Automating the Heavy Lifting of Ecommerce Marketing Through Fulfillment Services

There are a lot of parts to the “machine” that is operating an e-commerce company.

You have:

· Sourcing, acquiring, or producing product

· Operating, updating, and streamlining the website

· Customer service

· Sales

· Fulfillment

· Marketing

The list goes on and on.

Even for a team, the task of managing even a small e-commerce operation can put a large strain if just a single member isn’t present (or worse … quits without notice). You could go one level deeper and consider how difficult this may be for a very small business trying to sell its products online.

A call for automation 

We use computers (and technology) because it makes our lives easier (especially with work). The same principle can be applied to operating an e-commerce store. The use of automated tools such as a fulfillment productcan dramatically reduce the stress caused by order management, shipping, warehousing, and other critical business functions.

 Automating a large segment of your ecommerce operation will allow you (and team members) to focus on the high ROI elements of business such as sales, partnerships, and marketing efforts.

 Welcome to the world of fulfillment 

If your company has hopes and dreams of competing on a level such as Amazon, which has a mind-boggling warehouse and picking process, then you’re in luck because there are many services available to small businesses that wish to handle the various elements of e-commerce through an external fulfillment service.

See if you can spot the benefits:

· Products can be stored at warehouses around the world thus reducing the cost and time required to ship a product.

· Automation to streamline the shipping process in terms of choosing a flexible carrier.

· The ability to partner with other businesses through the platform or create new divisions of the business to capture foreign markets.

· Flexibility during peak shopping times such as major holidays and events.

· Removal of a time-consuming element of operation which allows oneself to focus on other important areas of the business.

Integration of a fulfillment service has been streamlined; the service can fit within existing programs and e-commerce solutions. An interface is also given to the subscriber to keep track of inventory and keep an eye on the operations.

 Pricing for such systems are often staged between the setup, processing, and subscription. For instance, you are generally charged for the storage space by the foot. You will also see fees associated with the picking and packing of each item and a cost for each product that is processed.

 A small business that rarely ships product online may not have a need for such a service but those that have seen a rise in their online ordering can certainly see the benefits by outsourcing this main element of business. Even so, e-commerce is going to shape the world as we know it due to an opening of the global markets. You no longer need to stick to your local consumers because the option is readily available to expand globally through the use of the Web, e-commerce solutions, and fulfillment services.

 In all, you can do your business a major favor by exploring the options. Removing the logistical element of a business can free up a great deal of time best spent elsewhere … and it’s not that expensive to get started.

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