5 Things to Consider When Choosing an ECommerce Fulfillment Service for your Business
To build a successful business in the world of digital commerce, selecting the right eCommerce fulfillment service is more important than you think. Order fulfillment for eCommerce has the power to make or ruin your business. A reliable and fast eCommerce fulfillment partner can help you gain a loyal customer base and increase your revenue in no time. On the other hand, several promising startups have had to shut shop due to poor reputations from sub-par fulfillment services.
That said, choosing the ideal eCommerce fulfillment service is not an easy task. The process of fulfillment involves a series of essential aspects — from order processing, inventory management, efficient packaging, timely pickups, live tracking, and on-time delivery to the customer’s doorstep. For growing businesses, the fulfillment process is more complex with additional requirements like seamless COD management, proper handling of RTOs, reduction in failed delivery attempts, and much more.
As an entrepreneur, you have a lot on your plate. Spending days choosing an eCommerce fulfillment service is definitely not a feasible option. To make it easier, we have compiled an exhaustive checklist — to help you find the right eCommerce fulfillment service for your business. Simply put, if your logistics fulfillment partner is not checking all the boxes, it is probably time to look for a replacement.
1. Fast Delivery Speed
A 2021 Global Consumer Survey by PWC revealed that 41% of consumers are willing to pay extra for same-day delivery. In fact, a high number of customers don’t mind paying an additional charge to receive their items within 3-4 hours.
Top eCommerce fulfillment services today include offering same-day and next-day delivery options in Tier 1 as well as Tier 2 and 3 cities. For instance, at CABT logistics, we enable same-day delivery for businesses across 1000+ active cities in India. So, if your fulfillment solution is still taking more than 3-4 days to deliver, you should definitely look for a faster and more decisive alternative.
Ideally, small to medium-sized businesses are best advised to go for an integrated fulfillment solution that can provide perquisite like omnichannel pickups, real-time tracking, and of course, same-day delivery.
2. Micro-fulfillment > Warehouses
When finding a service provider to help you with eCommerce fulfillment solutions, the location of their warehouses is an important element to consider.
The longer the delivery distance, the more the delivery time — a simple rule to keep in mind. Doing same-day delivery is difficult if your inventory is stocked in a warehouse far away from the consumer’s location.
This is why the best eCommerce fulfillment services in 2022 are opting for micro-warehouses. These are small-sized storage facilities located in city centers closer to your customers. Products never stay here for more than a day and are delivered within hours to the consumer’s doorstep.
Alternatively, you can also choose a logistics service provider like CABT logistics which does pickups from your retail outlets as well.
3. Ability to scale up on-demand
Most businesses do not record high sales throughout their financial year. Depending on the nature of the products, every business experiences a peak sales season at least once or twice a year. It might be the festive season for some of the summer holiday sales for others.
If your business is more than a year old, you must be aware of the months which generate the highest revenue. The question is, is your eCommerce fulfillment service provider flexible and capable enough to scale up operations during this peak season?
The answer is most likely no if you have chosen a local vendor to carry out your logistics fulfillment. This is where a leading integrated fulfillment solution like CABT logistics can be helpful.
With the flexibility to scale up anytime, CABT logistics has helped more than a hundred brands expand their business across India.
4. Seamless Returns Management
Return to Origin orders can be a headache for all consumer brands, including yours. Your orders are more likely to get rejected if your eCommerce fulfillment service is causing delivery delays or not providing timely tracking updates to the end customer.
To avoid the piling up of RTOs, choose an eCommerce fulfillment partner with an immaculate record of on-time delivery. For instance, CABT logistics’s seamless logistics services have proven to decrease the volume of RTOs and reject orders by as much as 50%. Plus, with digital tracking of return orders, our partnering businesses never have to worry about losing another package to the black hole of returned inventory.
5. Tech-Driven Operations
Last but not least, find an eCommerce fulfillment service that thrives on technology. Manually managing inventory or tracking shipments leaves ample room for inconsistency and errors. In the next 2 years, 29% of Indian companies will go for automation in warehouse management and other technological advancements.
At CABT logistics, we are already speeding up our deliveries with AI-powered route optimization software. Our automated warehouse management system helps in the seamless handling of stored inventory and order dispatch, while we offer a real-time tracking system for all our orders. We have also adopted novel technologies like geo-fencing to reduce the menace of fake delivery attempts.
Experts believe that India is on the verge of a technological revolution in logistics. Thus, your business should opt for an eCommerce fulfillment partner who leverages the power of tech to optimize operations and increase efficiency.
After all, a reliable, cost-efficient and superfast eCommerce fulfillment service can solve all your logistics worries, from first-mile pickups to last-mile deliveries. Sign up with CABT logistics in minutes and give your business the edge over competitors.
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