5 Reasons Why Online Fulfillment Services Are a Good Choice for Retailers on Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce
Online and multi-channel merchants have a lot to handle when it comes to their daily business practices.
One of the pertinent issues that small merchants as well as already established names have to deal with is getting the product to a faraway customer in the right condition. The bandwagon effect has brought about a boom in business for online firms.
As such, there has never been a better time to curve a niche for oneself in the online market. With global sales hitting over a trillion dollars the customer base has grown to an unprecedented level stealing a lot of business from brick and mortar retailers.
Small and midsized business can get in on the action too as a class of service companies has emerged to help out with the packing, product receiving, inventorying and shipping. For retailers on Magento, Shopify and WooCommerce this is a cost effective and efficient way to improve their bottom line on a small budget while gaining traction.
Here are the top five reasons why third party eCommerce order fulfillment services are such a hit on said platforms.
1. Flexibility for the Seasonal Shopping Season
[Seasonal shopping activity](http://www.floship.com/goodbye-cyber-monday-fulfillment-tuesday/" target="_blank) presents an opportunity for online merchants to raise their revenues. This, however, means that retailers have to invest in the right equipment to manage the rush.
Third party fulfillment services come in handy at such a time because all the merchant needs to do is make sure that the product is at the fulfillment house and trust the service provider to handle the rest.
2. No Fixed Costs to Worry About
Physical inventory is a must for any business unless it deals in digital products like e-books, digital music files or software.
A garage may solve the problem when the family startup is still catching on but when it grows into a bigger entrepreneurial venture it will require serious facilities and bigger physical space; [adopting the right fulfillment strategy](http://www.floship.com/adopt-right-fulfillment-strategy-startup/" target="_blank) for your startups stage will ensure continued success and avoid headaches.
Fulfillment services turn fixed costs like rent, heating and the likes into variable costs. An online retailer can enlist such services when business is up and forego them when business is down. This improves the cash flow so that it goes in tandem with the sales volume.
3. Focus on Your Area of Expertise
Online businesses often spark from something one is passionate about.
Within a short time the merchant realizes that there is much more to be done than they had imagined.
Outsourcing different tasks allows such business people to zero in on what they do best and allow the rest to be handled by other professionals so that everything flows without any hiccups.
4. Expansion into New Markets
With developing online-fulfillment technology, it is much more feasible to sell a thousand products in a day even for small start-ups on WooCommerce, Magento and Shopify.
Companies that offer fulfillment services can be the key to accessing these markets because they have invested in the most practical and cost-effective logistical methods.
Partnering with a global fulfilment house can also allow you to expand the channels where your product are sold. You can take advantage of platforms that are popular in other regions of the world and ship your products from a full service international shipper at competitive costs.
You don’t have to have warehouses in every country you sell to when you optimize your fulfillment structure.
5. Access to Value Added Services
The typical Magento or Shopify retailer may not be able to handle value added services such as shrink-wrapping, gift-wrapping or labeling.
Rather than take on the time consuming process and still come out with substandard results, it is better to use a fulfillment house to handle all the kitting and assembly even though it comes at a price.
Bottom Line
Online fulfillment services are a gem that small and mid-sized companies can use to handle the safe delivery of products as they grow.
The key is to find a service provider who suits your needs and take advantage of the services available.
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