5 Tips to Pick Fulfillment Company
Is your business growing and products are flying off the shelves? If so you are probably noticing that more and more of your time, which is already limited, is being spent on the details of packaging and shipping.
This is a sign it is time to find a fulfillment partner to keep your business growing and running smoothly.
However, this isn’t a decision that can be taken lightly. Your product shipments and customer satisfaction are at stake and you can’t just have anyone handling this.
Here are some tips that will ensure you pick a partner to live up to your companies success:
- Check their Track Record
A lot of companies will promote themselves as order fulfillment companies when in reality they are just warehouses that are trying to add on services. These types of companies have little experience with inventory management, product reordering, shipping regulations, etc.
You want to make sure you are partnering with a company that has lots of experience and expertise in fulfillment. This will typically mean they have the ability to grow these logistics as you grow as a company without any sacrifice of quality to your customers.
Choose a company that has a long history in the fulfillment space.
- Review their Pick-Error Rate
Like anything in life and business, not every fulfillment company performs to the same level.
The industry average for pick-error rate (shipping the wrong item) is about 1%. That may sound pretty good, but keep in mind that this is the average meaning many companies are far below that as well as even at 1% if you are shipping hundreds or thousands of items those errors add up.
Find a partner with a pick-error rate as close to 0% as possible.
- Ask to see their Process
An expert fulfillment company separates itself with operational excellence. This means they should have well documented and tested processes in place for fulfilling orders on time and accurately.
They should be proud of this process and proud to share it. Study this process to see if it looks simple and makes sense.
- Test the Support Line
Of course when you ask a sales person how the service is they will say it is the best in the business, but how can you be sure?
The only way to know is too give it a test drive. Try calling the support line. How long does it ring? Who answers? Are they friendly?
- Ask for References
Like testing the support line, the proof is in the pudding when it comes to service. Ask the company you are considering if you can talk to some current customers. They should have nothing to hide and be excited that you want to talk their customers.
Choosing the right fulfillment company could be on of your most important decisions. Take the time to research these partners to avoid issues that could have been avoided.