Shipping is a crucial part of any business. It is not just about getting products from one place to another. It is about managing inventory and ensuring that your customers receive their orders on time.
But the shipping process can be messy, especially for small businesses. You will pay too much for shipping services if you are not careful. In addition, the products can get damaged during transit due to improper packaging.
The international order fulfillment service market was worth $86,449.97 million in 2021. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% from 2022 to 2030. It reflects that online sellers are outsourcing their order fulfillment process to third-party logistics each year.
You, too, can avoid shipping issues, improve your company’s efficiency, and save money in outsourcing. Let’s take a look at seven proven ways that outsourcing order fulfillment can boost your business shipping performance:
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Focus on What You Do Best: Running Your Business
Outsourcing your order fulfillment means hiring a third-party company to manage the customers’ orders. The fulfillment process not just includes shipping the products but also storing and packaging them. Third-party logistics (3PL) companies can do it much better for any business.
The first step to increasing your shipping efficiency is to focus on what you do best: running your business. Then, when you outsource order fulfillment, you can free up time to focus on sales, marketing, and customer service. You also have the opportunity to grow your business by working with a partner who has the expertise in their particular industry that you don’t have.
The same goes for any other company looking for an expert in eCommerce or logistics services, such as transportation providers and warehousing companies.
The Productivity Boost That Outsourcing Gives
Outsourcing can save time. If a business is shipping thousands of packages daily, it can be hard for them to keep up with the demand. Outsourcing will give them access to people who are experts in their field and can help them reduce the number of handling errors, damaged goods, and other problems that may arise.
Outsourcing can help businesses focus on what they do best: making money. When companies have too many things going on at once, it’s easy for mistakes or carelessness to slip through the cracks. Unfortunately, these little mistakes often cost money in terms of lost sales and frustrated customers leaving bad reviews online. By outsourcing order fulfillment, businesses will free up their employees’ time so they can spend more time focusing on what matters most.
Improved Customer Service With Faster Shipping Times
According to Statista, 61% of online shoppers want their goods to be delivered to their doorsteps. They also want their orders to be delivered as soon as possible. Faster shipping times are good for customer satisfaction, which leads to increased sales and a loyal customer base. In addition, shipping faster can help you retain customers who may otherwise go elsewhere for products that are quicker to arrive on their doorstep.
Better Communication When Products Are Out of Stock
If you’re not careful, customers can get frustrated when they try to place an order and find out that the product is out of stock. It is recommended that customers must be attended promptly so that they know what is happening with their orders. Provide clear instructions on how to proceed if the product is unavailable. If options are available, let them know which ones they should choose if they want a refund or replacement product.
Manage Inventory More Effectively to Save Money
Having a firm grasp of the inventory of your company is essential. You need to know what you have and where it is. Reducing inventory costs and finding ways to save space can help your business save money in several areas like shipping, storage, labor costs, and cash flow problems. You also take steps toward reducing the risk of obsolescence when you maintain accurate records of stock levels.
Reduce the Number of Handling Errors and Damaged Goods
When shipping goods for customers, it’s easy to make mistakes. If the box is damaged in transit or an item is missing from the order, your customer will be dissatisfied with their purchase. Also, they may not come back to buy from you again. It is why it’s important to reduce handling errors and damaged goods when shipping.
According to Zippia, only 6% of online sellers have complete visibility reported on their supply chain. At the same time, 69% of the businesses have only partial visibility. If your business is one of them, you can switch to outsourcing the fulfillment of your order.
When you hand off your responsibility for filling orders to a third party, they ensure that all orders are filled correctly and shipped on time without any issues. In addition, by outsourcing your order fulfillment responsibilities, you can focus on improving other areas of your eCommerce operation, such as customer service or inventory management.
Spend Less Time on Administrative Tasks
You can spend less time on administrative tasks when you outsource your order fulfillment. You’ll no longer have to worry about updating your inventory, packing orders, and processing customer service requests. It frees up more of your time for the important parts of running a business, like marketing and developing new products.
In addition to saving you precious hours each month on these tedious tasks, outsourcing can help streamline other important functions in your company. For example:
- Outsourcing allows you to focus on growing the business rather than dealing with logistical details that don’t add value to what customers want from you.
- It also helps keep costs down by eliminating human errors from manual processes that can waste time and money.
- They reduce the risk of mistakes or fraud due to human error. Why not let technology do it instead?
Once you’ve reviewed these steps, you’ll be in a better position to determine if outsourcing is the right move for your business’s sustainability and growth now and in the future.
Conclusion
When you outsource shipping to a third party, it allows you to focus on what’s important while they handle the logistics of getting your products shipped to customers. In addition, this will free up time and money, allowing you to focus on growing your business instead of worrying about shipping orders every day.
If you’re looking to make your business more efficient and take advantage of the benefits of outsourcing, then these seven proven strategies are just what you need. These points have given you some ideas on improving your shipping process with order fulfillment outsourcing so that it doesn’t take away from running your company.