

In short, an order fulfillment center manages the packaging and shipping for e-commerce businesses. They are essentially warehouses with advanced and specialized fulfillment services.

How Does an Order Fulfillment Center Work?

On your end, you only need to make sure the fulfillment center has enough inventory to handle orders. When you ship your inventory to the order fulfillment center, they will log the items in their warehouse database. E-commerce businesses can keep an eye on their inventory, usually in real time.

Most storefronts have easy integration with fulfillment center logistics. When a customer purchases an item from your storefront, the fulfillment center will process the order without any input from you.

If a customer refunds a purchase, they’ll receive the item and inspect its condition. If it’s still sellable, they’ll put it back in the inventory for future customers to buy.

Best of all, you can still personalize orders at an order fulfillment center. Some centers will use your own labeled packaging, while others will add custom packaging slips to brand your company.

For more information, check out these fulfillment starter tips.

What Are the Benefits of an Order Fulfillment Center?

E-commerce storefronts reduce their burden by outsourcing the order fulfillment process to a third party. That may sound enticing enough.

However, there are other benefits that make order fulfillment centers a worthwhile expenditure.

1. Physical Storage

Many e-commerce storefronts run their business from their own homes. This means that their products and materials are competing for space.

With an order fulfillment center, they no longer have to keep their inventory stashed at home and can free up space for more materials.

2. Faster Shipping

Order fulfillment centers will process a customer request as soon as possible. Depending on the location of the fulfillment center, they could offer next-day or two-day shipping. Since consumers demand fast shipping, it’s an important way to stay competitive.

Since it isn’t always possible to package and ship dozens of items a day, order fulfillment centers can help you deliver items faster. They often have special rates with postal services, which will save you in shipping costs.

3. Reduced Burden

Managing an inventory is one of the most time-consuming and demanding aspects of owning an e-commerce business. By offloading the task to an order fulfillment center, you’ll have more time to make meaningful improvements to your business.

4. Flexible Pricing

E-commerce retailers renew their lease on a monthly basis. If a retailer only wants to use an order fulfillment center for their peak months, they’ll have the freedom to do so.

However, the space your inventory consumes determines the cost of an order fulfillment center. During the off-season, you could store less product and therefore pay a lower rate.

5. Less Management

An alternative to an order fulfillment center is hiring your own employees. But employees come at a high cost, not to mention they’ll require time to supervise and train. It’s also unlikely they’ll be as efficient or offer the same quality service of a fulfillment center.

If you do choose to hire your own employees, an order fulfillment center can help your budding business during the transition.

6. More Money

In general, an order fulfillment center can save you money. You’ll avoid the cost of paying employees and enjoy the benefit of reduced shipping and packaging rates.

If you can’t keep up with shipping fulfillment alone, you’re likely losing out on customers who cancel orders, get the wrong order, or leave bad reviews.

How to Choose an Order Fulfillment Center

The best order fulfillment centers will have a variety of locations across the country. These are useful in speeding up local shipping times. Some centers are near shipping ports, giving your company access to the global market.

Decide which locations are right for you and your future e-commerce plans. Contact several and get a good sense of their prices and services. With these in mind, you’ll know which fulfillment center offers the biggest bang for your buck.

Fulfill Your Orders With Fulfilltopia

Are you considering the expertise of an order fulfillment center? Fulfilltopia is on the East Coast, which holds 70% of the US population. Since we’re ten minutes from the second largest port on the East Coast, you’ll also save on international shipping fees.

For more information or a free quote, see how our order fulfillment center can help your e-commerce business.

The post How Does An Order Fulfillment Center Work in 2019 appeared first on Fulfilltopia.

Third Party Shipping Solutions Vs Drop Shipping Explained

Do you need to use third party shipping or drop shipping? In this guide you’ll better understand differences between the two.

As a business owner or manager, deciding on the best way to ship your product is an important business decision. There are several ways to deliver your products to customers, but some are popular than others.

Third party shipping and drop shipping are some of the most popular methods of shipping for businesses. These options are often pitted against each other.

Read on to find out the differences between the two.

Drop Shipping

This model allows you to operate without investing funds in warehouse, inventory, and fulfillment. Once a customer purchases from your online store, the product is shipped directly to them from the manufacturer or vendor.

Your business fulfills an order by simply letting the manufacturer or vendor know the preferred delivery address.

Discussed below are the advantages and disadvantages of drop shipping:

Advantages of Drop Shipping

The key advantage of drop shipping is that you don’t have to handle the products. You are not involved in the shipping hassles or retail fulfillment issues.

It allows your e-commerce business to operate on very low overheads. You can even operate without a website.

Disadvantages of Drop Shipping

Drop shipping encourages more merchants to adopt this model, and it eventually becomes a rat race to the bottom. Finding a reliable drop shipper can be difficult, and thus, you put your business’s reputation at risk.

You have no control over the products you ‘offer’ and there is possible quality control issues. You might end up selling commodities that are no longer in stock.

Due to stiff competition, some competitors may reduce their prices to gain more customers. When business rivals lower their prices, you can ignore or compete and win the price war.

In coming up with a winning strategy, consider if it’s possible to segment your customers based on pricing, understand why the competitor reduced their prices, and if your customers are aware of the drop in the competitor’s prices.

Will Drop Shipping Work for You?

It is evident that drop shipping is not the highway to success that many think. You have to put in the effort.

Don’t think all you need is to create a system that operates itself, where customers place orders, the vendor delivers, and you pocket the margin.

Most likely, you’re one of the online stores working with the same drop as your competitors. All sellers are chasing the same buck, and only the best will pocket it. It’s survival of the fittest.

Third-Party Shipping

Third party shipping involves you sending your inventory to a fulfillment center.

When a customer purchases a product from your website, you inform the fulfillment party who delivers the product to the customer. The third party does all the hard work. These are tasks such as keeping track of the inventory, receiving, packing, and shipping.

As much as small businesses strive to grow, very few are able to achieve this goal. Growth means high product demand from customers, which comes with significant logistical challenges.

There’s a good chance that your business lacks the skills, resources, and expertise needed to handle the increased logistical needs. You need a third party shipping partner to transform your dreams into reality.

Check out the advantages and disadvantages of 3PL shipping below:

Advantages of Third-Party Shipping

Outsourcing helps your business penetrate new markets by taking advantage of your 3PL’s provider infrastructure.

If your business is a start-up, an experienced partner will act as a guide to the new market. This is also useful if your business is expanding quickly, working globally, or aims to do so.

The established logistical infrastructure allows your business to scale to reach new customers while meeting the demands of the existing market. This will help your business secure existing profits and prepare for future as well.

A third party fulfillment provider allows your business to avoid the costly trial and error tactics of penetrating new markets.

This model saves your business time, energy, and resources needed to develop your own fulfilling network.

Your 3PL provider may be providing services to other clients as well. This gives you an opportunity to benefit from economies of scale along the logistics chain. The 3PL partner manages your entire inventory.

This includes printing labels, finding the right postage for all your packages, and shipping them. You create more time to focus on the core functions of your business.

Disadvantages of Third Party Shipping

One of the drawbacks of outsourcing is that it is more costly than shipping products in-house.

If you’re a startup, it is very difficult to produce profits on low level orders, and as such you may end up disadvantaged. Such spending may not be justifiable.

For this reason, most small start-ups are not a good fit for Fulfilltopia, or any other fulfillment center. The math just doesn’t work out.

Will Third Party Shipping Work for You?

Clearly, you have seen many reasons to choose third party shipping to handle your logistics. You have also seen reasons against it.

The right decision is dependent upon your business needs.

Put Your Products in the Hands of a Third Party Shipping Company Today

It isn’t enough for your business to have the right product – you’re also expected to put that product into the hands of your clients when they need it.

In the above case, a third party shipping will provide the much-needed help for your business to grow. They have warehouses and logistics expertise that will handle your growth. As a business, this will give you the competitive advantage you need to expand your business.

A reliable third-party logistics will provide excellent customer service, and this will strengthen your brand.

Get in touch with us if you’re looking for a reliable partner as you transition from doing your own fulfillment to third party shipping.

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Fulfillment Centers vs Warehouses: What’s the Difference?

Are you trying to decide whether to use fulfillment centers or warehouses? Read more to learn some key differences between the two today!

What do you see when you picture fulfillment centers and warehouses?

Is it something like the last shot in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark with the ark buried deep in piles of other crates? If so, you’re on the right track.

Both fulfillment centers and warehouses can look just like that – rows and rows and stacks upon stacks of goods, crates, product, and more. But that simple image is actually where the similarities end.

The short of it is that fulfillment centers can act as warehouses, but warehouses aren’t fulfillment centers (or at least they don’t perform the same duties). Read on, and we’ll dive into some of the more detailed differences between these two.

All About Warehouses

Warehouses pretty much say what they are in the name. They house wares.

Warehouses are large buildings that can store lots and lots of goods and products for an indefinite amount of time. It’s sort of like having personal storage units for businesses. Companies use these buildings to store large quantities of product in bulk until they need to take them out.

A good example is if your company carries a seasonal product. You only need that product to sell one time out of the year, so where do you put it the rest of the time?

A warehouse allows a company to keep its product safe and sound until the company needs it back. In some cases, companies share warehouse space with each other and it can even be used for dealing large quantities of products in B2B deals.

In the end, it’s a fairly passive operation that simply involves storing and moving goods.

Fulfillment Centers 101

Everything you read about warehouses can apply to fulfillment centers, too. After all, it’s still a large building with plenty of storage capacity, so why not?

But some centers are different than others, so you will always need to check.

Where these two structures part ways, though, is that fulfillment centers fulfill orders by businesses, whether B2C or B2B. E-commerce fulfillment is a common service offered by these types of structures, and it’s why they are sometimes referred to as an e-commerce warehouse.

They work with retailers and corporations to fulfill orders when they are placed and sometimes even more. That’s why – unlike a simple warehouse – a fulfillment center may not have product stored in its capacity for very long.

They’re designed to house goods and products short term until they need to be shipped out, which can be a rather quick turnaround.

E-commerce grows and experts project it will continue to grow. Online shopping blew up out of nowhere, and so far it shows no signs of slowing down.

Especially around the holidays, where brick-and-mortars are packed and bogged down, more and more people seek easy ways to make their purchases online. But a lot of smaller businesses know that fulfilling orders when you get going can be a difficult process.

Sure, shipping out a package here and there doesn’t seem like a big deal, but what do you do when you have hundreds in a single week? And even then, what other aspects of the customer’s shopping experience are you missing out on?

There are actually more than a few ways fulfillment centers assist businesses.

Shopping Portal Integration

Fulfillment centers can integrate directly with your online store. This means there doesn’t need to be back and forth you and the center. They can simply be linked up and automatically be notified when orders are placed.

Quality Assurance

When orders are placed, the integration software allows a fulfillment center to grab it right away, but there’s also an opportunity to check for errors.

Sometimes, errors can happen right at the beginning of an order. These centers can catch that early on.

Not only that, fulfillment centers will be able to provide quality assurance to the actual packaging itself. At some point, products will be picked out, but packers will have the opportunity to inspect order accuracy when everything is put together.

This means stopping mistakes before they become an even bigger problem.

Individualized Packing

One of the possible drawbacks of e-commerce is the blandness of a plain cardboard box. A company may have exciting and unique products and goods with equally unique packaging but plain shipping can ruin the experience.

Some fulfillment centers give businesses the opportunity to individualize and personalize their packaging or inserts. Packing slips, for example, can help brand your business and

Customer Interaction

Another part of the process that some people don’t think about before using shipping centers is the ability to interact with the customer after the order.

Again, in this day and age of online shopping, customers want to know that their order has been confirmed and they want to know where the package is. Fulfillment centers are able to help companies out by providing:

• Order confirmation e-mails
• Shipment e-mails
• Tracking e-mails
• Follow-up e-mails

It’s always a good idea to follow up with the customer after the order has been placed and fulfilled.

Go Beyond Borders

Fulfillment centers also give companies the opportunity to reach markets they may not have been able to before – as well as save. Because shipping centers carry so many products and deal with so much shipping, they often benefit on bulk discounts and savings.

Those savings can be passed on to your company. Plus, these centers generally have access to locations all over the world, which means being part of a large network and reaching customers that were previously unreachable.

Which is Right for You?

It’s easy to view fulfillment centers and warehouses as the same thing. Sometimes, the names are used interchangeably, such as “shipping warehousing.”

But while a fulfillment center can sometimes be a warehouse, a warehouse doesn’t perform the same duties as a fulfillment center. As online shopping continues to rage in the modern era, fulfillment centers provide the opportunity to make, ship, and fulfill orders in no time flat.

If you’re interested in seeing how Fulfilltopia can help you with your e-commerce business, feel free to chat with us right away!

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