Five Tips to Prevent Failing Fulfillment

Not getting your products to your customers on time can derail your business. If your customers are complaining about delayed shipping or damaged products, your logistics can use some restructuring. Follow these five tips to get your business booming without failing fulfillment.

1. Reduce CostsMost online retailers provide low-cost or free shipping to their customers. To stay competitive in the market, partner with a fulfillment company that is able to streamline the fulfillment process in the most cost effective way. This way, you save on overall shipping costs and offer your clients these important benefits.

Manage a nonprofit? SureShip is one of the first fulfillment companies in the U.S. that can utilize non-profit’s status to ship Non-Profit Parcel Mail via Electronic Verification System (eVS) with reduced postage. SureShip provides free tracking on each package. This allows our non-profit clients to reach donors faster.

2. Meet Turn-Around TimesAround 29 percent of customers won’t purchase from an online retailer again if their shipment is late. Nothing causes more revenue loss than delayed shipping. Your fulfillment company should follow the mantra of “Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy.” Processing orders as quickly as they come in and guaranteeing delivery times are great practices, and only made better when coupled with real-time reporting and advanced technology.

3. Get Access to Your ProductsBelieve it or not, many fulfillment companies don’t allow merchants to visit their facility. A good center is transparent about its operations and willing to give you a tour of the facility before you sign on.

Do you know what’s happening to your inventory once it’s being handled by your 3PL provider? After the relationship is established, SureShip offers a wireless Warehouse Management Software (WMS) that monitors, orders and updates the entire inventory in our warehouse in real-time. Our system provides precise inventory reports to our clients.

4. Employ a Winning Customer Service TeamGreat service depends on great communication. You want a team that professionally handles customer calls, informing them on the status of their order and proactively fixing problems. A leading 3PL partner will have a customer service team on call 24/7.

5. Pick a Good Warehouse LocationIs your 3PL provider located in an obscure location? Pick a facility that won’t require excessive traveling just to reach major routes. A facility in a rural location may mean higher shipping rates.

SureShip is dedicated to providing merchants with premium logistic services. To analyze your current operation and see how you can avoid failing fulfillment for good, contact SureShip today at 301-273-1651.

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