The 2009 holiday season is over. It’s a bit to early to start writing about next year’s; but, let’s try not to by myopic. The holiday season is only some people’s peak season. Try telling the chocolate, flower and teddy bear market that the peak selling season is over; they will look at February 14th and Mother’s Day and hope those “holidays” generate more sales. Perhaps your writing the next great BBQ recipe book or you just re-invented the BBQ tong – don’t miss father’s day or the summer grill season!
As Shipwire adds more and more global warehouse locations, we’re constantly surprised by all the niche seasons that our sellers experience. When are you expecting your peak shipping season in 2010?
As you look forward to your peak season, one thing may stand out, you”d better make sure you can get the right products into your customers” hands at the right time. Or you”ll have some mighty angry (ex)customers on your hands.
One of the ways to do that is to use an outsourced product fulfillment company for your best selling products—the products that bring in the most revenue. That way you can do what you do best—sell your products. Consider letting an experienced outsourced fulfillment provider take care of getting those products to your customers when they want them. If fulfillment isn’t your core business, then why handle it yourself?
There are quite a few benefits to outsourcing some of your peak season shipping. Some are obvious, while some may be new to you.
“Calling Backup”: Consider that you can plug into order fulfillment services on-demand. With no contracts or volume commitments you can leverage an outsourced company as backup to your primary in house fulfillment. Get behind shipping your core products, just route the orders to your outsourced fulfillment provider and let them back you up.
Save a Hassle and some Cash: Contracting with an experienced outsource provider will help you save money. You won’t have to pay for extra warehouse space or hire additional workers. Hiring staff for a short period of time is not only time consuming, it’s inefficient as well. And nobody needs to tell you how much extra warehouse space costs to lease and occupy for a short amount of time.
Save Money on Shipping: Warehousing your goods closer to your buyers, is another way cut shipping costs. Your customers also get their goods faster and they pay less in shipping costs because the goods don’t have to be shipped across the country or internationally. So make sure your fulfillment provider has warehouses in multiple locations. If you sell overseas, ask your fulfillment provider if they have a warehouse in your country of choice.
Invest in your Core Business: Saving money on fulfillment means you”ll have more money to invest in inventory, sales and marketing during your peak season.
Delight you Buyers: As an online retailer you know how important it is to satisfy your customers. Without them where would you be. And you also know how hectic your business can get around your peak selling season. However, some online retailers just don’t understand the importance of satisfactory order fulfillment. They aren’t realistic about the high level of service their customers expect when it comes to having their orders filled. This is especially true if you acquire business though major marketplaces like eBay™ or Amazon™. If you fail to ship products on time you will amass negative feedback and potentially get kicked off these marketplaces. Having a fulfillment service as a primary shipper or a back-up shipper could protect your business.
Perhaps consider that your peak season is a perfect time to leverage a partner to handle some of your high volume shipping. Shipwire has invested in the latest technologies needed to help you quickly get connected and shipping through your existing website or favorite marketplaces. ramp up for seasonal demand—technologies that would be much to expensive for you to invest in.
Posted by:
Nate Gilmore
Nate oversees our channel development and developer network, as well as our marketing and public relations. Previously, Nate was at Concentric, acquired by XO Communications, where he ran product management, sales and marketing. Over his six year career with Concentric, he developed dozens of new business channels, by initiating new products for small- and mid- size businesses, developing partner programs for those products, and working with web developers and systems integrators to provide ongoing support of those products. Nate has also held various legal positions in intellectual property and business law. He holds a B.A. in History, and a J.D., from Santa Clara University.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 7:48 am
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