According to some research, 84% of companies said that they planned on expanding their warehouses. If you’re finding that you need more space, then you might be considering outsourcing B2B fulfillment.
Outsourcing this fulfillment process has a lot of advantages, and it could help take your business to the next level.
But is it right for your business? Keep reading to discover all you need to know before making a decision.
Focus on Business
One of the advantages of B2B fulfillment is that you get to focus on your own business. For many people who are running a store, processing orders and fulfilling them can seem like it’s taking away valuable time from your business. Plus, it can also be stressful.
However, you can take care of all of that by deciding to outsource your B2B sales to another company. You can use another company and their fulfillment center, and your employees can focus more on B2B sales techniques, marketing, and branding strategy.
You can also cut down the number of meetings that you’ll need to have, which will also save you a lot of time. You won’t have to worry about dealing with any of the packing or picking up of orders.
If a customer isn’t happy with an item, you also won’t have to worry about any of the shipping and returns problems. You’ll let another company handle all of that so you can get back to growing your business and having more sales.
Lower Costs
You’ll have a fixed overhead cost so you’ll know just how much to budget for each month.
You’ll know exactly how much to pay for indirect labor, renting warehouse space, and equipment. As your order volume will go up and down, then your cost per order will also go up with those costs.
When you outsource the order fulfillment, you won’t need to have a minimum or maximum of orders.
You can also lower your shipping costs when you have someone else fulfilling your orders. They’re more likely to better negotiate rates with shipping carriers, so they can have access to discounts that you might not.
They could also lower the shipping costs because they have multiple warehouses. If you have enough order volume to justify splitting your inventory, then you can also have a lower shipping rate if the warehouse is closer to the customers.
Free Up Space
Outsourcing your shipping will mean that you won’t need to have a warehouse to store all of your inventory. You also won’t need to store any in the back room of your office.
Chances are that you’ll have a lot of materials, and storing them is definitely not cheap. However, these fulfillment centers will be able to take on products for different businesses, and they will charge you by how much space you use.
Oftentimes, you can even send your products in bulk. When you move into a fulfillment center to host your retail, you can use your freed-up space for other items.
If you really wanted to save money, then you could lease out your freed-up area to someone else.
Customer Experience
You won’t have to devote a lot of time to answering the questions of every unhappy customer.
Instead, you can put that extra energy into other areas like deciding on new products.
Fulfillment centers can also help give you the perfect touch when preparing an item. If one customer orders several items, then you can combine them and sell them in one large box.
Your customers will also have the option to choose if they want an item gift wrapped, and a fulfillment center will handle all of those requests as well.
These fulfillment centers will also be responsible for shipping times. Since they have more warehouses, they may be able to help you save on shipping costs and time. This is a great way to grow your e-commerce business.
Can’t Customize
However, there are still disadvantages to using these fulfillment centers. For example, you can’t add any personalization or customization to the fulfillment process.
That means that you can’t have a branded shipping box, branded tissue paper, or even any personal letters. When you outsource, you’ll have to sacrifice that.
If you’re a smaller business, this may not be a good idea, but if you’re growing your business, this could be useful.
Lose Some Control
When you outsource your fulfillment options, you’ll lose some control over getting the product to your customer. If there is a mistake in the fulfillment process, your company will have to take the blame.
Some companies want to micromanage their fulfillment service. However, you need to trust that you chose a good fulfillment center and that they know what they’re doing.
So make sure you do your research to find a good company that you feel like you can trust.
Some Higher Costs
If you don’t choose the right fulfillment center, you could end up highering your costs. This could also happen if you don’t have enough orders to justify needing a fulfillment center.
However, if you have a lot of shipping volume and requirements, you could also end up paying more as well. However, if you’re trying to grow your business, this is still an advantageous way to grow your business.
Discover More About B2B Fulfillment
These are only a few advantages and disadvantages of B2B fulfillment, but there are many other factors to consider. We know that running a business can be stressful, but we’re here to help you out.
If you are looking for more tips that can make your business successful, explore our website!