While economic indicators continue to be cautiously optimistic, many business owners today are looking for ways to reduce fixed costs and labor expenses to be more efficient. But in a customer service-oriented business environment, doing everything yourself may not necessarily save you time or money.

1. Why It Makes Sense to Use a
Fulfillment Company
While economic indicators continue to be cautiously optimistic, many business owners
today are looking for ways to reduce fixed costs and labor expenses to be more
efficient. But in a customer service-oriented business environment, doing everything
yourself may not necessarily save you time or money.
When your business model includes processes that require special equipment and
expertise outside of your skill set, you are better off focusing your attention on your
strengths and relying on the experts in very specialized areas to keep all facets of your
operation running smoothly.
Take, for example, Product Fulfillment.
An experienced fulfillment provider can focus on all of the details involved in taking care
of your product orders on a daily basis and getting them to your customers quickly and
efficiently, while you focus on what you do best - managing and growing your business.
And while you may think it is much more economical to handle your own fulfillment
activities, consider putting your assets where they will do the most good for your
company.
Housing your product
• Leasing warehouse space is a long-term commitment, so tying up your capital in
warehousing may not be the best choice. Consider, instead, the benefits of spending
that money for marketing or manufacturing product to sell.
• As your business grows, the amount of warehouse space you need will increase.
However, committing to a multi-year lease in your first year of business, to fill your
needs in years two, three and so on, is likely an unreasonable expense.
Equipment
• Purchasing equipment to support your continually growing business is like stepping
into quick sand, i.e. as your business grows, the need to purchase fork lifts, racking,
shipping software, and supplies will continue to escalate. Spending money on these
capital expenditures will continue to require dollars which you could instead spend on
inventory or marketing to grow your business.

2. Human Resources
• Hiring, training and staffing personnel to support your daily order volume is a time-
consuming and expensive task. Adequately staffing for holidays, vacations and sick days
requires back-up personnel who may or may not be available when you need them the
most. In many cases, part-time workers will not consider your needs a priority unless
you can commit to employing them a certain number of hours and days per month.
To gain efficiencies in production, you should ideally continue to use the same
personnel. But your order volume may vary greatly during different times of the year
causing you to use temporary labor, which may not be very efficient. A professional
fulfillment provider can provide qualified personnel year-round who are familiar with
your products and your company's policies.
Go with an expert
Learning all you need to know about shipping options, rates, utilization of space,
software programs, technology, PCI compliance, etc. can be a full-time job; and can be
costly. A qualified fulfillment company will have made all of these issues priorities in its
business and will have the ability to level the cost among several companies. Plus, by
utilizing a professional fulfillment provider, you will have the opportunity to agree to
and expect certain standards of service. You will also know that your partner has an
obligation to adhere to these standards 365 days a year. With a fulfillment agreement
in place, you can advertise and assure your customers of the highest level of service
and satisfaction.