Choosing fulfillment companies for your business is a complex decision making process. Besides the cost and quality of the services
there're more fulfillment specific requirements to take into consideration. The type of goods to be delivered, the volumes of orders,
warehouse locations and the dependence of fulfillment activities on other business processes all impact the fulfillment services you
will choose.
Digital vs. Physical Goods Digital goods (digital document or software) can be delivered online,
while physical goods have to be shipped to customers offline. Some customers may prefer CD or print over online download for digital
content. Digital fulfillment requires extra experience and special equipment (printers for demand print and CD burners for CD on the fly).
Volumes of Orders The capacity of the fulfillment services should be sufficient enough to handle
the volumes of your orders. Touring the warehouses and other fulfillment facilities will help you assess the competency and capacity
of potential fulfillment vendors.
Warehouse Locations If your customer base is geographically dispersed, the fulfillment companies
you select should have multiple warehouses for inventory to cover all the regions to reduce the shipping cost of order fulfillment.
Dependence on other Business Processes Order Fulfillment is an integrated part of a sales life cycle.
It is dependent on other ecommerce activities - online order placement, online payment processing, customer support and etc.
Many fulfillment companies offer other services in support of their fulfillment core business. You have the options to outsource all backend
processes to third party companies and focus your efforts on product marketing and promotion.
Related Topics
Outsourcing Your Ecommerce Order Fulfillment
Ecommerce Fulfillment Services - Evaluating Vendors
Ecommerce Fulfillment Options
Choosing a Fulfillment House - Fees and Pricing
Literature Fulfillment - Choosing Fulfillment Services
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