Just How Complicated is eCommerce Fulfillment?

Often, when someone chooses to start up a brand new ecommerce-based business, he or she will jump in headfirst and tackle every aspect of that business. While this often works for a while, as he or she gains more customers, management and fulfillment becomes far more complicated. Here are some of the things you should consider when it comes to fulfillment and its unique challenges. 

International Fulfillment Gets Tricky

Depending on the nature of your business and the product or service you sell, transactions with people in other countries can get downright tricky. The internet is wonderful in that it allows you to sell to the entire world, but the rules and paperwork associated with international trade and sales is enough to drive you mad. You must be able to calculate shipping fees, learn the law in every country you ship to, and research customs, taxes, VAT, and more. Small mistakes can lead to big problems. 

Administrative Errors Can Make or Break Your Business

Being successful as an ecommerce business requires developing trust with your customers, but if you continue to have issues with getting an item out of your storage or warehouse and into your buyers’ hands, that trust can be destroyed before it even has a chance to get started. Administrative errors are the main cause of logistical failures, and even simple errors like mistyped addresses or mis-clicked shipping methods can wreak havoc on your company. Any mistake anywhere in the supply chain is devastating. 

Understock and Overstock is Hard to Avoid

If a customer orders from you, but you don’t have anything to send the next day when the order is processed, this is a serious problem. You can offer your customer a refund, but this just isn’t the same. You’ve lost the sale and, in the process, you’ve created a frustrated consumer who isn’t likely to recommend your company or shop with you again. On the other hand, if you order a great number of Product X but can’t sell it, you’re going to be out a great deal of money. Inventory management is by far one of the most difficult parts of ecommerce fulfillment, and it’s why many people outsource their fulfillment to experts. 

You Will Need to Deal with Shipping Damage

If a product arrives to a customer damaged, this starts an entire string of interactions that are difficult to control. First of all, your excited customer cannot use the product he or she ordered, and this is difficult to overcome. You’ll need to replace that product and cover the cost of shipping. This gets expensive and there’s no guarantee that your customer will leave you positive feedback no matter how you choose to react. Proper packing procedures are difficult to learn and even more difficult to teach. 

eCommerce fulfillment is incredibly complicated and it can be downright difficult as your business grows. Fortunately, you can hire a fulfillment partner to help you fulfill international orders, avoid administrative errors, manage and store your inventory, and even prevent damage during shipping by utilizing the best shipping services and packing the packages properly in the first place. 

 

By | 2020-09-16T09:38:53-04:00 September 16th, 2020|Categories: Fulfillment|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

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