If you are an online business looking for a third party company to help store your products, manage your orders and deliver to your customers then you are probably aware that you are on the cusp of making a major decision.Deciding to outsource these areas of your business will mean that you will be able to focus your time, money and energy on the things that you do best which will also help to build your company.
But, it is essential that you find the right place to store your stock. How do you go about finding a fulfillment company that you can trust? Here are our top five tips to make your search for good warehousing easy and productive.
1.Do your homework. As with any major decisions, the more you know about the industry or field you want to invest in or work with the better placed you will be to be able to tell a good deal from a bad one.
2.Think secure. If you consider all your products in terms of their monetary value and all your orders as having an instrinsic monetary value then you will get a sense of the investment that you are entrusting a third party with. Look out for warehousing that is secure, and a fulfillment company that can confirm that they deal with top suppliers and agents.
3. Consider change. Every business goes through the inevitable peaks and troughs in demand. You need to ensure that your third party storage facility is able to deal with the quiet times but especially with the busy times, so that your business and reputation doesn’t suffer with complaints of poor service.
4.Web savvy. A company that can offer you the opportunity to keep track of your orders and stocks via the web is not only up to date with modern advances but also allows you to keep a handle on things for your peace of mind.
5.Great help. Trained and helpful staff who can be easily contacted will make all the difference in how you feel about handing over this aspect of your business.