As an entrepreneur, you are always focused on optimizing your business. In doing so, you face several important decisions. One of these decisions is whether or not to outsource logistics. When you’re in charge of packaging and shipping your orders, there’s a risk that a large part of your time will be consumed by these tasks. This is something you must absolutely avoid as an entrepreneur. While you’re packaging and shipping orders, you can’t work on new ideas or marketing campaigns. Innovations or campaigns are what take your business to the next level and generate more revenue. Found some time? That will result in more orders, meaning even more time spent packaging and shipping. In short, over time, this situation becomes unsustainable, and you’ll need to find a solution.
Outsourcing logistics is a good solution. How? Partner with a fulfillment center! A fulfillment center will take over the entire logistics process, including inventory management, picking, packing, and shipping. Does that sound appealing? Then you’re probably wondering what costs a fulfillment center entails. Let’s take a look at the different costs.
When outsourcing logistics, you’re handing over inventory management!
A fulfillment center will take over your inventory management, which will naturally come with some costs. Your goods will be stored in the fulfillment center’s warehouse. The advantage of outsourcing inventory management is that you only pay for the space your goods actually occupy in the warehouse. Fulfillment centers charge a certain fee per pallet location, shelf, or stackable bin.
The question you should ask yourself is whether this really constitutes an additional cost. If you manage inventory yourself, you must invest in renting or purchasing a warehouse. These warehouses are often only partially filled, meaning you’re paying for unused space. Additionally, you must invest in warehouse equipment. In short, outsourcing logistics often doesn’t bring extra costs in terms of inventory management.
Picking & Packing
Picking and packing are usually done with a fixed formula at most fulfillment partners. You’ll need to account for a set startup cost, a cost per order line, and a cost per picked item. Curious about the exact costs? Contact Webship at hallo@webship.be.
Each order is also linked to a packaging cost. This is understandable because packaging materials cost money. However, a fulfillment center specializes in packing orders, so it will always use the most suitable packaging materials. Webship is committed to transparent communication. Fulfillment customers can track all costs in the Webship Online inventory management system. You can see which packaging materials were used for each order. This way, you can even discover products that should be packed differently.
Shipping
The fulfillment center will also handle the shipping of your orders. Shipping packages with a courier always comes with costs. However, you shouldn’t see this as an extra cost, as you would need to ship the packages yourself, which also costs money. Additionally, a fulfillment center ships packages from multiple stores. Naturally, a fulfillment center can negotiate better volume contracts with couriers such as Bpost, PostNL, or DPD. Thanks to these volume contracts, the price per package is reduced! This is a significant advantage.
Another benefit is that you can choose which courier will ship the packages. A fulfillment center works with multiple couriers. By the way, don’t be tempted by the cheapest shipping rate from a particular courier. A fulfillment center will help you choose the right shipping method. This includes considering factors like a second offer, weight, destination country, and package value.
Outsourcing logistics brings (scale) advantages!
A partnership with a fulfillment provider not only involves costs, but also scale advantages! Which ones? A fulfillment partner processes orders for different customers. Therefore, a lot of packaging materials are used in the warehouse. A fulfillment center places large orders with packaging material suppliers, allowing them to negotiate better purchase prices. In addition to scale advantages, you can benefit from the expertise of a fulfillment center. Picking, packing, and shipping are carried out by real specialists.
Webship!
Are you convinced that outsourcing logistics can take your business to the next level? Contact Webship! Webship is a fulfillment center that will take over your logistics concerns, allowing you to focus on growing your webshop, developing new products, and launching marketing campaigns. By the way, a fulfillment center like Webship can also take over other tasks, such as handling returns, product sealing, and product photography. Handy, right? With our cost price calculator, you can quickly simulate your all-in fulfillment price.
