Many webshops inevitably run into logistical issues. These logistical problems often slow down the growth of the webshop significantly. This is, of course, not the goal. The key is to use logistics as a sales asset. We cannot repeat enough the advantages that a professional approach to logistics offers. You will receive fewer complaints about delays or incorrect deliveries. Consumers who are satisfied with the delivery will also make repeat purchases more quickly. So how can you professionalize your shipping process? For example, you can outsource your webshop’s logistics. Many entrepreneurs hesitate about whether to outsource logistics or not. Here are a few reasons why you should choose e-fulfillment.
Outsourcing logistics saves time and energy
One of the main reasons to outsource logistics is, of course, the time savings. Even when you have a limited number of sales orders, the logistics process can already take up a lot of time. You have to perform quality control, take products into stock, find the products you need to ship in the storage area, pack the orders, and label the parcels. This requires time and energy! Add to that the daily stress of getting the parcels to the post office on time.
By choosing a fulfillment center like Webship, you, as a webshop owner, will have more time for the more enjoyable aspects of entrepreneurship. You delegate your webshop’s logistics to true professionals while you focus on developing the webshop and working on a marketing plan. Many entrepreneurs think that managing logistics themselves comes with no costs. This is a misconception because even your own work hours are costly!
Vacation or illness? The logistics of a fulfillment center are always running at full speed
As a hardworking independent entrepreneur, you, of course, have the right to take vacations! If you run a webshop, that would mean that when you are on vacation for a week, no sales orders will be delivered. This is a situation you must avoid. Again, outsourcing logistics provides a solution. While you enjoy the sun, the fulfillment center handles your webshop’s logistics. This way, you can continue delivering your sales orders on time, even while you are on vacation.
The same applies to illness. Many independent entrepreneurs try to work while they are sick. They will eventually pay the price. A fulfillment center ensures that your sales orders are processed while you recover.
You don’t have to invest in your own storage space
As the sales orders of your webshop increase, you will also need to invest in inventory. When the inventory increases, another problem quickly arises: storage capacity. Many startup webshops manage their stock from their garage. If you want to store more products, you’ll need to find an external warehouse. Buying a warehouse is often out of the question because the investment is too large. You can always rent a warehouse, but in that case, you are renting an entire warehouse. Why rent an entire warehouse if you only use a small part of it?
By outsourcing logistics to a fulfillment center, you only pay for the storage space you actually use each month. In short, the monthly costs for storing stock in a fulfillment center will be lower than the cost of renting a warehouse. Some products have exceptional dimensions, which can make it difficult for you as a layperson to store them carefully. A fulfillment center offers tailor-made solutions that you may not have thought of. In short, only advantages!
Furthermore, an external warehouse also needs to be managed. The external warehouse therefore requires a lot of attention. You need to provide additional manpower or spend a lot of time in the external warehouse. Time that you could undoubtedly use much more productively!
The costs of outsourcing logistics are relatively low
As an entrepreneur, you are, of course, concerned with the financial side of the webshop. Most entrepreneurs still think that there are high costs associated with outsourcing logistics, but the opposite is true. Of course, there are costs associated with outsourcing logistics, but you would incur these same costs yourself. You will even pay less at a fulfillment center for a shipping label or packaging materials. Why? Because the fulfillment center can negotiate better prices with couriers and packaging material suppliers. Of course, you will pay the work hours needed to process your orders.
What are the exact costs of a fulfillment center? There are three cost categories:
- Storage of goods based on space used in the warehouse
- Picking and packing according to the contractually agreed formula
- Shipping based on the contracts the fulfillment center has with the different couriers.
Outsourcing logistics provides your customers with faster service
Consumers today have sky-high expectations of webshops. When a consumer places an order, they expect a fast delivery, preferably the next day. This is a problem for small webshops because the cutoff time is usually set at, for example, 2:00 PM. This means that orders placed before 2:00 PM are processed the same day. For small webshops, a later cutoff time is often not possible. Why? Because processing sales orders takes time and you have to respect the opening hours of post offices.
If you rely on a fulfillment partner, you can benefit from a later cutoff time, as the fulfillment center has more manpower to process the orders. But a fulfillment center also has pickups from various couriers. This means that the courier service will come to the fulfillment center at an agreed time to pick up the parcels. What time? This varies for each fulfillment center! But at Webship, we are constantly working on extending the cutoff time so that orders placed in the evening still reach the consumer the next day. This way, you gain a competitive advantage.
Benefit from the additional services that a fulfillment center offers
A fulfillment center like Webship offers more than just logistics. We also provide many other services to lighten your load. We offer services like webshop development, product photography, first-line customer service, product sealing, product dimensions, and a WMS system. Interesting services to further grow your webshop. For example, we highlight the first-line customer service. Many webshop owners spend a huge amount of time answering questions about the status of a sales order. Questions like “When will my package arrive?” or “Has my order been processed?” are common. Answering these questions takes more time than necessary, while these questions can be answered very quickly by the fulfillment center. You can also outsource the answering of certain questions about product specifications to a fulfillment center.
Would you like to outsource your logistics?
After reading this blog, are you interested in outsourcing your logistics to a fulfillment center? Don’t hesitate to contact Webship at hallo@webshop.be so we can explore the options together. You can also use our online cost calculator to calculate your all-in fulfillment price.
