10 Ways Fulfilment Centers Can Help You Sell More Products
Posted On February 10, 2016 by
Whether you are an established juggernaut poised to be the next big business that wows consumers, or a small startup hoping to build a loyal customer base, there are several ways employing the use of a fulfillment center can help your company sell more products, and help you grow in the long run. Fulfillment centers operate as the bridge between companies and their consumers and are the best option for companies that want to focus on becoming the best at what they do without sacrificing the quality of their products.
Here’s a look at some of the ways fulfillment centers can help you sell more products:
1. The Addition of New Sales Channels
This is one of the ways fulfillment centers can help your company sell more products. Many companies are limited by the reach they have to their customers. Some companies start out using only one channel to sell their products and this, in turn, limits the amount of product that can be distributed at any given time. A sales channel is the way in which a product is brought to market so that it can reach its intended customers. Most small business start out by having a direct sales channel where they move the product directly from their shop into the hands of the customer. This is extremely limiting and hinders the growth of you company. Fulfillment centers have access to multiple sales channels and employing a fulfillment center to work with you will help your company grow (you can reach a wider demographic and can also break into selling online). This gives you the addition of new sales channels, which drastically increases the number of products you can sell. It also simultaneously puts you on the radar of so many more people, creating a wonderful trickle-down effect that works in your company’s favor.
2. Decrease in Expenditures
In the process of decreasing your company’s expenditures, fulfillment centers are able to help you sell more of your product. There are many overhead costs involved in running a company that caters to consumers on a daily basis, but almost all of these are negated when fulfillment centers join the party. They are able to help you consolidate all these costs by taking over the aspects of your business that are generating these costs. In the process, fulfillment centers help free up capital and time that you can allocate to developing different areas of your company. This results in a better quality product that reaches distributors and consumers faster, thus ensuring that you are constantly selling more products.
3. Immunity to Market Fluctuations
Most growing companies are ill equipped to handle fluctuations of the market that happen, from time to time, throughout any given year. This is either because they have not been in business for too long or the market has been good to them so they have never known the darkness that engulfs many companies when it fluctuates. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but you get the point. Fulfillment centers handle aspects of your business and provide you immunity to these market fluctuations. These fluctuations manifest during times when there is peak demand and the supply needs to meet it. Fulfillment centers help you plan for these eventualities beforehand and are also able to store some of your product (in their warehouses), to make sure that no matter how drastically the demand fluctuates they can meet it. If companies were to handle these on their own, their expenses would skyrocket during peak demand times because they would have to pay for increased shipping and other factors that will change as well. With the use of a fulfillment center, the cost remains the same year round.
4. Helping You Grow Your Business
Fulfillment centers help many companies move up to the next rung of the metaphorical ladder they are all on. They do this by helping companies grow and giving them a wider reach to clients, retailers and consumers. Some small businesses are not able to break into the industry of E-commerce because they fear the amount of work that goes into it, and know that as a small company, pursuing this venture will mean they will have to compromise the quality of their product in the long run. Outsourcing part of your business to a fulfillment center helps put you on the map. Most of these centers are able to handle the E-commerce aspect of your business including inventory, shipping, packaging, and labeling. This opens up your company to a plethora of new consumers and in turn increases the number of the product you sell.
5. Creating Additional Space
I’m sure many people are confused by this sub-heading. Yes, the creation of additional space is one of the ways a fulfillment center can help you sell more products. Many companies fear growth because of the issues that come with it. As more people learn about a company and get interested in what it has to offer, there is often a direct spike in the demand for a product and this can at times be the downfall of a company or the moment they shine brightest. Fulfillment centers are here to make sure that your company crests these rocky waves. These centers are equipped with warehousing capabilities that allow you to store some of your product while you continue to produce more. This allows you to cater to more orders as your company grows. If you are currently limiting yourself to about 350 orders a month, the use of a fulfillment center can shoot that number up to over 1,000 units. In a nutshell, fulfillment centers give you the luxury of being able to scale your company as it grows.
6. Providing Faster Turnaround Times
If consumers had their way, they would get the product that they ordered (via phone or online) immediately after their transaction was processed. Unfortunately, we do not yet live in the future. However, with the use of fulfillment services many companies are able to achieve faster turnaround times between when the customer places an order and when the customer receives the order. Having less time transpire between the transaction and the reception time is one of the prime ways for customer service to spike. It will make your customers fall in love with your business. In effect, faster turnaround times helps your company sell more products by making sure you can focus your time on selling the product and not dispersing it. Having a fulfillment center handle your packaging, inventory, and shipping will allow you to focus on accepting more orders with your free time and this translates to more sales.
7. Creating A Loyal Customer Base
Using fulfillment centers helps your company fashion a loyal customer base, and makes it so that you have a constant influx of orders. This is normally a result of various compounding factors (some of which are listed above). While outsourcing your fulfillment gives you more time and capital to focus on other things, it also gives you the opportunity to focus more on your clientele. It is similar to fighting a battle on two fronts, except you’re winning both. You now have the allotted time to enhance your marketing campaigns and engage with the consumers while your fulfillment center takes care of making sure orders are met. This is one of the ways to make sure that your customers never forget about the service you are offering. When the customers are happy, they will continue to come back for more. Having a loyal customer base is underestimated at times, so don’t make the mistake of doing that.
8. Allowing You To Focus On Your Business
This is one of the most important things a fulfillment center can do for you. When they take charge of handling an aspect of your business the first thing that you get back is time. There is a danger in doing too many things at once, especially when you are a small company. It limits what you can do and also increases the possibility that your company might cave under the weight of too many demands and responsibilities. When you outsource part of these responsibilities to a fulfillment center, you open up the avenue to focusing on other aspects of your business and making sure that these grow. This gives you the ability to really fashion out the vision you may have for your company without having to worry that consumers are not getting their products on time or that you cannot meet their orders.
9. Handling New Inventory
Fulfillment centers are well equipped for processing inventory and making sure that the items that are listed are up to date. There is a lot of work that goes into it – from making sure the right item is shipped and then subsequently removing it from the inventory to make sure there is no confusion. There are also instances that arise where customers need to return or replace a product. These are all situations that can be adequately handled by any qualified fulfillment center. If small businesses have their hands full with instances like these, it will be very hard for them to focus on little else. They will now have to worry about completing the product, making sure there are enough units ready to be shipped, packaging and shipping said product and updating the inventory to properly reflect what is leaving and what is coming in. This is a classic case of having too many things on a small plate. It will be hard for a young company to grow when they are spread thin trying to make sure that they are not compromising the quality of their product or the quality of their service. This is where the need for a fulfillment center comes in. Handling inventory and going through the processes of updating it in real time to reflect when a product is on or off the shelf (metaphor) is an essential service that they offer. It takes a load off the back of businesses and allows them to get back to doing what they do to the best of their abilities.
10. Giving You Access to 3rd Party Experts
Fulfillment centers almost always come together with a wealth of knowledge that their clients can draw upon. Many small businesses (and even major companies) dream of the day when their products are able to reach an overseas audience. It is a sign of good things ahead. it means people are in love with your product and that the demand for it is growing. However, shipping overseas is not as easy as packing stuff into a box and sending it to the post office. It depends especially on the volume of things you are shipping. Several factors come to light, like international shipping laws, global tariff and taxation to name a few. These are things that many small businesses are not equipped for, and a good number of them will have no idea what to do. Utilising a fulfillment center allows them to grow with you as you grow as a company and this will be beneficial to you as you will be able to draw upon their knowledge and insight into shipping to show you what you need to get done.
Conclusion
Fulfillment centers exist to help your business run more smoothly, and to help you reach the pinnacle of success that you hope to attain. There are many benefits to outsourcing a fraction of your business to a fulfillment center so that they can handle your shipping, packaging, and inventory among other things. When choosing a fulfillment center make sure it is one that best suits your needs and one that your company can grow in conjunction with. Even though we advise employing the use of a fulfillment center, choosing the wrong one would lead to the downfall of your company. Make sure that you are enlisting a fulfillment center that can achieve all the things your company has in their cross-hairs.