eCommerce companies are often pleasantly surprised by the cost savings of utilising a 3PL fulfilment service for warehousing, packaging, and shipping their products. It typically proves to be much more economical than running these operations in-house.
As a business owner, it is important to make sure that your operations are running as smoothly and efficiently as possible, while also making sure the customer always receives their orders promptly.
To keep up with customer demand and help ensure the successful fulfilment of orders it may be time to consider utilising a 3PL Fulfilment Service to take your business operations to the next level.
In this article, we explore all the benefits of using this service and when you should look into implementing a 3PL provider into your business model.
An expanding business needs a 3PL fulfilment service to sustain its growth
As a business grows in size, it must have the capability to cope with increased demands on its delivery system. A 3PL fulfilment service enables businesses to outsource their order fulfilment and shipping requirements.
By engaging with a 3PL fulfilment provider, businesses can take advantage of an expert-level knowledge base, and eliminate many logistical nightmares that come with the growth of the business itself.
When your business needs to partner up with a 3PL Fulfilment Service
If your business needs help getting orders quickly and accurately to your customers, it might be time to partner up with a 3PL Fulfilment Service. Outsourcing order fulfilment is beneficial for several reasons.
1. Minimising errors will save money
By partnering with a 3PL, businesses can take advantage of their expertise and experience to reduce order errors and improve customer satisfaction. Satisfied customers quickly become regular customers, not to mention the increased word of mouth that results from happy clientele.
2. Looking to expand your reach
A reliable 3PL will have an existing warehouse and shipping infrastructure that can facilitate quick delivery of orders from all over the world. If you’re planning to expand your business into new markets and strike deals with international companies – you’ll need a 3PL provider to help.
3. Wholesale or B2B orders
If your business handles large, wholesale orders or business-to-business transactions, partnering with a 3PL can help streamline your fulfilment process. It is securing contracts and building alliances of this nature that can propel your business into an entirely new level of expansion and scope.
4. A huge, sudden increase in orders
Whether due to seasonal trends or new product launches, sometimes businesses are faced with an unexpected influx of orders that they can’t handle on their own. A 3PL Fulfilment Service is the ideal partner in such cases since they have the resources and expertise to manage the sudden increase in orders. Make sure you take advantage of any sudden trend or explosion of popularity, whether it be at the height of Christmas or the middle of the summer holiday season.
The benefits of partnering with a 3PL fulfilment service
Now that we’ve explored when your business should partner up with a 3PL provider, let’s remind ourselves of the many benefits that come with such a partnership:
- Assuring order accuracy: 3PL services are equipped with the latest technologies to ensure that all orders are correctly fulfilled and delivered to the right customers.
- Flexibility: A 3PL service provider can be flexible and adjust their services according to the changing needs of the business.
- Improved customer satisfaction: By using a 3PL service, businesses can ensure that orders are shipped on time and accurately, thus improving overall customer satisfaction.
- Scalability: A 3PL fulfilment service allows businesses to scale up or down as needed, eliminating the need for costly investments in additional staff or infrastructure.
- Integrate better with technology: 3PL services have access to the latest technologies, allowing businesses to integrate their fulfilment processes with existing business systems such as inventory management and customer relationship management
- Focus on your business: By outsourcing your order fulfilment to a 3PL service, businesses can focus more on their core activities, such as product development and customer support.
- Deal with issues: An experienced 3PL service provider will know how to handle opportunities and problems which may arise as your business grows and expands.
- Costs: With a 3PL service provider, you will reduce your fixed cost overhead and only pay for fulfilment services when you generate sales.
- More space: You won’t need to move into a larger facility to store your products when you expand.
- Shipping material benefits: You’ll be able to purchase shipping materials at better rates as they will be priced in bulk. You’ll also get better bulk shipping rates.
- Backdoor operations: You’ll be able to improve the backdoor operations of your business.
Partner with ParcelPlanet to streamline your order fulfilment process
Choosing the right 3PL partner will help you streamline your order fulfilment process and provide your customers with a reason to come back – and keep coming back.
ParcelPlanet offers 3PL services to help a variety of businesses with affordable and dependable 3PL solutions. We’ve helped hundreds of businesses grow and thrive while continuing to meet the expectations of their customers.
If you’d like to find out how we can help improve its order fulfilment process and set your new business on a new course, contact an experienced member of our team today.
Make sure to also take a few minutes to check out our blog and resources for even more advice and knowledge from the world of order fulfilment.
