Online eCommerce has become a popular way for entrepreneurs to begin their journey in the world of business, and it has become quite simple to set up an online store through the numerous platforms available (e.g., Shopify etc). But eCommerce businesses require an accurate and timely fulfilment solution to retain a strong and loyal customer base whilst giving new customers a pleasant experience with their store. If you are scaling your business and current order volumes are too much, you may be wondering when the right time is to outsource to a fulfilment warehouse in the UK.
The Difficulties of In-House Fulfilment UK
What some people don’t understand is that fulfilling in-house can be a slow process. The time it takes to complete orders yourself could be better spent on marketing and building the brand. A fulfilment warehouse in the UK is better suited to optimising and managing your supply chain.
Fulfilment Accuracy and Timekeeping
As eCommerce has grown the need for speedy and accurate deliveries are a necessity to having a competitive online store. This is achieved through a solid pick and pack operation. When customers deliveries do not arrive or arrive wrong, this can be the reason for them to buy from someone else. Bad reviews and refund requests also become more frequent and lead to lower volume of sales.
Inventory Levels
When manufacturer lead times are calculated incorrectly, stock levels can plumet and businesses will find themselves without stock to sell. This can lead to unsatisfied customers and doesn’t help in maximising a company’s sales and profits.
Quality Control
Online retailers now package their products in premium, or sometimes personalised packaging. This way of presenting their products is building brand loyalty, especially personalised packaging which aids in the customers relationship to the business. Maintaining a level of quality can help businesses to keep up with competition whilst aiding in attracting new customers to the business and retaining current ones.
Fulfilment Volume
Efficient and effective fulfilment is all about the scale of a business. Once eCommerce businesses reach a certain volume it can be counterproductive to keep fulfilling in-house, without the proper infrastructure. Once in-house order fulfilment becomes overwhelming, now is the time to look into outsourcing fulfilment in the UK, who better manage KPI’s.
Warehouse Management Software
A WMS is an essential part to managing and sustaining accurate picking, packing, and distribution. Once your store reaches a certain level it will become unmanageable without this piece of software. The issue with this is that it can be very expensive and time consuming to set up. If anything happened to go wrong within the WMS it could affect orders and leave unhappy customers.
When Should you Outsource your Fulfilment in the UK?
The time to outsource to warehouse fulfilment will vary from business to business. There are a number of factors these include: product range the business ships, current volume of product sales, SKU counts, demographics such as where the business delivers products too (UK, EU, US).
The number of orders a month can be an easy way to determine when to move stock and operations into a fulfilment warehouse. A solid number to reach would be an average of 500 orders a month. Above this threshold outsourcing fulfilment in the UK becomes simpler as an increased volume will ultimately decrease fulfilment costs.
Another factor to think about is external events worldwide that have a direct effect on sales volumes. Events such as Christmas will have a significant effect on total sales throughout the month. Deciding to outsource in the months leading to Christmas could affect the delivery of the products ultimately leading to unhappy customers. However, outsourcing before Christmas is optimal. One month that may be better to outsource is September due to the lead up to the biggest sales events of the year (Christmas, Black Friday, Cyber Monday).
However, outsourcing is purely up to you and the current position you are in with your business. Good personal indicators should be when you become too busy to do it yourself, when your goods are being stored in, and filling up a space in your house or storage unit, and when your existing fulfilment provider is unable to scale with you. Take some time to look at your current operation and ask yourself “do I fit into any of these categories?”, if so, then think about outsourcing.
The next stage
The next stage is outsourcing to a fulfilment warehouse. This is such an important decision and therefore requires research and preparation before you make any decisions. Finding the right fulfilment provider is essential. A provider that gels well with your business, that is quick and accurate, trustworthy and secure. Please feel free to read our blog on choosing the right fulfilment provider that best suits you.