Fulfillment Service Contracts

When it comes to choosing a fulfillment service provider, there are many things to consider. Asking certain questions can go a long way, but you must also consider that company’s dedication to your company. No two ecommerce businesses are the same, and no two ecommerce businesses require the exact same fulfillment services. Learning more about packages, contracts, and even hidden fees can help you make better decisions. 

Flexibility is Key

If you stop to think about it, every single ecommerce business in every single imaginable niche is different. They sell unique products in unique ways, and they often have unique requirements, too. The trouble with many of today’s fulfillment service providers is the lack of flexibility on offer. Rather than completely customizing a bundle of services that perfectly suits your business, these companies provide you with anywhere from one to three options depending on your company’s current size. The packages often include services you may not even need, and on top of it, they often want you to sign a contract. This is a definite red flag, and it’s important to avoid these situations whenever possible. 

Don’t Forget about Scalability

Another important consideration is scalability. In other words, what happens as your business grows? It’s often easy enough for a company to sell you more inventory space or even increase the number of orders they process for you each month, but when it comes to scaling things back down – especially if you’re in a niche that sells seasonal products – when necessary. If you sign a contract for a specific number of orders and a specific set of services, or even for a specific amount of warehouse space, you are unfortunately locked into that contract, even during the months when your sales slow. Look for a company that offers you plenty of scalability, especially in on-demand warehousing. 

Don’t Sign a Long-Term Contract

If you were to go out and secure your own warehouse locally, you should expect to sign a lease that lasts about five years on average, and the monthly lease payment can be terrifying, at best. If you’re a brand-new ecommerce business owner, this is probably too much for you to handle. On-demand warehousing allows you the option to store your inventory for much shorter periods. In some cases, there’s no contract at all, and if there is, it is almost never more than a year in duration. When you choose the right fulfillment partner, you can access this on-demand warehousing and increase or decrease the space you need as necessary. 

Look for Custom Service Packages

At the end of the day, you want to look for a fulfillment partner that gives you a free estimate based only on the services that you need right now to make running your business simpler. You should also find a partner that is willing to add or subtract services from your package for flexibility’s sake. Not only does it better fit your business, but it also fits your budget and makes it far more likely that your new business will succeed. 

Finding the right fulfillment service provider might seem like a chore, but at My Fulfillment Company, it has never been simpler. You can receive only the services you want at a price you can afford, and you will never need to worry about scalability, flexibility, or even long-term contracts.