Ecommerce is fun and exciting and making sales is the best part! What comes after the sale can be confusing, frustrating and time consuming. You most likely didn’t start an ecommerce business because you love fulfilling orders but regardless, that’s part of the ecommerce equation.
While Shopify is a great ecommerce platform that is relatively easy to use, the fulfillment part of the process can still be complicated. In fact order fulfillment could be killing your Shopify store!
How Order Fulfillment Kills Shopify Stores
Here are a few ways that order fulfillment can slowly kill even the best shopify business.
Killing Time
When it comes to your business, order fulfillment is one of the least valuable things you can do with your time. From marketing to product development, there are a thousand things on your to-do list and all of them add more value to your business than order fulfillment.
A small startup that only has to mail out a few orders each day can handle fulfillment and still have plenty of time for everything else. But as your business grows there’s just no time for that.
Killing Cash
If you’ve evolved past fulfilling orders yourself congrats! Order fulfillment isn’t a time suck on you anymore, it’s now a money pit. Precious cash you could be using to expand your marketing team or upgrade your website is now sunk into a multi-year warehouse lease and all the equipment, materials, and employees you need to operate that warehouse.
In addition, as a small business you don’t have the leverage necessary to get the best prices on shipping materials and prices. If you’re not sending hundreds of orders a day you just won’t be able to negotiate better deals which means you’re stuck paying top dollar.
Killing Enthusiasm
Let’s agree most people (this probably means you) didn’t get into ecommerce because they love picking and packing orders, boxing them up, getting them ready to ship and then mailing them off to your customer.
Sending your first order or two might’ve been fun and exciting but after your hundredth order the novelty wears off quick. If you’re stuck fulfilling orders all day long instead of doing what you love, you might begin to question why you even got started in the first place.
And not only is sending orders a pain but figuring out all the right settings in your shopify account can be so confusing! There are at least three pages of support material to help you set up your fulfillment system and you can still get it wrong.
Kicking Order Fulfillment to the Curb
So how do you fix the problem? Stop fulfilling orders of course. Or rather stop fulfilling orders in-house.
Order fulfillment companies (sometimes called third-party logistics or 3PL) are companies that take care of the entire order fulfillment process for you. From warehousing to shipping they do it all so you don’t have to.
By outsourcing your fulfillment to another company you reap a ton of benefits:
- Save time so you can spend it on what matters.
- Free up cash for better uses.
- Get cheaper shipping and packaging rates.
- No need to hire and manage warehouse employees.
- Best of all you don’t have to fulfill the orders yourself!
What to Look For in a Shopify Order Fulfillment Company 
While order fulfillment companies can be a great partner for your business you need to find the right one. You do not want to wind up with a bad fit and need to switch to a different fulfillment company in six months.
Here are a few things to keep in mind…
Easy Integration
When looking for an order fulfillment company, make sure you find one that can easily integrate with all of your e-commerce platforms! One of the biggest benefits of enlisting the help of a order fulfillment company is that it makes your life easier. Make sure you find a company that will live up to that dream.
Look Beyond Price
Obviously you need to be able to afford the service of the order fulfillment company you choose. At the same time cheapest isn’t always best. Remember that you get what you pay for. Do your homework.
Room to Grow
Find a company that works for you but also gives you room to grow. Picking the right company can not only give you room to grow but also help you grow as well.
The Takeaway
Shopify order fulfillment can be a headache. It can drain your time, money and enthusiasm if you let it. Order fulfillment companies can help you grow your business without the headache.