E-commerce is now one of the preferred sales channels for commercial activities thanks to the numerous advantages it offers, such as low management costs, possibility of selling all over the world, and high scalability potential. However, one of the great barriers that hinders the success of an ecommerce site is the management of logistics. Most small and medium-sized businesses lack the capital or expertise to build an ecommerce warehouse or manage a supply chain that can keep up with growing demand. The simplest solution to overcome these problems is the outsourcing of ecommerce logistics through a third-party logistics partner (3pl ecommerce fulfillment).
In this article we will analyze the outsourcing of the warehouse and logistics for ecommerce, trying to explain what the service consists of and the reasons why it is convenient. If you’re ready to take your ecommerce website to the next level and scale your business quickly, continue reading to find out how ecommerce warehouse outsourcing can help you.
What is an ecommerce warehouse?
An ecommerce warehouse is a place where your goods are stored before they are sold online. Warehouses for ecommerce are designed to store all your products safely and securely, and at the same time ensure real-time monitoring of the entire process through warehouse management software (read “wms logistics” for more information) of the supply chain. It allows you to stay informed on the whole fulfillment process of your products, when they were shipped and delivered to the customer, on the current levels of your inventory and how long you have had a product in stock for.
Why you should consider outsourcing your ecommerce warehouse
Whether you own a business that wants to open an online store, or have an already established ecommerce, the biggest challenge for everyone is logistics management, from renting a warehouse for product storage, to hiring a team of employees who manage the warehouse and take care of returns management. It is clear that the management of the supply chain is a complex activity, difficult to manage independently, and that logistics outsourcing is the best solution for those who want to lighten their workload and at the same time increase their levels of effectiveness and efficiency.
6 reasons why you should outsource ecommerce warehouse logistics
Depending on the business model, outsourcing ecommerce warehouse has many benefits, including lower costs, increased productivity and scalability, and better customer experience. If you are still undecided whether it is worth outsourcing your ecommerce warehouse, below you will find some reasons why logistics outsourcing can be right for you.
Costs: delegating the logistics management of your ecommerce means relying on a specialized partner who offers strategic assets at a lower price.
Quality: when warehouse management is outsourced, one of the main advantages is improvement in the quality of the shipping service (shorter delivery times, automatic tracking links, etc.) and consequently in customer satisfaction.
Time: warehouse management and fulfillment are complex and time-consuming operations. They require constant attention which takes up a lot of time. Delegating this aspect allows you to focus more on your core business.
Increased productivity: by relying on a 3pl you can expect a clear increase in productivity. This is because an experienced logistics partner can leverage their own assets and technology to achieve higher levels of efficiency.
Flexibility: while it is possible to manage these operations in-house, it is difficult to keep up with the constant increase in market demand. This is because you do not have the operational capacity to support such logistical operations. When you outsource your warehouse, scaling operations to meet increased demand will no longer be a problem.
Fully streamlined operations: the fulfillment process consists of several elements, including shipping, logistics, picking and packing, inventory management, quality control and customer service. These operations can be optimized thanks to a 3pl.
Outsourcing your e-commerce warehouse can give you the flexibility and time you need to focus on other aspects of your business, such as marketing, product development and optimizing your sales process.
Conclusion
To create a successful ecommerce, it is necessary to find a way to increase logistics efficiency and at the same time reduce costs. Not having an efficient supply chain can significantly slow down business growth, this is because meeting customer expectations is essential for the success of an online store, where the only physical point of contact between the business and the end customer passes right through logistics. Therefore, if a customer receives a purchased product that is not packaged properly or that never arrived, your business will suffer.
For this reason, outsourcing ecommerce logistics will allow you to process orders efficiently and with fewer errors, so that you can focus more on your core business without neglecting quality in the distribution phase of your product.
