Selling with Shopify is one of the best ways to sell your products and fulfil orders online today. However, all the work doesn’t stop as soon as the customers buy your products online – but where it begins! This is where the order fulfilment process starts and a whole lot of people work diligently to get your products to your customers quickly.
Learn below how the Shopify fulfilment network integrates with Selazar – and why you need to pay close attention to the 3PL provider you choose as your online fulfilment centre.
WHAT IS ECOMMERCE FULFILMENT?
Ecommerce fulfilment is the process of storing, picking, packing, and dispatching customer orders for your eCommerce store. We house your products, organise them, and deliver them quickly through our courier networks.
As a third-party logistics provider, we are a partner in your business. We automate the entire delivery side of your operations, so you do not have to. Because we have the warehouse space, the staff, and the experts in our field, we do fulfilment better while bringing down your costs.
ECOMMERCE FULFILMENT ALLOWS SCALABILITY AND FLEXIBILITY
Outsourcing your operations puts your business in the ultimate position for quicker scalability. One of the biggest reasons companies don’t grow is because they simply do not know how to leverage their money and resources. When you sit down and do the math – the cost of you hiring more people “in-house” and increasing warehouse space while paying utilities and mailing costs, insurance, etc. Adds up!
If you get clear on your business goals (and hopefully that means growing), it’s only logical to outsource fulfilment. Fulfilment services give you more freedom and allow you to focus more closely on other business priorities. You can focus on marketing, customer service, partnerships, or any other element really helps you scale.
To put it simply, you can sell more and work less!
ADVANTAGES OF SELLING WITH SHOPIFY
Because your website is the face of your eCommerce business it is critical to choose a company that offers the right platform for your sales channel. One of the most reputable companies in the space is Shopify – serving over 2 million daily active users.
With Shopify, you don’t need any technical skills. There are ready-made website templates that are easily editable, and their integration library contains numerous other platform tools for selling. It’s really your one-stop-shop for selling online.
Other advantages include:
- Marketing tools
- SEO tools
- Flexible selling tools like coupons & various payment options
- Outstanding landing pages for Google Ads or PPC social ads.
- SSL certification and PCI to encrypt data for heightened security
TYPES OF ECOMMERCE ORDER FULFILMENT
1. SELF-FULFILMENT
Self-fulfilment is when eCommerce brands manage the entire fulfilment process from end to end. This is the obvious scenario for many growing and medium-sized businesses. Whether you have your own warehouse or work from a single location, this can cause unnecessary headaches. This means packaging orders and packing slips and filler and sending them off. This takes precious time away from your operations. Many Ebay and Etsy sellers do it this way and have to personally mail packages which takes lots of time. It’s not as efficient when you have multiple orders and must package items and run them to the mailbox. Delivery and dispatch speed is critical for eCommerce selling.
Remember that eCommerce order fulfilment includes:
1) Inventory storage
2) Order processing
3) Picking & Packing
4) Shipping
5) Reverse Logistics
Self-fulfilment is full of hidden costs that you may not be aware of. As orders increase, more storage is needed, and therefore eventually a bigger labour force. When seasonal peaks happen across sales channels and you’re not prepared, you set yourself up for order delays and significant refunds. 3PLs also negotiate the best prices on courier deals as well so you may not be getting the same discounts as third-party logistics providers.
2. DROPSHIPPING
Ecommerce sellers for Shopify drop shipping UK businesses is an option where the manufacturer sends the products straight to the warehouse. This seems like the most appealing and convenient way – however, there is a risk of overlooking quality checks on products. Sending packages that are wrong and/or damaged is a quick way to lose customers – and revenue. Bad reviews will build up and before you know it, you’re underwater.
Also, if your manufacturer mislabelled anything in your stock your provider will not know what to do with it. It can sit in storage for prolonged periods, and you can lose more money and time. Caution needs to be observed with drop shipping operations. Inventory management is critical for eCommerce warehousing.
3. THIRD-PARTY LOGISTICS
Whether you’re a medium level business or a large enterprise recognised eCommerce brand, Shopify shipping is also managed with third party logistics. 3PLs are responsible for your entire fulfilment process from end to end. A Shopify 3PL provides storage in a fulfilment centre along with necessary labour, materials, and technology. All your specifications in relation to orders will be customised to your business needs and requirements such as custom packaging. Parcels can be shipped quickly and the fulfilment process is handled with expertise. The Shopify fulfilment network offers this – with 3PL integration for Selazar.
HOW TO INTEGRATE SHOPIFY FULFILMENT WITH 3PL SERVICES
There is a myriad of services and operations we offer around logistics and warehousing – making sure your packages are picked, packed, and delivered quickly. However, it doesn’t only stop with the physical operations. We offer digital services as well. We are what is known as a software with a service (SWAS). This is where our partnership with Shopify fulfilment comes into play.
For Shopify customers, we offer digital integration through the Shopify store, easily connecting your website in real-time. Selazar can be found within the Shopify shipping apps. With Shopify shipping apps, you have the option to integrate many services. Once you integrate with Selazar fulfilment, you are digitally set up to fulfil orders. However, the next step is to get physically set up. This means sending your stock to one of our warehouses for the inbound stock process (ISP).
When this is set up and you are a registered partner of Selazar, your custom-built inventory management portal gives you complete control. This is not offered by every 3PL provider. An in-house tech team delivers on key elements by providing our proprietary software so you can easily manage from anywhere, on any device. This is a complimentary service that is offered at no extra cost to you as well. The integration with Shopify fulfilment allows you to sell and manage inventory with ease.
Thanks to features like two-way stock sync, the warehouse is notified as soon as your customer purchases an order. So, as sales come into your Shopify store the Selazar portal automatically updates in the warehouse to fulfil right away. You can easily log in and see the progress of all your orders so that you are updated and aware of what is happening with your stock. You can see when the orders were picked, packed, and dispatched.
The benefit of “in-house” IP is that we allow the technology to deliver the best solutions for our clients in a practical user-friendly way. No more outdated spreadsheets and inadequate warehouse management systems.
No-fuss – Just simple, hassle-free inventory management.
Any deeper questions on the mechanics of integrating your Shopify store with Selazar simply go to our support article.
HOW 3PL LOGISTICS STREAMLINE YOUR ORDER FULFILMENT
Below are some ways that third-party logistics streamlines all the necessary requirements for your eCommerce fulfilment needs. From storage to your customers’ front door 3PL services make life for your business care-free.
NEXT–DAY DELIVERY
Did you know that only 70% of consumers choose to purchase goods based on delivery options? With the rapid implementation of online retail (especially during Covid), consumers want faster delivery. Same day dispatch and next day delivery are becoming the industry standard. What is the best way to crush your competition? Offer quicker delivery. It’s a major customer touchpoint that will win you sales and retention. Our industry-leading dispatch times are longer than the industry standard. All orders made before 7 pm are guaranteed same day dispatch.
PICK & PACK PRECISION
Tech-led solutions to picking and packing orders mean that the right product goes to the right box with the right delivery details. Automating this process decreases errors that are caused by antiquated warehouse mismanagement methods. Technology provides superior solutions that offer 99.9% accuracy.
CUSTOM PACKAGING
For brand focused sellers, do you need custom packaging? This will also be provided for you, down to the final detail of your needs. You can work with a 3PL like Selazar to customise every detail of your boxing needs from custom boxes to fillers, and more. This isn’t offered by every logistics provider, like FBA.
SHOPIFY AND SELAZAR FULFILMENT MANAGE AND SCALE YOUR OPERATIONS
Technology allows anybody anywhere to get a business up and running fast. By leveraging the best software and physical services through the power of eCommerce automation – you can thrive. Shopify is optimized to be your online selling machine. By using Shopify with Selazar, you can easily manage your entire eCommerce business. With tech-first solutions from both Selazar & Shopify – this guarantees efficiency, order accuracy, and delivery speeds that will rival your competition. If you’d like to start outsourcing your eCommerce fulfilment with your Shopify store, set up a free, no-obligation discovery call today.