{"id":11906,"date":"2020-12-10T15:02:27","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T07:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextsmartship.com\/2020\/12\/10\/fulfillment-company\/"},"modified":"2024-12-30T14:40:45","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T06:40:45","slug":"fulfillment-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextsmartship.com\/blog\/fulfillment-company\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the Roles and Responsibilities of Fulfillment Companies?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

If your online store sells physical products, you\u2019ve probably taken care of order fulfillment and shipping by yourself at the beginning. However, as your customer base expands, you find yourself spread too thin between marketing, customer support, order fulfillment, and everything else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When you realize that you can no longer handle everything by yourself, it\u2019s time to entrust the order fulfillment part of your business to someone else – a fulfillment company.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Roles<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The tricky part is finding a reliable fulfillment company<\/a>. With so many fulfillment companies in the market, it can be intimidating to choose one especially if you\u2019ve never done it before. In this article, we\u2019ll take you through all you need to know about fulfillment companies to help you choose the best one for your business needs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What is a Fulfillment Company?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0A fulfillment company is a third-party logistics provider that not only offers a warehouse but also prepares and ships customer orders for eCommerce businesses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

They come in handy for businesses that don\u2019t want to deal with shipping or those that have outgrown warehousing capacity that they can\u2019t do shipping on their own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Roles and Responsibilities of a Fulfillment Company<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Let\u2019s look at how fulfillment companies work and what they can do for your business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Inventory management<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The first step is getting your inventory to a fulfillment company. You can have your manufacturer or your supplier ship inventory to your fulfillment center. You\u2019ll have to forward shipment details such as the products, quantities, and inform them if they are new or restocked. Make sure all items are labeled with SKU barcode.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If you manufacture your own products, you can ship products directly to the fulfillment company through truck freight or parcel shipping such as FedEx. You\u2019ll notify them about your inbound shipment and provide its details.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Sorting and storage<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Once the fulfillment company receives your inventory, they\u2019ll use the shipment detail to sort and check the stock.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Next, they\u2019ll scan your stock into their inventory tracking system. Most companies use an internal SKU system that uses barcodes and scanners. That\u2019s why you need to label your items before you send them to the fulfillment company.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

They\u2019ll document damaged or missing inventory and notify you. After that, your goods will move to storage. The fulfillment company will track your sales volume to determine the number of products that will be stored near packing for quick picking and those to be held in the bulk storage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Process customer orders<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Fulfillment companies connect their systems to your online store. This integration automatically routes orders and gets the information needed to ship each order.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If the fulfillment company can\u2019t integrate with the system you have in place, you can use a CSV file. You\u2019ll need to upload a CSV file or an account representative from the fulfillment company will do it for you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Picking, packing, and shipping<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

After customer orders are received, the fulfillment company picks ordered items. When picked, the staff scans the products against the order and moves them to the packing area.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At the packing area, the fulfillment company will designate packing materials as well as shipping boxes for safe delivery. Some companies offer customized packaging and kitting at an extra cost. This process is completed by adding order receipts, return labels, or gift receipts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The boxes are sealed and weighed as they\u2019re prepared for shipping. Fulfillment companies then determine the lowest shipping rate that also guarantees timely delivery. If you have a specific shipping method, your order will be shipped per your preference.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Processing customer returns<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Most fulfillment companies handle returns as part of your basic service. However, some companies do this at an extra charge. If you sell goods with a high return rate, you should know that returns processing fees could pile up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

You\u2019ll need to include the address of your fulfillment company on return information in your order paperwork or website. Your fulfillment company will examine the goods and handle them according to your instructions. Resellable goods can be added to the inventory while unused items are scheduled for clearance sale and damaged products are discarded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Value-added services<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Fulfillment companies offer specialty services that come at an added cost. Some of these value-added services include:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n