How Does Your Business Benefit From Using a Fulfillment Center?

fulfillment center

Are you getting in your own way?

Most people assume that fulfillment centers only make sense for large corporations like Amazon or FedEx. They rule out the benefits that a fulfillment center could offer their small business just by jumping to conclusions.

If this sounds like your way of thinking, it’s time to open your mind a bit. Investing in a fulfillment center may actually be what your business has been missing all along.

Here are 7 benefits that fulfillment centers for small businesses offer.

1. Lower Operating Costs

Think of all the time and money you spend producing and shipping your products in-house. If you were to switch operations into a fulfillment center instead, you’d be able to better allocate your resources.

This could mean you move into a smaller, more suitable headquarters for your team. Or, that you focus on expanding individual talent and specific departments rather than making room for production purposes.

There’s no limit the possibilities available with the money you’d be able to save. But you first have to invest in a fulfillment resource before you can start thinking that far ahead.

2. Accessed to Advanced Technology

Moving certain aspects of your business into a fulfillment center actually opens a lot of doors. It gives you the chance to implement advanced technology and learn about fulfillment best practices without having to invest an arm and a leg.

These are things you’d have to do all on your own if you were to continue to work without a fulfillment center. But, investing in an outsourced solution can end up creating a lot more beneficial opportunities for your company.

3. Partnering with an Experienced Team

If you think about it, investing in a fulfillment center means you’re teaming up with a large group of production and shipping professionals. It’s like you’re hiring all the top talent you need to get things done, but without the costs/risks associated with having these people on your official staff.

Still, this gives you the chance to work with the top professionals you need to be able to rely on. Creating a partnership with a fulfillment center means you have an experienced, knowledgeable team handling all stages of your production and shipping process.

4. Faster Turnaround Times

Speaking of all stages of the process, think about how much more you’d be able to do as a business if you could create faster turnaround times. A fulfillment center helps you do just that. This resource allows you to streamline production and shipping in order to do more with less.

Not to mention, you won’t be the one crunching the numbers anymore when trying to make production even faster. This will be on the team you’ve entrusted with the process instead. Meanwhile, you’re able to work on other aspects of your business while the fulfillment center you’ve chosen to work with gives you important updates and innovative solutions.

5. The Opportunity to Reach New Sales Channels

Here’s an interesting solution to consider: the opportunity to reach more customers with the help of a fulfillment center. Are you struggling to make overseas shipping easier for your international customers? Has an international market not even been a consideration yet?

The right fulfillment center could help change this for you and much more. It’s all about placement and direction. You need to find a fulfillment center that’s in the ideal area to reach all of your current customers and have access to an expanded market, too.

But, you should have a sense of where you’d like to create a market presence moving forward before you decide on fulfillment changes. This sets you up to be in the ideal position to reach new and current customers alike.

6. A Higher Sense of Focus In-House

Another benefit of putting some business responsibilities in the hands of a fulfillment center is that it creates more room for you to focus on other things. As the owner or operations manager, you can shift your daily duties to things like HR, employee morale and productivity, and bettering the overall efficiency of the business.

If you have a team of fulfillment specialists already, you can find new roles for them to take on. Their knowledge of the products and shipping process could make them great customer service personnel, research and development assets, or a great marketing resource.

You may experience a few growing pains during the transition, but that comes with running a small business. This is where your company really evolves and comes together.

7. Less Dependency on Market Changes

You can be as innovative and forward-thinking of a business as you want, but your success will always have some dependency on market shifts. You have to be able to keep up with changes in supply and demand, and that process slows down when you run your own fulfillment.

Working with a fulfillment center means it’s much easier to make changes to production or shipping. Plus, this comes with a significantly lower risk and a better return on investment overall.

How to Optimize the Efficiency of Your Fulfillment Center

It’s one thing to understand what a fulfillment center can do for a small business and another to know how to leverage this partnership as best as possible. You want to be a little hands on when you invest in a fulfillment center, especially in the early stages.

This allows you and the fulfillment team to get on the same page and understand how the other works. It sets clear expectations and establishes a healthy relationship from the start.

If you’re interested in other ways to manage and grow your small business the smart way, click here.

More Interesting Facts, Tips, and News