3 Pains of In-House Order Fulfillment and How a 3PL Relieves Them
If you own an online business, you've probably struggled with packing and shipping out your products. The truth is, order fulfillment is a logistical nightmare and can literally make or break your business and possibly lose your mind.
Fulfilling orders is not just time-consuming but it presents challenges with tracking inventory, knowing how much product to keep in stock, and getting your orders out on time.
We’ve put together a list of the most common pain points business owners experience with in-house fulfillment and how outsourcing your shipping to a 3PL can help.
Not enough time.
Figuring out logistics is a full-time job.
With constant changes in shipping lines and prices, technology, and consumer behavior, business owners have to be flexible. As your business grows, you need the time and the physical space to keep up with these changes or it just won’t be sustainable.
This is why 3PL businesses exist.
Fulfillment companies take over the entire shipping process for you, handling everything from storing your inventory to putting the items in boxes and sending them to your customers.
3PLs keep up with the most efficient and effective ways to receive and ship out customer orders while constantly improving the process.
You won't need to worry about packaging, tracking numbers, or responding to return requests. Hiring a fulfillment service will free you up to run your business instead of trying to figure out logistics.
Focus on growing your business, not just working in it (a dangerous trap that many business owners fall into).
2. It's costing you more money than you’re making.
While partnering with a fulfillment company can reduce your shipping costs by up to 29% with steeply discounted postage rates, packaging materials, and a lower cost-per-order, that’s not what we’re talking about here.
We’re talking about inaccurate order fulfillment. The likelihood that a customer will receive the wrong item or the wrong quantity.
Considering the average U.S. retailer’s inventory accuracy is only 63%, incorrect order fulfillment is inevitable. Especially when shipping and logistics aren’t the sole focus of your business.
Between processing returns, issuing refunds, and shipping out replacements, incorrect order fulfillment can destroy your profit margins while landing you some harsh reviews.
Fortunately, most 3PLs have accuracy rates between 95% and 100%, promising a better customer experience and an overall cost-effective improvement in the shipping process.
3. Potential customers are abandoning their carts.
If you’ve ever wondered why people build a shopping cart and then walk away from their order… it could be because the cost of shipping was not included.
Extra costs at checkout are the number one reason online shoppers abandon their carts.
Surveys show that 93% of online shoppers are encouraged to buy more products if free shipping is an option and 58% of consumers add more items to their cart in order to qualify for free shipping.
With super-cheap postage and packaging cost coupled with almost 100% order fulfillment accuracy, you can afford to offer free shipping knowing the cost will be offset by an increase in sales and acquired customers.
If you're ready to start benefiting from a 3PL, you should definitely consider AVL Fulfill. Shipping and order fulfillment doesn’t have to be a burden for your business.
All you need is the right partner for the job—and that's us.
Let’s get you started with a quote. We'll talk through how we can help, and the best way to begin reducing your order fulfillment costs.