Apr 21, 2021 | Best Practices, Blog, Fulfillment, Warehouse Management Software
Between finding the best deals, navigating carrier requirements and managing inventory, order fulfillment is challenging and time-consuming. Fortunately, you can outsource order fulfillment to third parties to focus on other business tasks.
Amazon offers two fulfillment methods for its sellers: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM). What are the differences, and which one should you choose? Read on to find out!
What are Amazon FBM and FBA?
FBA is a fulfillment option where Amazon handles all order fulfillment tasks for sellers. If you register for FBA, your inventory is stored in a designated Amazon warehouse so the fulfillment crew can pack and ship your items.
Meanwhile, FBM involves a company selling its product on Amazon sales channels while handling storage, shipping and customer support on its own.
Of all current Amazon sellers:
- 57% use FBA only
- 34% use a combination of FBA and FBM
- 9% use FBM only
Amazon Prime Shipping
FBA and FBM sellers can ship products via Prime, Amazon’s reward program that offers one or free two-day shipping. Amazon reports that sellers with Prime memberships are more popular than non-member sellers – customers are more likely to purchase products from you if the Amazon Prime badge shows up on your listings because customers want fast deliveries.
Prime is automatically available for all FBA sellers. If you’re an FBM seller, you need to earn a Prime membership by joining Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP). To be eligible for and retain a Prime membership, you need to ship all of your orders on time and have a low cancellation rate – otherwise, you’ll lose it.
Seller Fulfilled Prime is currently not accepting new registrations, but you can sign up for the waitlist.
How Fulfillment by Amazon Works
Fulfillment by Amazon sends your products from an Amazon warehouse directly to customers. Here’s a simple guide to explain how FBA works:
- Amazon receives your products at a designated FBA warehouse.
- Amazon stores your items.
- Amazon handles all customer transactions.
- Amazon prepares your product for shipping.
- Amazon ships your products out to customers.
- Amazon deposits profits to your bank account every two weeks.
FBA vs. FBM – Choosing the right option for your business
Considering your specific business and the products you sell, you may be better off with FBA, FBM, or a hybrid of the two. Each option is evaluated below on the cost & fees, autonomy & control and ease of use.
Is FBA better than FBM?
FBM is the better option for your company if:
- You sell heavy, bulky, or oversized products
- Your products sell slowly and inventory turnover is low
- You already have logistics in place and can fulfill your products
- You have existing customer service practices and want to control your customer experience end-to-end
- You want higher margins
- You don’t want to be at the mercy of Amazon’s fees
- You sell products that aren’t in the approved categories for FBA
FBA is better for your company if:
- You sell small and lightweight products
- Your products sell quickly and have a high volume of inventory turnover
- You do not have logistics in place and expenses would be higher than fulfilling on your own
- Your products are large-margin products that can offset Amazon’s additional fees
- You do not have a customer service department
- You are okay relinquishing control of your customers’ experience to Amazon
Shipping Items to Amazon FBA
One of the best perks of being an Amazon FBA member is that Amazon handles your entire inventory process. All you need to do is ship your products to an Amazon FBA warehouse, and the team there will do the rest.
How to Ship to Amazon FBA
Recently, Amazon introduced a “Send to Amazon” inventory replenishment method that’s very simple and saves you a lot of time. Here’s how to send items to an Amazon FBA warehouse:
1. Choose Items to Send
First, choose what items you plan to send to an FBA warehouse from your product listing and enter how many units you’re sending.
2. Enter Your Shipping Address and Choose a Carrier
Input your destination Amazon FBA warehouse, then choose between an Amazon-partnered carrier or your preferred carrier company.
3. Print Shipping Labels
Depending on your choice in the previous step, you can print shipping labels directly from the Amazon Shipping Services page or your chosen carrier’s company website.
4. Attach Labels
Once you have printed labels, attach them to your product boxes. Note that Amazon has strict packaging requirements, so make sure you use the right boxes.
5. Send Your Items
With the labels attached, you can schedule a courier pickup or visit the nearest office. From there, the carrier will ship your items to an Amazon FBA warehouse, where an inventory team will handle the rest.
Amazon FBA Cost Factors
You’ll be charged costs and fees if you participate in Amazon FBA. Here are some factors that influence your Amazon FBA usage costs:
Item Size/Weight
You can use Amazon’s FBA Calculator to predict fees and expenses, given your item sizes and weight. Overall, the fee structure for FBA sellers dramatically increases with the size and weight of a product; therefore, FBA sellers with small, lightweight products incur fewer fees.
Inventory Turnover
Inventory turnover is the speed at which a company sells and restocks inventory. Amazon tracks sellers’ inventory turnover and assesses fees based on the duration; in other words, sellers with products that sit in Amazon fulfillment centers for longer (i.e., have slow turnover rates) must pay higher FBA fees. Additionally, if a product sits in an Amazon fulfillment center longer than 365 days, they are charged long-term storage fees.
FBA Fulfillment Fees
All FBA sellers must pay FMA fees to cover the shipping and handling costs involved with fulfilling their company’s orders. These most likely cover the labor hours, packaging and overhead that Amazon incurs to provide this service.
FBA vs FBM: A Comparison
FBA and FBM have their pros and cons. To help you choose, we’ve laid out some key differences between the two fulfillment methods below:
Autonomy & Control Over Inventory
How much control do you hope to retain over your company? FBM has the most power and autonomy regarding fulfillment because there are many ways to fulfill your product, like dropshipping, outsourcing to a 3PL, leasing and operating your warehouse, or even using a spare bedroom in your apartment for storage.
Meanwhile, FBA sellers have little to no autonomy over handling their products. Once you ship products to the FBA warehouse, Amazon will handle the entire order fulfillment process.
Customer Experience
Most FBA members pass customer service responsibilities off to Amazon, so they don’t usually speak directly to customers. Outsourcing customer service means saving money and effort because you don’t have to pay or train customer service specialists. However, you’re also passing up a chance to communicate directly with customers and foster brand loyalty.
Meanwhile, Amazon FBM sellers are 100% responsible for customer service. Because the customer service ball is in your court, you must spend time and money to ensure a positive customer experience. However, this is an opportunity to connect with customers and reinforce your brand.
Seller Rating
FBA sellers have little concern over their seller feedback and rating because Amazon handles most of the process. In fact, FBA sellers can request Amazon to remove negative feedback if Amazon was the one who handled the fulfillment.
FBM sellers have almost complete control over their sales, so you might be easier targets for bad feedback. Since you can’t request Amazon to remove negative feedback, you must constantly deliver the best service and respond to negative reviews on your own.
Ease of Use
The whole process of order fulfillment, picking, packing and shipping is laborious and time-consuming.
For companies and brands with no sales channels or fulfillment methods, Amazon FBA allows instantaneous access to a gigantic logistics network for a price. But this also saves you time to focus on the aspects of your business that need your attention most.
Companies and brands that already have fulfillment channels and are considering adding Amazon should consider whether the additional FBA logistics channel is worth the costs, especially those that sell big, heavy products.
If you already have logistics channels and partners, FBM is likely the better option because you don’t have to pay the extra FBA fulfillment costs.
Amazon FBA vs FBM: Which is Best?
Which one is “best” between FBA and FBM depends on what you want out of your business. There’s no doubt Amazon will remain the #1 eCommerce site for a long time, so both options are relatively stable.
Generally, FBM is better if you want more control over your sales process and build more brand loyalty through direct customer interactions. FBA is better if you want a hands-off approach to order fulfillment and are fine with Amazon running your customer service.
Best Amazon FBA Freight Forwarder
Even if you’re an FBA member, shipping items to Amazon warehouses takes time and effort. Fortunately, you can go to freight forwarders to help send products out to Amazon FBA without hassle. Here are some of the best Amazon FBA freight forwarders operating today:
Unicargo
Unicargo is an Amazon freight forwarder that inspects your products upon picking them up, so you don’t accidentally ship damaged goods to the FBA warehouse. Unicargo also offers short-term storage warehouses if something happens with your FBA membership.
Flexport
Flexport offers freight forwarding services with real-time tracking in over 80 countries. If you run an environmentally-aware business, Flexport is a good choice because one of its mission to attain 100% carbon neutrality.
Freightos
Freightos helps you compare freight quotes from dozens of providers so you can find the best deals easily. It also offers on-demand freight tracking and issue resolution assistance if things go wrong mid-shipment.
Let ShipHero Handle Amazon Fulfillment
Need help with fulfillment for your Amazon orders? Here’s how ShipHero’s third-party logistics software can help you offer Amazon-like delivery speeds without breaking the bank.
2-Day and Overnight Delivery
ShipHero has fulfillment centers across the country that deliver to customers within one to two business days. We can help you deliver as fast as Amazon – without the FBA fees.
Multiple Sales Channel Fulfillment
ShipHero doesn’t just handle Amazon order fulfillment. We offer third-party order fulfillment for numerous major eCommerce platforms like eBay, Shopify, Walmart and BigCommerce.
Affordable Shipping Costs
Thanks to ShipHero’s partnerships with multiple shipping carriers, Amazon sellers working with us get lower delivery costs for each order. Moreover, our fulfillment network makes last-mile delivery faster and more affordable.
Conclusion
So, is FBA or FBM right for your business? Stay tuned to our Shipping Methods Explained series as we dive deep into the specifics of fulfillment.
Learn more about ShipHero’s industry-leading warehouse management software.
Amazon FBA vs FBM FAQs
Can you use both FBA and FBM?
You can use both FBA and FBM. In fact, about 34% of Amazon sellers use both fulfillment methods. You can use FBM to sell large products that don’t sell too well and FBA to sell smaller, high-selling products. This combination method saves you more money because you can avoid large item fulfillment and long-term storage costs.
Does Amazon charge for FBM?
Amazon doesn’t charge subscription fees if you’re an individual FBM seller, but you’ll be charged $0.99 for every product sold. However, you can get a Pro FBM subscription at $39.99/month to avoid paying $0.99 for every item you sell.
How much does Amazon take from FBA?
Amazon takes a variable FBA fee, depending on the product’s size and dimensions, that starts at $2.92 for every item sold. You also need to pay monthly storage fees based on how much merchandise you have in FBA warehouses.
–
About ShipHero: We make it simple for you to deliver your eCommerce. Our software helps you run your warehouse, and our outsourced shipping solutions eliminate the hassle of getting your products to your customers. With over 5,000 brands and 3PLs relying on us daily, we’re here to help with all your logistics needs.
Apr 20, 2021 | Blog, Fulfillment
Fulfillment centers, also known as 3PLs, provide a great option to expand your fulfillment capabilities. ShipHero Fulfillment provides an easy outsourced fulfillment option without the need to engage with a 3PL directly if you’re running a Shopify store and are looking for simple fulfillment services.
Online shopping has made it easier than ever for consumers to find the products they want at the best price. As brick-and-mortar stores slowly fade into the background, eCommerce stores are taking advantage of nearly limitless scalability and a worldwide customer base.
Though the convenience of online shopping is a major draw for many consumers, a positive customer experience is still vital for success. If purchases take too long to process or if shipments are delayed, your business could suffer and you may lose potential repeat customers. Rather than limiting your inventory to prevent backups and shipping mishaps, consider using a fulfillment center to manage your store’s inventory. These companies help your business deliver global eCommerce order fulfillment.
Fulfillment centers, also known as third-party logistics companies (3PLs), provide a great option to expand your fulfillment capabilities. If you’re an eCommerce merchant selling products on Amazon or another eCommerce platform, a fulfillment center handles all the order processing for you. They’ll receive the order, prepare it for shipping and get the order delivered to the customer. ShipHero Fulfillment provides an easy outsourced fulfillment solution for many eCommerce merchants running on a variety of marketplaces including Shopify, WooCommerce and more.
In this article, we’ll explore fulfillment centers as a convenient option for online merchants. You’ll learn what a fulfillment center is, how it compares to warehousing and the specific benefits of using a fulfillment center. We’ll also provide helpful tips for choosing the right fulfillment center for your business. Another option if you’re looking to outsource your shipping is to use a fulfillment service, a new option for using a fulfillment platform to manage and ship your orders without engaging with a fulfillment center directly. We’ll add an article that details more about this and how you could use Shopify store fulfillment.
What is a Fulfillment Center?
A fulfillment center is a location, typically a large building, that fulfills eCommerce retail orders. A fulfillment center handles the entire order process, from picking and packing to shipping.
Without a fulfillment center, an eCommerce retailer must take items from their inventory, pack them and send them through a shipping carrier to the customer. If you run an especially popular business, you may be swamped with orders and spend most of your valuable time processing shipments instead of developing your business.
Not just that, but more orders mean a larger chance of human error in the shipping process. If your team loses focus because they’re overwhelmed, they may make mistakes that result in unhappy customers.
To prevent errors and save valuable resources, third-party logistics companies often offer fulfillment center access to their clients.
How Do Fulfillment Centers Work?
Fulfillment centers work by storing your inventory so your 3PL’s team can process orders whenever they come in. Here’s a quick overview of how fulfillment centers process your orders:
- You receive customer orders, which will then be forwarded to your 3PL provider.
- The fulfillment center team picks the ordered items from storage for packing.
- The shipping carrier accepts the ordered items and delivers them to the customer.
The general process is similar to doing it yourself, but fulfillment centers do it at a larger scale to take the burden off your hands. Fulfillment centers are generally more experienced in fulfilling orders, so they can do it more efficiently.
Fulfillment centers can process business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) orders cost-effectively. B2B orders are usually shipped to the client’s shop or storage, while B2C orders are shipped to the customer’s residence.
Understanding the Challenges of Online Stores
Online stores provide customers access to a wide range of products they might not have access to in traditional brick-and-mortar stores, depending on their location. By shopping online, consumers also can compare prices. However, online shopping is about more than just finding the best price; it’s also about efficient shipping and an overall positive customer experience.
On the seller’s side, online shopping opens up a whole new customer base that isn’t limited to a specific region. Though this creates the potential for much higher sales margins, it does come with a few challenges. Overselling, for example, is a common problem among online merchants. This happens when the merchant receives more orders for an item than they have the inventory to fulfill. They are then forced to contact their customers to tell them that the item is out of stock or shipping will be delayed. Both options can lead to low customer satisfaction levels and potential lost sales.
All it takes is one angry customer to write a bad review that could dissuade other customers from buying your products.
In addition to overselling, many online merchants encounter specific shipping issues such as mispicks and misships. A mispick happens when the merchant selects the wrong product for an order, and a misship occurs when the wrong item is sent to the customer.
Both of these situations result in returns. Plus, there’s a high probability that the customer will simply cancel the order instead of waiting for the correct item to be sent.
The larger an online business’s inventory, the higher the risk for problems. It might be time to consider a fulfillment center if you’re currently trying to manage your inventory directly and experiencing these and other issues.
Fulfillment Center vs Warehouse: Comparison
The term fulfillment center is often used interchangeably with warehouse, but the fact is that they are different. Both are large buildings used to hold business inventory, but the services offered can differ.
A warehouse is a long-term storage solution used to store products for an extended period. In many cases, a warehouse is an industrial space designed to house inventory items in bulk. If you were to walk into an inventory warehouse, you’d see products being moved by a forklift on large pallets stacked high with large quantities of similar products. Warehouses are primarily used by wholesalers and businesses that fulfill B2B orders.
Generally speaking, a warehouse is usually the best option for retailers that have a diverse inventory and stock large quantities of products. Large retailers sometimes have the capital to purchase warehouse space, but leasing is usually the most cost-effective option for small and mid-sized retailers. For small businesses, renting a storage unit is sometimes the best option.
A fulfillment center performs some of the same roles as a warehouse but with additional services. In addition to storing inventory, a fulfillment center will fulfill customer orders. When an order is placed through an eCommerce store, the order is forwarded to the fulfillment center, where the inventory is picked and boxed up, then labeled for shipment and sent to the customer.
Using a fulfillment company means outsourcing order processing which takes the burden off your shoulders and lets you focus on other areas of your business.
How Does a Fulfillment Center Compare to a Warehouse?
Despite their surface similarities, fulfillment centers and warehouses offer different services. Here’s a look at three elements that set fulfillment centers apart from warehouses.
Long-term vs. Short-term Storage
Warehouses are designed for long-term storage, where your items are kept for months or even years. Meanwhile, eCommerce fulfillment centers are more common for short-term storage because your inventory frequently changes as orders come in and out.
In fact, your inventory shouldn’t stay in fulfillment centers for a long time because storage fees can get expensive. At the same time, you should keep sending inventory to fulfillment centers to avoid running out of stock.
Facility Operations
Warehousing operations are generally very simple. Items come in when you send them and come out when you need them. There’s not a lot of processing involved aside from moving items around.
Meanwhile, fulfillment centers have more complex operations because they handle order processing. Here are some key operations of a fulfillment center:
- Receiving items from factories or manufacturers
- Picking products to fulfill customer orders
- Assembling items, if required
- Packing items and labeling shipments
- Shipping items through carriers
- Accepting and managing returns
Frequency of Pickups by Freight Companies
Warehouses don’t see a lot of shipping company pickups because you can get items shipped in bulk instead of individually. That’s why we typically see scheduled truck pickups at warehouses, with items being stacked together in big batches with pallets.
Fulfillment centers often see daily shipping company pickups or even several times a day if you run an especially prolific eCommerce business. eCommerce fulfillment centers get multiple shipper pickups daily because they need to fulfill customer orders that come in even after business hours.
Fulfillment Centers vs Warehouses: A Summary
Here is a quick summary of the differences between a warehouse and a fulfillment center:
- The primary function of a warehouse is to store inventory, while a fulfillment center’s goal is to turn inventory over quickly and ship orders.
- Fulfillment centers handle all stages of the order fulfillment process, including negotiating rates with shipping carriers.
- Operations at a warehouse are relatively static, whereas operations at a fulfillment center are much more complex and in constant motion. Some of the services provided by a fulfillment center include the following:
- Receiving inventory from merchants
- Picking products for individual orders
- Gathering inventory and packaging orders
- Labeling shipments for delivery
- Turning over orders to the shipping carrier
- Managing customer returns and exchanges
- Warehouses typically have scheduled less-frequent pickups, whereas fulfillment centers typically have daily pickups from shipping carriers.
- Fulfillment centers can guarantee same-day or next-day shipping.
Every 3PL provider is different regarding their services and the size and type of businesses they cater to.
Later in this article, we’ll talk about how to choose the right fulfillment center for your business, but for now, let’s take a closer look at the benefits fulfillment centers provide.
What Are the Benefits of Using Fulfillment Centers?
Simply put, the benefit of using a fulfillment center instead of directly managing your inventory is that you don’t have to deal with the inventory management’s ins and outs (e.g., storing, shipping and returns). It may sound simple, but you will never go back once you make the switch. The supply chain for eCommerce companies is complicated, and fulfillment centers make the supply chain easier to manage.
After using a fulfillment center to manage your inventory, you’ll find that the order fulfillment process not only goes much smoother, but you’ll be able to free up time on your end which can be dedicated to growing the business (rather than managing it).
Here are some of the top benefits of using a fulfillment center:
Extra Storage Space
Working with a fulfillment center means you don’t have to find extra space for your inventory on your premises. This is especially useful if you run a small business at home or in a small office.
Managed Order Fulfillment And Shipping Services
Fulfillment centers handle everything from product picking to shipping, so you don’t have to do it yourself.
Affordable Carrier Rates
Many fulfillment centers work with shipping carriers to give you delivery cost savings. Lower shipping rates mean you save money with each sale, growing your profit.
Enable 2-Day And Overnight Shipping
Working with fulfillment centers allows you to offer 2-day or overnight shipping options to your customers.
Professional Inventory Management
Fulfillment center workers know what they’re doing, so you can trust your items will be properly organized and stored. You also get live updates to see which items are in and out of stock.
Returns Processing Assistance
Your fulfillment center assists with returns and exchanges, saving you a lot of time and effort.
Helps You Focus On Your Business
Fulfillment centers and 3PLs handle inventory and order fulfillment, so you don’t have to. This means you can focus on other tasks for your company, like marketing, customer service and product development.
By now you should have a thorough understanding of what a fulfillment center is and how it can benefit your business. If you’re ready to make the switch, you’ll be glad to know that there are 3PL providers all over the country waiting to handle your inventory. Keep reading to learn how to find them.
Things to Consider When Choosing a Fulfillment Center
A fulfillment center may seem like the perfect solution if you’ve been struggling to keep up with orders and manage your own inventory. While 3PL providers can take the burden of order fulfillment off your shoulders, there are some things you need to consider before you commit.
First and foremost, you need to determine whether it’s a cost-effective solution to start using a fulfillment center. Prices vary from provider to provider but will include costs for things like warehouse space, equipment, warehouse management, staff salaries, worker’s compensation and liability insurance, packaging supplies, postage and more. Some 3PL providers offer a flat rate while others add individual fees per task, such as picking and packing.
In many cases, outsourcing your order fulfillment services costs more than doing the work yourself, but what you’ll be saving is time. If managing your inventory and fulfilling orders is holding you back from doing the work you need to grow your business, outsourcing may be worth the extra cost.
Not only do you need to consider the cost of using a fulfillment center, but you need to make sure that the center you choose is compatible with your eCommerce platform. The type of software you use determines whether the 3PL provider will be able to receive, process and track orders. The easiest option is to choose a provider that can integrate with your existing software rather than changing your entire eCommerce platform to match the provider.
With these factors in mind, here is a simple process to follow when choosing a 3PL provider:
Review Your Existing Shipping Process
Sit down and take a closer look at your inventory as well as your shipping process. Take the time to identify existing problems and consider whether a 3PL provider could resolve them.
Do Some Research to See What Options Are Available
You may be able to find a 3PL provider in your region, or you could choose one closer to your largest customer base.
Compare and Contrast Services Provided
Each 3PL provider is different, so you’ll need to know your business’s needs before finding a company to match.
Narrow Down Your List to No More Than Three
Once you’ve created a list of options, narrow it down to the top three choices – these are the companies you’ll evaluate on a deeper level to make your decision. Any more than three will simply be too much to handle.
Dig a Little Deeper Into the Company You’re Considering
You’ll be relying on your chosen 3PL provider to fulfill your customer’s orders and handle returns efficiently. Choosing a company with similar culture and values to your own is important for maintaining a consistent and satisfactory customer experience.
Think About Technological Compatibility
Even if your business is still fairly new, you already have some kind of management software in place – save yourself the hassle of switching by choosing a 3PL provider that is compatible with your existing management software.
Plan Ahead for Scalability
Ideally, outsourcing your order fulfillment process will give you more time to focus on what it takes to grow your business. Choose a 3PL provider that can scale its operations to accommodate your changing business needs.
Choose a Provider That Uses Distributed Fulfillment
Depending on what your business sells, you’re likely to have customers from all over the country. You want to choose a 3PL provider with multiple distribution center locations to keep costs down and optimize your efficiency.
Consider Experience and Customer Satisfaction
Though the satisfaction of your own customers is paramount, you also want to be satisfied with your 3PL experience. Look for a company with a proven track record that you can trust to handle your business’s day-to-day order fulfillment operations. Financial stability is also an important consideration, and you should look for a provider with plenty of industry references – and don’t hesitate to check them!
Negotiate the Pricing
Each 3PL provider prices their services differently, some according to the size of your business and others by individual services. You’ll need to sit down with your chosen provider to determine the exact pricing and what specific services are included.
Once you’ve chosen a 3PL provider, you need to sit with them and discuss the details. Many small businesses who switch to using a fulfillment center skip this step and end up frustrated when there is no clear process.
Before you sign a contract, sit down and go over the details of exactly what you expect from the company and how they will fulfill those expectations. You’ll need to determine which responsibilities the 3PL will handle and which you will retain in-house. It’s also a good idea to establish a schedule for regular meetings between members of your team and representatives from the 3PL. This is where you’ll evaluate the 3PL’s performance and discuss any changes that need to be made.
Examples of Fulfillment Companies
Looking for a great fulfillment center provider for your eCommerce business? Here are three example fulfillment companies to consider:
Fulfillment by Amazon
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) boasts over 170 fulfillment centers and 150 million square feet of storage space. Additionally, FBA users can offer free two-day delivery to their Amazon Prime shoppers – a great way to draw customers in and improve sales.
In addition to Amazon itself, FBA also supports numerous eCommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.
FedEx Fulfillment
Shipping carrier FedEx offers a full-service fulfillment center and third-party logistic service that includes packaging, warehousing and order fulfillment. In addition to its complete suite of services, FedEx Fulfillment also assigns small business owners a professional assistant to teach them about fulfilling orders.
Rakuten Super Logistics
Rakuten Super Logistics boasts 100% order accuracy and guarantees order turnaround by the next business day. Rakuten Super Logistics users can also offer customers two-day ground shipping to 98% of the United States.
However, Rakuten Super Logistics requires a minimum volume of 250 orders per month, so it may not be the best option if you can’t pass the threshold consistently.
How ShipHero Makes Fulfillment Easy
Boasting over 4,000 eCommerce partners, ShipHero is one of the leading 3PL companies for online merchants. Here are some key benefits of working with us as your third-party logistics provider:
2-Day and Overnight Delivery
You may have lost sales because your store doesn’t offer 2-day delivery like Amazon. Customers expect 2-day shipping everywhere they shop, but building a fulfillment network that can do that is a lot of work for a business – especially a small one.
If you work with ShipHero, you can offer 2-day and overnight delivery to compete with Amazon and other eCommerce giants. Moreover, we offer shipping discounts so your customers can enjoy cheaper 2-day deliveries.
Nationwide Fulfillment Center Network
Storing your entire inventory in one fulfillment center usually leads to longer delivery times, excess inventory and higher shipping costs. For instance, if your fulfillment center is in Florida, delivering orders to California will be much more expensive than shipping to New York, due to distance and many other factors.
ShipHero’s distributed fulfillment network boasts eight warehouse facilities in the United States and Canada, with locations in Florida, Texas, Vancouver and more. We split your inventory across these fulfillment centers, so customer orders will be sent out from the closest location. By reducing the shipping distance, you save money and your customers get faster deliveries.
Integrations With Your eCommerce Platform
We support many popular eCommerce platforms like BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Shopify, Shopify Plus and Amazon. Our eCommerce platform integrations are very simple to activate and especially useful if you’re selling on multiple sites. In addition to handling all orders, we offer real-time updates from your multiple eCommerce platforms, so you don’t have to fumble through multiple sites to see everything.
Transparent Fulfillment Fees
Unlike other fulfillment providers that have unexpected hidden fees, ShipHero offers a simple and transparent pricing model. Our single flat rate covers the entire order fulfillment process for the lower 48 states. We don’t lock you into lengthy contracts like other companies, either.
The Final Word
Customer satisfaction is essential to the success of your online business. If customers like your products and experience a smooth order fulfillment process, they’re much more likely to recommend your business to others and become regulars themselves.
As an online business owner, you’re responsible for selling high-quality products that cater to your customer base’s needs. However, you can’t focus on that if you still have to process orders yourself. Outsourcing the order fulfillment process to a third-party logistics provider means you don’t have to spend hours a day dealing with customer orders and have more time to develop your business instead.
Fulfillment Center FAQs
What is a fulfillment warehouse?
A fulfillment center or a fulfillment warehouse is a place where your third-party logistics provider stores your inventory and processes customer orders. Whenever an order comes in, the fulfillment center team picks, packs and ships the product to the customer’s door.
Do fulfillment centers handle inventory management?
Fulfillment centers handle inventory management as part of their order fulfillment services.
How does order processing work?
Here’s how your fulfillment center staff processes orders:
- They receive inventory from your manufacturer or distributor.
- They store and organize stock on the warehouse shelves.
- They pick items from shelves according to the order.
- They prepare the items for shipping.
- They send the items to carriers for delivery.
–
About ShipHero: We make it simple for you to deliver your eCommerce. Our software helps you run your warehouse, and our outsourced shipping solutions eliminate the hassle of getting your products to your customers. With over 5,000 brands and 3PLs relying on us daily, we’re here to help with all your logistics needs.
Let us know how we can help you today by scheduling a call HERE.
Apr 19, 2021 | Blog, Case Study
Gym bros, swoll-mates, keto cadets… no matter what you call it, weight-loss and fitness journeys are a lot more fun and successful when you have a trusted companion by your side to support you, motivate you, and keep you on track towards your health and fitness goals.
That’s exactly how this e-commerce CEO’s voyage started — while embarking on his own health journey and after a personal bariatric surgery, Alex Brecher, CEO of BariatricPal, recognized the need for support, connection, and community.
On the same day that I came home from surgery, I launched a weight loss surgery forum to share information on procedures, diets, and related topics. That was 17 years ago. Now the forum has 374,000 members and over 4.5 million posts.
Alex Brecher, CEO of BariatricPal
In 2015, the BariatricPal store was launched to provide the bariatric community with high-quality food, snacks, vitamins and health accessories. The company currently owns 4 brands: BariatricPal (Store), PatchAid (vitamin patches), NutriNoodle (pastas), and Alex’s Acid-Free Organic Coffee.
Since health & fitness is such an important part of our lives (especially for those of us that gained the Covid-19lbs #thanksgrubhub ????), we just had to sit down and chat with the fine folks at BariatricPal, break down their business into sizable chunks, and chew it over 25 times.
Alex, thanks so much for joining us! To start us off, you look amazing.
Alex Brecher: “You stop, you look amazing.”
Ohhh quit making me blush, you scoundrel! I could lose a couple.
Alex Brecher: “From where??”
Okayyy, that didn’t happen but he does look great — take 2: Alex, thanks so much for joining us! To start us off, please tell us about your business.
Alex Brecher: “BariatricPal is a brand and online community that offers a one-stop shop for a huge range of vitamins, supplements, and diet food, including 3,500+ products from over 150 bariatric-friendly brands. The story of BariatricPal began in the most personal way – with my bariatric surgery. While embarking on my own health journey, I recognized the need for support, connection, and community.
“On the same day I came home from surgery, I launched a weight loss surgery forum to share information on procedures, diets, and related topics. That was 17 years ago. Now the forum has 374,000 members and over 4.5 million posts.
“As millions of Americans, and countless people across the globe, continue to spend billions of dollars on weight-loss products, BariatricPal’s popularity is showing no signs of slowing down.”
What was your fulfillment model before switching to ShipHero? What were the challenges or areas of improvement?
“At first, we fulfilled all orders out of a spare room in my office. After a few months, we switched to a 3PL, which we used from Nov 2015 – August 2017. Due to the growing number of SKUs, we outgrew our 3PL and moved into our own warehouse on 8/17.
“The 3PL was having issues scaling with our growth, and towards the end of our business relationship, we had orders that were massively delayed and inventory took weeks to receive. After crunching the numbers and talking to ShipHero, we realized that we could operate fulfillment for much less than we were paying and at the same time be much more efficient.
“We should be moving to a new, larger warehouse after this summer.”
Congratulations! Crunches to get summer ready, who knew? And what were the main goals for your company when deciding to alter your fulfillment logistics?
“We had two goals. First, we wanted to increase the speed that it was taking customers to receive their orders from the time they placed the order on our site. Second, we wanted to decrease our fulfillment costs.
“When searching for a fulfillment partner, we valued compatibility with Shopify, ease of use, and of course, cost.”
Why did you choose ShipHero?
“Choosing ShipHero came down to three factors:
- It was the PERFECT solution for what we were looking for: It allows us to efficiently pick, pack, and ship and receive and create purchase orders.
- The pricing is reasonable and affordable.
- Very good product support”
Just like you, we’re all about supporting our community. What was the experience like integrating ShipHero?
“It was a lot less difficult than I had expected. We did run into a few bumps in the road and support was super helpful, patient and communicative. They held my hand through the entire migration process going from the 3PL to ShipHero.”
We’ll never let go ❤️ What advantages have you seen with using ShipHero?
“It’s allowed us to scale our growth and assist us with running a very efficient warehouse operation.
“We also use ShipHero’s Bulk Ship feature to ship our subscription boxes each month. Offering a subscription box allows our customers to sample the many new bariatric products we add to our store each month. This allows us to streamline the entire shipping process without our team being required to pick and weigh each subscription box individually. It saves a huge amount of time and our team loves it.”
Ready to start your personal journey to health and wellness? Follow Alex Brecher and get your BariatricPal and associated brands at their website(s).
https://store.bariatricpal.com/
https://patchaid.com/
https://nutrinoodle.com/
https://acidfreecoffee.com/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BariatricPal
https://www.facebook.com/Patchaid
https://www.facebook.com/NutriNoodles
https://www.facebook.com/alexacidfreecoffee/
Want to be featured in our case study?
If you would like to share with us stories about your eCommerce experiences, whether it’s how you started your business, what opinions you have on the stories we share, or if you just feel like venting … we’re here for you.
Shoot us an email and you could be featured on an upcoming Case Study, our critically-acclaimed weekly news segment The Packet, or if you’re lucky, you could be invited to join one of our many Podcast episodes!
