Ecommerce Fulfillment: Why Outsourcing Might Be Your Best Option
Anyone running an e-commerce business knows the importance of delegating part
of their work to an order fulfillment company. Let’s face it, we can’t always do it
alone no matter how hard we work. Running an e-commerce business can be time-
consuming and mostly difficult if you are handling everything by yourself.
However, letting go of some responsibilities can allow you to focus more on
improving and growing your business. Out-sourcing order fulfillment services may
seem like an added expense but, it will help you grow and save more in the long run.
In this article, we shall help you understand its importance and why you should
implement it today for your e-commerce business.
-
REACH MORE CUSTOMERS
Outsourcing an order fulfillment company will allow you to reach more customers in
different far areas that you couldn’t reach before. This will let you take your business
to another level. With the right order fulfillment, you can sell in different countries,
or even different parts of the country you are operating in at the moment. -
SELL MORE
When you can reach different areas and countries, it will lead to high volume sales
compared to selling in a single area. Order fulfillment is more manageable when it
comes to bulk sales as the logistics company will do all the work and still reach all
your customers on time. -
LOW SHIPPING COSTS
As we mentioned earlier, contracting an order fulfillment company will save you
money along the way. How? Well, for starters, well-established logistics companies
that offer order fulfillment have warehouses all over the countries where they
operate. This allows them to balance their clients’ products in different warehouses
hence bringing the products closer to their potential customers.
With that said, the shipping cost to your customers will be cut compared to when
you would ship the product yourself. Furthermore, third-party logistics companies
tend to offer their clients affordable flat rates regardless of the location.
QUICK ORDER PROCESSING PERIOD
Working alone to get work done usually consumes a lot of time compared to working
as a team. Likewise, processing different orders can be time-consuming and can
usually lead to errors if done alone. However, with an order fulfillment partner, your
orders will be processed quickly as they tend to have staff responsible for the
different processing stages.
NO ROOM FOR ERRORS
While orders will reach your customers in time, the order fulfillment company will
also ensure that there is consistency while processing the orders. Also, the third-
party logistics company will ensure efficiency by processing orders per your
customers’ specifications.
MAINTAIN HAPPY CUSTOMERS
Another benefit you will get is that you can maintain happy customers. As you
ensure that your customers receive their orders on time and in good condition, you
will receive good reviews and feedback on your website. Additionally, the rate of
return customers will be high.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Outsourcing an order fulfillment company will help your e-commerce business move
to the next level. It will improve customer experience, reduce shipping costs, and
most importantly, increase your profits. Remember to compare different order
fulfillment service providers to select the right one that will fit your budget but cater
to your business needs. Furthermore, constantly analyze the fulfillment process to
keep your business running and profitable.
When Looking for a perfect choice for your E-commerce Fulfillment in Kenya, Wakah Logistics should be your preferred choice. We understand the entire process quite well. Our 7 years experience in the industry has earned us so much exposure to different challenges and we pride in being among the industry leaders in Kenya.
The Best Way To Manage Costs in Order Fulfillment
Fulfillment in E-commerce is the process undertaken from the time the order is added to the shopping cart until the product gets to the final user. This detailed process involves warehousing, inventory management, order scheduling, last mile delivery, cash on delivery and reverse logistics.
There are several costs including;
Warehousing
This is the process of storing products at a safe storage while waiting for orders to be processed. The warehousing costs cover order management, inventory management, storage etc. The storage costs are calculated by multiplication of space occupied in cubic meters by the cost /cbm.
Call Center
A call center in e-commerce fulfillment involves individuals who communicate with the customers to inform them of their orders and schedule deliveries. This team consists of eloquent individuals with good knowledge of the products and are therefore responsible in answering any questions the buyer might have. The call center charges are per successful order.
Packaging
Orders are picked from the stocks and prepared for shipping. The products are packed in eco-friendly packaging materials and wrapped accordingly in preparation for shipping. Fragile items are packed in bubble wraps and corrugated boxes.
The cost of packaging is not much for basic items such as clothes and non fragile packages.
Label Printing
Any e-commerce merchant would love their products labelled and branded to represent their brand. Labelling is done at the warehouse by adding stickers and related branded materials to the order. A simple branding does not cost much but it speaks words o your behalf outside there.
Doorstep Delivery
In e-commerce delivery, all orders are dropped to the last mile at the clients doorstep. This step is the most important as it is when the customer gets their order. The last mile delivery is often more expensive than ordinary deliveries where client collects packages from a pick up point. The costs for the last mile delivery depend on distance to be covered.
Reverse Logistics
Most e-commerce Fulfillment companies charge for reverse logistics at a percentage of the delivery fees. This costs are as a result of a failed delivery, unsatisfactory products or customer unavailability. The delivery team conducts 3 or more delivery attempts before declaring it as a failed delivery. At Wakah Logistics, failed deliveries are charged at 30% of the delivery fees.
How to reduce Fulfillment Costs
In order to reduce your order fulfillment costs, you need to;
- Stock only first moving products to reduce on storage costs
- Use packaging provided by manufacturer
- Avoid rebranding products
- Ensure product specifications on website match the exact product to avoid failed deliveries
- opt for flat rates per order if the company offers flat rate fulfillment.
All said and done, when looking for fulfillment services, go for one that has reasonable charges. At Wakah Fulfillment centers, we have the most reasonable fulfillment charges in Kenya. All our processes are transparent and fairly charged.
What is a Fulfillment Center & Why Is it Important?
Fulfillment Center
A fulfillment center is a facility established to enable E-commerce merchants to outsource warehousing and shipping services. This service relieves the e-commerce merchant of overhead costs of storage and inventory management as well as connects them to shipping services at lower costs. The merchants send inventories from their supplier to the warehouse (Fulfillment center) where the stocks are counted, verified and processed to the final users. With a good fulfillment center, the merchant has more time to focus on growing the online business while the fulfillment center carries on with the order processing.
Wakah Fulfillment centers have improved how e-commerce is practiced in Kenya. We have grown with small scale traders to increase sales conversions and reduce costs by processing orders on time and at cheaper rates.
Why is a fulfillment Center important?
Any start-up or growing e-commerce business needs a good fulfillment center to grow. Starting a business and growing into a profitable venture is not a simple task and requires an affordable, faithful, goal oriented partner to assist with order management and shipping.
We have discussed a few reasons why you need to work with a reliable fulfillment center to boost your sales below;
Cutting on Overhead Costs
A fulfillment center is good for growing businesses. When starting a business, you can never project the exact outcomes of your new venture, you can only hope that i works out your way. However, before engaging in long term rental agreements for warehousing and order fulfillment, a fulfillment center will help you mange the costs as you plan on how to grow your online brand. Fulfillment centers act as holding facilities for your stocks before being shipped to the final users. Warehousing is charged per cubic meter and thus you will only pay for the space utilized.
At Wakah Logistics and Fulfillment Center, we charge normal storage at 1100/ Cubic meter per month for Storage in any of our warehouses in Kenya.
Safe Storage
Many warehouses are established after serious assessments of risks likely to be encountered in future. Our warehouses are insured against fire, floods, theft and other calamities. Storing your goods in a fulfillment center gives you a piece of mind knowing your merchandise is safe and well taken care of.
Inventory Management
Fulfillment centers will take good care of your inventory. With modern technology and inventory management systems, you are able to keep track of your stock levels at all times. The fulfillment center will send frequent reports on faster selling products, slow selling products and inventory that needs to be restocked. Our warehouse team is on toes to send these updates for prompt decision making.
Call Center
Our fulfillment center has a call center and dedicated account manager for all merchants. The account manger works hand in hand with the merchant giving insights and updates on the work progress. With a call center, you are free from the hectic tasks of confirming orders, delivery locations and schedules. The call center team coordinates all the processes.
Returns/ Exchange Processing
A fulfillment center will enhance faster returns processing and exchanges due to its proximity to the end users. Normally fulfillment centers are set up in strategic locations closer to the customers. There are regions with high order volumes and that’s where we have set our centers. Our centers serve the whole country giving guaranteed timely deliveries in all regions.
We promise our clients Same Day deliveries in Nairobi and Next Day Delivery outside Nairobi. In short, all orders are processed within 24 hours in Kenya.
Wakah Logistics has provided solutions to hundred of Merchants worldwide with our fulfillment services. We continue growing our customer base everyday and we are glad that you will join our growing list of happy clients.
Contact us now for a fulfillment Quote.