The success or failure of an eCommerce business in today’s market heavily depends on the delivery options and services the company offers.
While researching this article, I stumbled upon a piece from a website that clearly shows the delivery situation in the eCommerce industry. It said, “It is a delivery-first era of eCommerce”. With the ease consumers now have to order products from their devices quickly comes an expectation — a seamless delivery process.
The research and statistics backing this up are overwhelming. One such study by Ipsos and Octopia revealed that 85% of online shoppers viewed delivery speeds as the most critical factor when purchasing products. A considerable percentage (57%) go on to say that they’ll prefer a same day or next day delivery option.
The question then is: Can your eBay store provide the seamless delivery experience customers so eagerly want?
Whatever your answer to that question is, I’ll be sharing a great system through which you can provide your customers the convenient delivery they deserve through eBay Fulfilment Centers. If you stick around till the end, I’ll even show you how you can get started using it through a reliable company.
What Is eBay Fulfilment Centre?
You can view eBay Fulfilment Centers as warehousing and delivery fulfilment facilities and services run by various companies. They help simplify the usually complex logistics and time management involved in packing and shipping products.
If you’re just getting started in the eBay sales business or you’re already growing your business and need some of the growing pains off your back, these fulfilment centres are a great resource.
Types of Fulfilment Centres
Fulfillment centres can come in various forms to meet the diverse needs of businesses operating in the eCommerce and B2B sectors. To begin with, there are eFulfillment centers that specialise in processing and shipping eCommerce orders directly to consumers (D2C).
On the other hand, B2B fulfillment centers focus exclusively on handling large orders getting shipped to another business. However, there are also fulfillment centers that seamlessly cater to both eFulfillment and B2B requirements.
Within these categories, there are specialised fulfilment centres that address the needs of specific niches. Some focus on product types such as apparel or supplements, tailoring their services accordingly. Others optimise their operations for handling packages, while some specialize in managing bigger products.
The diversity within the landscape of fulfilment centres ensures that businesses can find solutions that align with their operations, whether they primarily serve individual customers, commercial clients, or both.
How They Work
After going through the registration process with the company providing the fulfilment service, you’ll give the SKUs of your products and then send your stock to the eBay fulfilment center. From that point, you will have complete visibility into the status of your inventory.
Although the fulfilment centre will do the order’s choosing, packaging, and shipping on your behalf, you will still be in charge of managing and keeping an eye on your own.
Basically, the service relieves you of the burden of shipping and completing orders. In addition to counting on the service to complete your orders, you can be entirely sure that your customers will receive timely deliveries and tracking information.
Benefits & Drawbacks of Using an eBay Fulfilment Center
At this point, you might already be thinking of some ways outsourcing your delivery fulfilment operations to an eBay fulfilment centre can help boost your store’s growth and performance. To help you with that, here are some benefits & drawbacks you should take into account in your decision-making.
Benefits
Better Logistical Efficiency
One advantage eBay Fulfilment Centres have is their logistical effectiveness. These facilities guarantee quick order processing instead of fulfilling orders entirely from your warehouse, which can cause delays. Due to this efficiency, customer’s orders can quickly be chosen, packed, and dispatched the same day they are placed.
As a result, delivery times will be shortened, customer satisfaction will increase, and customer complaints and concerns with deliveries will decrease.
Lower Costs
Fulfilment providers specialise in logistics, understanding the intricacies of the industry. Because of this, you do not need to make significant investments in technology and storage facilities. By delegating responsibility for these elements to the fulfilment provider, you can save a substantial amount of capital.
Also, by handling orders from multiple sellers, including yourself, fulfillment providers can negotiate for better shipping carrier and transportation rates due to the higher volume. These negotiated rates are often more favorable than what individual sellers such as yourself will be able to secure independently.
Access To Expert Supervision and Connections
With a lot of experience under their belt, outsourcing companies can expedite the order processing procedure, lower the possibility of expensive errors, and guarantee a more efficient process. Since they have seen what tactics are effective and ineffective, fulfilment suppliers have a thorough understanding of the market.
They may even have specialised knowledge of your business, enabling them to develop plans that are tailored to your particular requirements. This frees up your time as a business owner to concentrate on selling your product and growing your company.
These companies also sometimes have access to a solid network that makes international delivery possible. The opportunity to reach a global consumer base is made available to you by this reach, and the possibility for your business to grow. With a more extensive market at your disposal, you get to expand your company and draw clients from all over the world.
You’re Protected
Some eBay fulfilment centres provide a form of insurance on your products. With this form of protection, you can trust that the fulfilment company will fully take responsibility if your product suffers any damage while being shipped. This provides you with peace of mind, relieving you of any burden associated with damaged goods.
However, it’s worth noting that not all fulfilment providers offer this level of protection, so make sure to verify its availability when selecting a partner.
In case you need a better understanding of the benefits an eBay fulfilment centre can provide you, check out this blog.
Drawbacks
It May Not Be So Cost Efficient
While going through the benefits above, you may have noticed where I stated that they provide low costs, yet here I am also placing costs as a drawback. Why? Well, this issue arises from the costs of storage. Paying storage costs might be a minor deal for goods with high sales velocity.
However, when sales are sluggish, the drawback is obvious. You’ll still have to pay storage fees in such circumstances, which might raise operating costs. To make matters worse, some fulfilment centres charge long-term storage costs, which can become very expensive for companies with stale or slowly moving inventory.
Using An Unreliable Service
The inherent reliance on an outside party to manage your supply chain components can be a significant drawback of outsourcing logistics. You’ll be giving up direct control and entrusting the company with handling all aspects of your delivery, and this can become troublesome if the service turns out to be unreliable.
eBay Fulfilment Services Options
OK, now that you know both the potential benefits and drawbacks of using an eBay Fulfilment Centre, you can make an informed decision on how you can use it to your advantage. So, “Where can I find these Fulfilment Centres?”. No need to ask; here are five great fulfilment centres you can integrate with your eBay store.
Globallyfulfill
It specialises in clothing order fulfillment services. The company is dedicated to solving the many challenges the apparel sector of the eCommerce industry faces in terms of storage and delivery.
For those just getting started in using an eBay Fulfilment Centre, the company provides to their experts who can help and guide such newbies through all they need. All products go through a thorough quality inspection and get stored under optimal conditions, ensuring the merchandise lasts long and keeps its quality.
eFulfillment
Receiving, product inspection, inventory storage, and order fulfilment are just a few of the tiresome activities that this service aids eBay sellers with. They support over 700 online businesses worldwide as fulfilment partners and have more than 20 years of experience.
eFulfillment gives you access to a web-based fulfilment programme that displays inventory levels, orders, and shipment status once your inventory has been placed in the warehouse.
They can also assist you in maximizing the return processing procedure, which is frequently a challenging aspect of online purchases. They also notify you of the situation if an order is returned so you can decide whether to resupply the order or not. Additionally, they’ll take care of delivering the corrective order to your clients.
Fulfillify
Since its launch in 2016, Fulfillify has been providing a range of services to help online retailers with order management, storage organisation, and faster shipping. In addition to the basics, Fulfillify also offers kitting, customized order assemblies, and a robust return management program.
What sets Fulfillify apart is that they don’t require any long-term commitments and offer a guide to help in the setup process for first-time users. This allows you the flexibility to switch service providers if you are not satisfied with the company’s performance.
Users can also track their orders, inventory, and products in time from any device, giving them control over their fulfillment requirements at all times. Moreover, the service seamlessly integrates with users’ existing eCommerce platforms and shopping carts.
Cahoot
This fulfilment service is unique in that it lets you divide your goods across several Cahoot fulfilment warehouse locations. Once you connect your eBay store to their software, your business will gain access to free and quick shipping options, a national shipping network, automatic order routing and fulfilment, and visibility into each delivery.
Because Cahoot’s order volume isn’t fixed, you can start small and expand as the demand for your products grows. Additionally, if your customer base expands, they can assist you in placing your product in the fulfilment warehouses closest to them.
ShipBob
ShipBob has a network of twenty-two fulfilment centres domestically and five centres internationally. Its functionality sets its service apart, which caters perfectly to the needs of eCommerce businesses looking to thrive. One notable advantage is that ShipBob does not have any order minimums, making it accessible to companies of all sizes.
Moreover, they offer a growth plan designed explicitly for expanding enterprises. The process of setting up and operating within ShipBobs ecosystem is incredibly user-friendly. You can effortlessly connect your online store to their warehouse network in a few steps and seamlessly transmit your inventory data to their fulfillment centers.
They also hold FDA climate control and handling certification, making them ideal for eBay retailers specializing in beauty, health, and consumable products.
It’s worth mentioning that their storage space can be pricey.
Getting Started With Globallyfulfill
As promised, I’ll show you how to get started with using one of the eBay fulfillment centers. I’ll be using my personal recommendation to anyone who sells clothing apparel, Globallyfulfill.
- List your products on eBay if you haven’t already.
- Create an account on the service website.
- Discuss with the company experts to create a fulfillment system for you and your brand.
- Send your products over to be stored by the company.
- The company then runs a quality inspection on your products to ensure no defective item is sent to your customers.
- After passing inspections, your products then get stored properly under conducive conditions. You can take advantage of their 30-day free storage service to test the waters.
- The last step will be to connect your store with the company’s ERP software so orders can go straight to their picking team.
- And that’s it, from there on, Globallyfulfill takes charge of your delivery system, ensuring it’s fast and efficient.
Wrapping Things Up
Well, that’s all about eBay Fulfilment Centres. They benefit eBay stores looking to provide a great delivery experience for their customers. Not only that, they can help you focus on marketing your business properly since they’ll be handling all the necessary logistics involved in delivery.
