eCommerce Fulfillment Services

At River Plate, Inc. we offer efficient eCommerce Fulfillment services to help your business store, handle and ship  products. With many years of experience, our accuracy and efficiency has allowed us to be one of the leading eCommerce fulfillment companies in California.

What Is eCommerce Fulfillment?

eCommerce defined is selling products via the Internet using a website interface. Fulfillment is the act of filling the order making sure it is packaged and shipped in a timely manner to the customer. Some businesses handle their own eCommerce fulfillment in house while others use an outside third party fulfillment house. Good businesses place emphasis on great eCommerce fulfillment and products to ensure return customers. When orders are flooding in, someone has to manage the distribution of these products to ensure they are packaged suitably and accurately and delivered on time to the customer. Increased eCommerce competition makes this one of the most important elements of any online business to ensure repeat customers.

Benefits Of Using An eCommerce Fulfillment Company

Many companies choose to contract an eCommerce fulfillment company to reduce extra internal costs such as tracking systems and overhead so they can focus on their core business – making a great product. This has become increasingly important with many businesses changing to “Just In Time” Inventory to reduce warehousing costs. Many eCommerce fulfillment companies specialize in packaging and distribution practices making them experts in handling their clients’ needs in this area efficiently.

Tracking and Measurement

A good eCommerce fulfillment company will have a solid software system in place to monitor several important elements of best practices in regards to inventory management. Monitoring these key areas are the key to keeping satisfied customers and growing a solid customer base.

Turnaround Time

This is the time from when the order is placed to when it arrives to the customer. To be competitive, study what the average eCommerce delivery time is among similar companies in your category. Set goals and monitor them with your eCommerce fulfillment contact so you stay on track.

Inventory Count

This is the difference between inventory software and actual current count of inventory. Inventory software can give a company an idea of overall stock numbers but a good logistics manager or provider will know at any given moment the exact status of inventory so you can address any last minute issues that may come up.

Returns

This is the percentage of items returned from customers. It is important to have closed loop feedback with your customers so that you always know what may be causing higher returns such as product or packaging defects, longer delivery times, etc. Pinpointing the problem can help you to address customer concerns quickly before they become an issue.

What Makes An eCommerce Fulfillment Company Great?

It pays to do your research when meeting with an eCommerce fulfillment partner. It starts with a strong turn key operation. Here are some key areas to discuss when assessing your needs:

Percent of accuracy with orders

Everyone knows that shipping an inaccurate order is bad news for business. It can lose you sales and customers so ask how this is tracked so you have a way to monitor your shipments on a regular basis.

Seasonality Fluctuations

Many items are seasonal and come in varying styles so discuss your special requirements to see how they can handle the change of weather and merchandise that comes with it.

Ability to Handle High Peaks

Companies introduce new products that can become hot overnight, especially in the eCommerce world. How fast can they adapt to high throughput of product?

Ability to Deliver Next Day

Fierce eCommerce competition has opened up a whole new world of customer expectations with most now expecting they can receive their product immediately. Ask if they are able to accommodate these requests on a steady basis?

Ample Storage

How much space is your fulfillment house working with? Are they able to store the amount of product you need to have on hand? Do they have a network of warehouses they work with to meet your needs in the event you need it?

Software Systems

Communication is key to making sure that your product fulfillment is seamless. Is there a software system in place that is able to network with your order inventory system? How accurate is the status of an order shipment? Your new partner will be able to break this down for you so that at any given time you will be able to check on the status of an order.

Ask your fulfillment expert to walk you through the cycle time from order to delivery so that you understand and feel comfortable with the entire process. A great eCommerce fulfillment specialist will take the time for you to get to know their business and how it can help yours. They will often go as far as tailoring the business to meet your needs.