How To Know When it’s Time to Switch Your Fulfilment Partner

If not now, when?

Switching fulfilment providers may be something you’re putting off for ‘future you’ to deal with. Alas, if there are certain things your order fulfilment partner is doing that doesn’t sit well with you or, indeed, your customers, then maybe ‘present you’ should make the switch now. 

Not sure what constitutes the need for switching order fulfilment partners, then read on!

Is there poor inventory control?

Having good quality inventory control as a fulfilment partner is of the utmost importance and if your current fulfilment provider is not cutting the mustard in this department, this can lead to an inability on their end to receive orders and pick, pack and dispatch them efficiently. Consequently impacting the visibility you have on your stock - for instance, when your items are low or out of stock, or even lost products.

This affects the order fulfilment process as a whole, as orders are slow to be dispatched and your valued customer does not get what they ordered when they expected it to. Therefore your overall customer satisfaction can decrease as a result.

Super slow dispatch rates

As we mentioned above, your customer satisfaction is what really counts. So if they are promised a quick delivery when they order your products on a Monday, but it doesn’t get there till next Tuesday, we have a problem. Again, this may be due to poor inventory control or low-quality technology used by your fulfilment partner that causes your orders to be dispatched late.

Switching to a provider that has the technology to pick, pack and dispatch your orders correctly and on the very same day is the way to go. 

Also, it will be incredibly beneficial to your eCommerce business if you switch to an order fulfilment provider that offers the latest cut-off times for same day dispatch. So, if orders are still flooding in at 8pm, they will still be dispatched that very evening, instead of being carried over to tomorrow's picking and packing list. This element alone provides your eCommerce business with a huge competitive advantage in the world of online retail as your consumers will receive their orders a whole day earlier. Result!

Your current fulfilment partner do not offer sustainable packaging options

If you read our blog on 'The Importance of Being Sustainable' you will know the positive impact that becoming a more environmentally conscious business can have. More often than not, that is what your customers are looking for nowadays. So if your fulfilment provider does not have sustainable packaging options, and you are starting to shift more towards being a more sustainable brand, then you will certainly have to seek out a different fulfilment provider as this will confuse and dissatisfy your customers...and we don’t want that!

Time to join the fulfilmentcrowd? We think so too!

If all of the above issues have occurred over time due to your current fulfilment partner, now is the best time to make the switch to fulfilmentcrowd. Our whole fulfilment process is powered by state of the art technology that makes us all the more efficient, so we can fulfil your orders at a seamless speed.

We are perhaps one of the more sustainable fulfilment providers out there too (and we will continuing to work on this). Our fulfilmentcrowd process is entirely paperless, bar the necessary printing of a shipping label. We also have sustainable packaging available, with the ability to use your own-brand boxes and packaging too, so what’s not to love?