There is a very low barrier to entry when it comes to opening a business online. Starting an e-commerce store is much easier than opening a brick-and-mortar one, for instance. This isn’t to say that it is going to be easy as that is relative. There are a lot of moving parts that need to align to have a successful e-commerce store.
The biggest nut to crack is going to be the fulfillment of orders. There are a number of ways to go about getting the packages to your customers. The two main choices are whether you should handle your own fulfillment or if you should outsource it to a third party. In this article, we will go over several things to think about when it comes to fulfillment and your e-commerce store.
Advantages of fulfilling orders yourself
Handling your own fulfillment is a big responsibility. You’re on your own to choose the right courier, for example CaliforniaCourierServices.com, and to choose the software to process orders. There is a lot to think about and if any part of the chain doesn’t live up to expectations then it is your problem to fix it.
The advantage of taking on this responsibility is to make sure that you are in total control of the process. If there is a delivery service that is not working out for you then you can easily change the operator without too much of a hurdle. You decide on the software for processing orders so you can choose the one that works best for your system and way of doing things.
You can also choose the packaging so that it is shipped exactly how you want it in your own branded boxes. Now you’ll know that the shipping is done with secure packaging so there will be fewer returns from broken products.
Advantages of outsourcing the fulfillment
When you are first starting out with your store, you are likely going to be on a shoestring budget. One of the biggest benefits when it comes to opening an e-commerce store is that you can outsource a lot of the work so that you can concentrate on running the business.
Fulfillment is a huge commitment and is often going to take up the bulk of your work hours. The responsibility is very heavy since you are going to need to have a smooth-running operation. In the beginning, it might not be such a bad thing to do on your own as your operation is small. When you start seeing success then this could detract from your growing the business since you are occupied with the fulfillment more than anything else.
You will likely also save money by outsourcing the fulfillment since it can be quite expensive to maintain the system. When you pay another company it can be far less money since they have other customers that help them pay for the warehouse, labor, and all the other costs of operating.
