Tips to Choose the Right Third Party Fulfilment Partner

1. Tips to Choose the Right Third Party Fulfilment Partner The key to manage and run a successful online business, to an extent, depends on the third- party fulfillment partner. The right partner can help your online business reach the next level of customer satisfaction and success. The key to your relationship with a 3PL company is to cautiously assess potential fulfillment companies for determining which one best suits the requirements of your business. At the time of evaluating fulfillment firms, pay careful attention to the scalability, stability, company nature, industry experience, and employee interactions of the company. Reading further you will get to know what to look for in a 3PL company. How a visit to the site can help you choose the right fulfillment partner? Before making any decision, try to spare time to visit a prospective fulfillment company for evaluating their potential as a logistics partner. A visit to the site allows you to see the center of a fulfillment company and experience the following elements by yourself. The demeanor of employees Organization of inventory The cleanliness and orderliness of the warehouse facility Capacity to manage large projects and growing demands The efficiency of supply chain activities The level of care for handling and packing process

2. As you will observe each of these characteristics and points, you will soon start to realize whether the fulfillment partner might or might not be the right choice for your online business. The Power of Reference in Choosing a Fulfilment Partner References make for an important indicator in choosing a fulfillment company. You should look for various references and contact them without any delay. The best way to get started is by contacting the customers who have a business similar to yours or who belong to the same industry. Make sure you ask the following questions with each point of contact? Find out about the biggest weaknesses and strengths of the company How long have you been working with the fulfillment firm? Have you encountered delays with the order fulfillment? Have you been happy and satisfied with the responsiveness of the company to your requirements? The Significance of the Likeability of the Ownership and Employees When choosing a fulfillment partner, you should pay careful attention to the demeanor of the employees. Given that you will be working with them, it becomes important for you to feel comfortable with the employees and have confidence in their skills and ability to fulfill your growing requirements. Here are a few things you should observe Are the employees responsive to each other and you? Do they look happy in their roles? What do employees exhibit – apathy or care in their actions? Do you enjoy interacting with the points of contact in the firm? Scalability and Industry Experience Matter It is believed that fulfillment firms with years, maybe decades of experience, will be able to handle your ecommerce order fulfillment requirements than a firm that is new to the industry. You should pay equal attention to the resources of the company to meet your business’s specific requirements. For example, if you have strong seasonal fluctuations with multi-million dollar orders every year, make sure you partner with a fulfillment firm with the proper scalability. The company you are considering should have adequate warehouse space and the manpower for handling the large increase in orders with time-sensitive demands of the customers. So, keep the above-mentioned points in mind when choosing a third party fulfillment, and partner with the firm that best meets your needs.