Satisfying demand from marketplaces

It’s not uncommon for individuals and businesses alike to start trading via online marketplaces such as eBay, and find that they just can’t cope with the demand.

By George Kinghorn from The Storage Place

eBay alone has over 17million unique visitors per month, so there is a huge demand for products just from that one marketplace.

The traditional way of growing was by increasing the fixed costs of staffing and premises but an increasing number of savvy sellers are turning to fulfilment centres to allow them to grow flexibly.

Is this a familiar scenario?

•    You’re surrounded by stock and have no room to grow so you can’t take advantage of buying in bulk
•    You’re continually having to spend time reorganising things and reordering packaging materials
•    It’s a constant stress making sure that you or a member of staff is available to process your orders

Using a fulfilment service can rid you of these worries and offer other services too.

Key benefits to using a fulfilment centre

•    Avoids costly fixed overheads
•    No need to employ staff
•    Pay for what you use
•    Frees up your time to focus on growing the business
•    You can run your business from anywhere
•    Shipping costs can be reduced
•    Cash flow can be helped if you’re importing goods

By storing stock and having it dispatched by a fulfilment centre, sellers only pay for the storage they actually use and as stock levels decrease so do the storage costs.

Dispatch is handled by the fulfilment centres staff at pre agreed costs, so sellers only pay when sales are made. This also avoids the red tape involved in taking on staff.

This ‘pay for what you use’ model is great as it allows sellers to expand and contract with the market without being stuck with fixed overheads. It also allows them the freedom to concentrate on growing their sales instead of spending the bulk of their time managing fulfilment.

Using a fulfilment centre ensures your goods are dispatched no matter where you are in the world, freeing you from being tied to the office. As an ecommerce seller in a connected world, this means that you can even be on holiday whist your business is fully operational and generating profit. Some successful sellers outsource everything and roam the world, as all that matters is an internet connection.

Fulfilment services can reduce your shipping costs as they are able to negotiate better rates with couriers as they are shipping higher volumes. They may also be able to access services that you can’t, as they have a better relationship with the shipping companies.

If you’re importing your goods, then using a fulfilment centre with a bonded warehouse can have massive cash flow benefits. When your goods arrive, they are stored in a special bonded section and you only pay duties when they are removed from this section.

If you think a fulfilment service may be of use to you here are some key questions to ask:

Where will my items be stored?

Your goods will be stored safely and in appropriate facilities. For example, you wouldn’t want rail-hung clothing stored in a dusty environment.

Will I be able to monitor my stock?

Any good fulfilment service will have a software system that lets you monitor your stock levels.

Will I have immediate access to a key contact?

If you have a question, you need to be able to call or email a designated person to resolve any issues. If you have to go through a call centre or leave messages, then it can become frustrating.

What are the costs?

Remember that all sellers are different, so even though most fulfilment services will have a standard price list, you are better off talking to them to get them to tailor a service to you.

What other services do you offer?

It may not be essential when you first start using a fulfilment service but things like repackaging, combining goods into packages and handling returns will almost certainly be something you will need in the future.

For more information visit: The Storage Place