10 Myths About E-commerce Fulfilment Solutions

The high paced growth of the E-commerce sales channel has given immense boost to the E-commerce Fulfillment Solutions and various Third Party Logistics companies. However, there exists a wide section of the market – especially the smaller, newer e-commerce players who debate the concepts of outsourcing their Fulfillment operations or for that matter, even consider a professional Fulfillment solution. So here’s an attempt to break certain myths about the whole order Fulfillment solution and put things into perspective.

1. Getting orders is tough; Order Fulfillment is easy.

Right and wrong. While the base of any business is getting more and more orders for your products, it is equally important to have a seamless, cost effective and fully optimized order Fulfillment process in place to ensure repeat customers, better revenues and even better profits. Many small and new businesses believe that having a good product to sell is a war won. However, what they miss is that order Fulfillment is a giant that will slowly grow so big that it would be tedious and not profitable to do it all by themselves.

2. Fulfillment solutions are only for the BIGGIES.

A BIG Myth. Fulfillment solutions can benefit businesses of any scale. The key is to tap on the right Fulfillment partner for your business’s need. A bit of research and having clarity of what you need from your Fulfillment partner can be far more beneficial and economical than doing it all by yourself.

3. Fulfillment Solutions Are Expensive.

At the first look of it – Yes they are! But have a closer detailed look and you would know that it’s an investment that saves you a lot more expense at a later point…maybe even today. If you are an ecommerce merchant handling your own order Fulfillment, you know how high your fixed costs have gone. You can cut them down by outsourcing your order Fulfillment to a specialized Fulfillment solution provider. Imagine not having to bear the cost of that warehouse?

4. Order Fulfillment solutions are only friends of ‘volumes’.

No doubt, volumes ensure better profits but Fulfillment solutions are profitable to all. Smaller businesses often go through fluctuations in their sale volumes. Festivals and special occasions can sometimes give a huge spike which can become highly difficult to manage in terms of product deliveries. Having a Fulfillment partner ensures that you receive the scale up and down of order Fulfillment resources without having to either increase your fixed costs or lose market credibility with poor deliveries.

5. We’re too small to have complex systems and processes

Small e commerce ventures believe that having Fulfillment solutions may end up complicating their otherwise simple delivery process. On the contrary, if you wish to grow and scale up your business in future, it is far more important to have your processes put right at an early stage. Looking in to detailing at the start and letting Fulfillment experts set up your base can actually save you lot of time, money and effort of revamping at a later stage.

6. We know them best- Our Business, Our Customers

Most retailers are driven by the thought that they know their business and their customers well and no third party can match up to the standards of reaching out to their customer. Remember, just like you, the 3PL or Fulfillment solution providers are experts of their business and your delivery services may actually not match up to their efficiency and standards. Let the experts do the job!

7. We’ll lose sight and control.

Business owners worry that having their warehouse stocking, logistics and shipping out of their main system may lead to losing sight of their product and control on their deliveries. However, the truth is that modern Fulfillment solutions give better control and visibility to business owners. With providers offering real time tracking, order Fulfillment can be a cake walk.

8. It’s Only Packing and Shipping! What Extra would They Do?

Most small to mid-size companies are not fully aware of the offerings of modern day 3PL’s and thus fail to see the benefit. Order Fulfillment companies are way beyond a pick, pack, ship player. Their extensive value added services can really help your business grow.

9. They may stunt our growth

For the ambitious ones, being stuck with a Fulfillment partner is a scary thought. The truth, however, is having selected a ‘fit to your needs’ Fulfillment partner and having a great working rapport can in reality help you scale faster than you could do yourself.  Your partner scales up as your business grows.

10. What if my inventory is slow moving? It’ll be far more expensive.

Yes, it’s a fact that there may be chances of you paying much extra on storage for slow moving inventory. However, collaborating with a good Fulfillment partner who gives you a good picture of your stock and stats, can help you avoid the scenario of SMI in the first place. Additionally, Fulfillment solution providers offer value added services like promotions in order delivery which can help the slow inventory pick pace.