Is your business quickly growing? If you have the ability to outsource, it may be time to explore third-party warehousing and E-commerce order fulfillment services. With the dawn of Amazon Prime and two-day shipping, your ability to get your product to the right place at the right time matters now more than ever without jeopardizing brand loyalty. Working with an e-commerce fulfillment company may be overwhelming. If you don’t know where to start, we’ll help you understand what to look for when searching for an e-commerce fulfillment company.
What is E-commerce Order Fulfillment?
E-commerce order fulfillment is the process of getting an order delivered to a customer after they order it online. E-commerce fulfillment services can include:
- Receiving and storing inventory,
- Processing orders,
- Picking and packing products, and
- Shipping online orders to customers.
E-commerce fulfillment services can be taken care of by an e-commerce fulfillment company or handled in-house by your e-commerce business.
Compare E-commerce Fulfillment Costs and Fees
When you partner with an e-commerce fulfillment company, expect to have some initial upfront costs. However, you should save on significant capital expenditures like leasing a warehouse, buying shelving units, pallet racks, forklifts, packing supplies, paying taxes, staff wages, and more. Be sure to make some price comparisons on several fulfillment providers. Any costs, including potential chargeback fees for order errors or storage fees, should be detailed in a formal, written contract before you reach an agreement. The overall financial impact of working with an e-commerce fulfillment company should save you time, money, and opportunities to focus on growing your business and getting your orders to your customers faster.
Customer-focused Support and Service
Often the most common pain point when searching for an e-commerce fulfillment company is cost. Still, it’s best not to let finances dictate your decisions on a fulfillment company. Often overlooked, quality of service is just as important as your budget. One of your first questions should be what kind of support is available? Do you receive a dedicated account manager? What is their service guarantee? At BR Williams, our primary goal is to help our customers succeed, grow, and receive the service they deserve. Our responsibility is to take care of your products and help you maintain brand loyalty.
Location, Location, Location
It doesn’t always make logistical sense to store and ship from where your business’s headquarters. BR Williams has warehouses and distribution centers in six locations across Alabama and Florida. Strategic locations near major ports (such as the port of Mobile) and manufacturing facilities reduce time in transit and minimize shipping costs for your e-commerce business. By keeping in mind the proximity of your fulfillment warehouse to customers, you can be sure your products are always on the fastest possible route to your customers.
Features of Software and Automation
As an e-commerce business, you likely already use various digital tools in your day-to-day operations. When you’re researching e-commerce fulfillment companies, you also want to understand what order fulfillment software they use. With 88% of consumers stating the ability to track shipments in real-time is essential, choosing a partner with complete visibility into the fulfillment process is vital. BR Williams operates a robust warehouse management system (WMS) with 100%, 24/7, real-time visibility. It tracks products at every step of order fulfillment, displaying when it’s staged, picked, packed, or shipped. With 70 pre-built integrations to different shopping carts, marketplaces, and ERP systems, you don’t limit yourself to your business’s current operations. At the end of the day, it’s essential any new software and automation you adopt seamlessly integrates with your existing platforms and apps and can grow with you into the future.
Finding an e-commerce fulfillment company that is a good fit and provides excellent customer service is often just as important as any other factor. If your customers aren’t happy, it could end up costing you more in the long run. When you work with BR Williams, you can expect end-to-end logistics services to help you succeed and grow in an ever-changing e-commerce world. Contact BR Williams today and put our fleet, experience, and passion to the test.