The hope for any business is that it grows. Growth, however, uncovers obstacles that must be overcome to ensure customer satisfaction and company profitability. Knowing when to delegate and outsource some aspects of your business can make a big impact on your overall success.
There are many ways that incorporating a fulfillment warehouse into your business model can help alleviate the hassles surrounding storage and shipping of products, as well add some other benefits that you may not have considered. Fulfillment warehouses have become popular in the midst of a rise in ecommerce and increased customer demand for products to be delivered the next day or sooner. The efficiency that a fulfillment center or warehouse provides is what makes it an attractive addition to any business.
What is a Fulfillment Warehouse?
A fulfillment warehouse, or center, is the modernized version of what we may historically know as “warehousing”–where a large amount of product is stored and shipped in bulk to one retailer. That warehouse model has changed and basically eliminated the middleman–now fulfillment centers/warehouses ship individual purchases directly to consumers. Fulfillment centers today not only provide storage of inventory, but are also involved in the ordering process, packing, shipping, and returns.
You may be familiar with a company named Amazon, that currently has the world’s largest network of fulfillment centers with 170 centers, spanning 150 million square feet and employing some 250,000 full-time employees. There are, however, many smaller fulfillment warehouses that cater to smaller companies, or specific industries. No matter the size of your business, nor the product you are producing, there is a fulfillment center that your business can benefit from using.
Benefits that Fulfillment Centers Offer
Although there are different types and sizes of fulfillment centers, they all provide some core benefits for your business. These benefits include:
1.Not needing your own warehouse. Not having to store your own products can cut costs in a big way–not only the cost of the warehouse itself, but the costs of running the warehouse are expensive. Protecting your product is also important; fulfillment warehouses offer a secure and safe environment to store your products.
2. Easy integration with many ecommerce platforms. Instead of figuring out how to integrate your ecommerce platforms into one system, which might require extra IT help, a fulfillment center can do this for you.
3. Getting better shipping costs. Working with a fulfillment warehouse to ship your products will undoubtedly lower your shipping costs. Fulfillment companies ship more often than any individual business, therefore they pay lower shipping costs.
4. Allowing your business to grow faster. When your business is picking up speed, the last thing you want to do is slow down because you can’t keep up with fulfillment. A fulfillment warehouse moves this obstacle out of the way to let your business soar.
5. Saving time. Is it easier to go looking for the product you need to ship, package it yourself, put a shipping label on it, record it in your inventory, and send it on its way, or to have your fulfillment warehouse take care of everything for you?
6. Expert help. Your business isn’t fulfillment, but the fulfillment warehouse or center you choose to use are experts in this industry. Let the experts help you support your business and manage the fulfillment tasks so you can focus on growing your business.
Fulfillment warehouses and centers can save you time and money. They can take the hassle out of storing and shipping products and streamline the process for your business making it more efficient. They can also help you rest easy knowing that things like shipping, storage, and inventory are taken care of.
Earnest Images Offers Fulfillment Services to Clients
New to the lineup of services offered by Earnest Images is our modern, easy-to-use order request portal for Earnest Images clients. Not only will we store your merchandise, but we will make it easy to access, view, and request it as well.
As a client, you are able to easily manage your assets stored at Earnest Images. When it’s time to ship merchandise to a trade show or event, all you need to do is let us know what to ship and where, and we take care of the rest. Storage, shipping, inventory control, inspection of merchandise, repair of merchandise, and logistics are all covered by us.
Interested in learning more about the fulfillment services that Earnest Images offers? Contact us today!
