fulfillment

[Amy_Sumrall]

I would love to hear from anyone using a fulfillment service. I am thinking of doing this but want to know which one to use, if it's cost effective, are the items packed nicely and quickly? I love giving personal service and fast shipping to my customers, and I wrap everything really cute, with free gifts, etc. I am not sure a fulfillment center would be willing or able to take these additional steps for me? But, shipping all of these orders each day is just too much for one person... advice, please?

[Joshua_Whitlock]

Great if you are not ready to take in inventory but you have to realize your cost goes up and profit margins go down if you use a fulfillment service.

[Brennan_L]

Hi Amy, We have a number of different fulfillment integrations already in place so I suggest using that as a starting point for your research. I think there's a misconception that 3rd party fulfillment services simply pick your items out of a bin and chuck them in a box when really it's quite the opposite. Some 3rd party services have made a name for themselves for the level of detail / care they provide: gift wrapping, hand written notes, etc. Important things to consider: 1. Where are you shipping most of your packages? Are they domestic, international? Would you benefit from having stock on both the east coast and west coast? Some providers specialize in local distribution while others have warehouses all over the world. 2. Costs: what is the initial set-up fee, are they penalties for not meeting minimums, can you save money as you grow? 3. Integration: As I mentioned earlier, start with existing integrations. To name a few, Shipwire (found in the admin) & Fulfillrite (found in the App Store) have one-click integrations to your Shopify store. Simply reach out to them and ask for a quote (and don't forget to mention you are a Shopify merchants)!

[Amy_Sumrall]

Thanks for the replies.... I will explore the option. I work out of my home and am really running out of room for the inventory, not to mention the hours I spend pacing orders every day.

[criswhite]

Many people probably bought gifts online recently and some probably also opted for optional online gift wrapping, where the retailer wraps it before shipping. In writing it is a good idea, but in reality it is waste of cash, namely since the included shipping receipt reveals what the gift is. Learn more at: "Skip online gift wrapping"

[Bob_Sellers]

In terms of packaging, it's all a matter of PROCESSes.   As an ISO9001 certified operation, we've done complex packaging for everything from prescription drugs to food.  One of our clients is a catalog marketer who sells corporate gift baskets.  We flawlessly processed over 30,000 orders a month during Christmas season for them (as they would testify to).   Brennan is right.  Depending on what you ship, where YOUR CUSTOMERS are, and your order volume, a 3PL can actually help you save $ and free you up to do more "core business" things like marketing.

[MarkG143]

The best option that I have found is Librex Fulfillment. They are the most cost-effective option I have found. I ship about 900 orders a day with them and have not had any issues with them. Also, they are very responsive when it comes to customer support.