For eCommerce businesses, finding a good e-commerce fulfillment partner is like buying your first house. You don’t know what you don’t know until you live in it for a while…and eventually, you see the flaws or outgrow the space.
Here are 7 key areas to evaluate when deciding if you should find a new fulfillment partner:
Reliability
Reliability is always an important factor in ANY business partnership, especially one that can have such a big impact on your brand’s reputation. A fulfillment provider should have a proven track record of on-time and accurate delivery. Your customers might love your products, but if they realize they can’t rely on a consistent delivery experience, it’s often reflected in poor reviews and results in lost customer satisfaction and loyalty. Your fulfillment partner should make it easy for you to be reliable.
Scalability
Scalability is obviously critical during peak season, but beyond that, how well-equipped is your fulfillment partner to grow with your business long-term? Do they have the space and the ability to leverage new fulfillment center locations as your business expands? The distribution footprint? The technology and infrastructure? It’s not always easy to know the future roadblocks you’ll face, but if you do a little research into other larger companies using the same provider, it might give you some insights.
Robust Carrier Network
Does your fulfillment provider have a robust carrier network to support efficient fulfillment operations? Covid and the e-commerce boom swamped national carriers and gave rise to smaller regional carriers who offer quality service at often more affordable shipping rates. A diversified logistics network relies on a combination of both national and regional carriers to give you more flexibility when it comes to shipping speed and cost.
Strict Quality Control Measures
Strict quality control measures in the pick and pack process mean you’ll have peace of mind that your fulfillment process will be accurate. Your fulfillment partner should have well-defined Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and best practices in place to ensure the right item gets shipped every time. Automation is a big factor in quality control. The more automation involved in warehouse fulfillment, the lower the rate of human error. Industry-leading fulfillment solutions should be able to demonstrate how they unite automation with human expertise so that each order has the appropriate level of quality control before it’s shipped out.
Inventory & Supply Chain Management
Inventory management is really where it all starts. Multi-channel e-commerce doesn’t work without good inventory tracking at the item level, and it has to start the minute your products are received at the fulfillment center. This allows for accurate, real-time inventory reporting across all selling channels, reducing the number of stockouts and lost sales. Your fulfillment partner should be able to deliver accurate information and should also be able to help you understand your data quality.
Data Security & Privacy
No one wants to get caught in a data security or compliance breach, but guess what? Your fulfillment providers are housing ALL of your customer data. How well are they protecting it? This topic should probably be at the top of this list, but it’s not always top of mind because it’s happening behind the scenes. And, since rules of privacy and security are constantly changing, your fulfillment partner needs to have your back with robust security measures and data compliance certifications.
Customer Service & Satisfaction
Good customer service can make or break the relationship with your fulfillment company.. Don’t expect your partnership with a fulfillment provider to be free from challenges. That’s just part of doing business and growing. However, the support you receive and the speed to resolution is what makes it tolerable. Do you have a dedicated team of real people that can assist and provide timely information when problems arise? Is your business treated like an extension of their business?
The holiday peak season is never far away. As your business ramps up, take note of how your current 3PL is handling your online order volume. What are they crushing, and what areas need a little work? Fulfillment companies that excel are able to take feedback about your needs and revise their processes to serve you better.
Many fulfillment providers don’t understand that genuine business understanding is fundamental to excellent fulfillment services. Your fulfillment partner should be able to collaborate with you to define your business needs with respect to your order fulfillment process, management of fulfillment costs, and overall business operations KPIs. When choosing a fulfillment partner, make sure that you have solid definitions of your business needs when negotiating your contract. Defining your business needs is important because after the holiday glitter settles, you might decide what you want in your next fulfillment partner.
Streamline Order Fulfillment with Right Fulfillment Partner
At Distribution Management, we’re proud of our ability to partner with our customers to tailor our services to their needs. We’ll also tell you if we’re not a good fit for your business. We believe that honesty, reliability, and excellent service should be the foundation of any business relationship.
Learn more about Distribution Management’s fulfillment services, take a virtual tour of our fulfillment center, or start a conversation about fulfillment today.