Do you have a feeling it’s about time you stopped packing orders? Well, then it’s probably a great time to find a fulfillment center for your WooCommerce store. We’re here to tell you everything you need to know when choosing a 3PL (“Third Party Logistics”) company and why you need to be using the top 3PL for WooCommerce fulfillment.
What is a 3PL?
A 3PL is a warehouse that manages everything from receiving and storing your inventory, to packing and shipping orders, to processing returns for your business.
Fulfillment Services
You’re shipping at least 5-10 orders per day.
Fulfilling orders is taking time away from more important tasks.
Most of your orders are outside of the US.
What are the benefits of outsourcing fulfillment?
Same-day shipping.
Faster processing and shipping times.
Bigger shipping discounts.
More time to focus on scaling your brand.
No need to hire workers to do fulfillment for you.
No need to lease warehouse space or buy supplies/packaging.
You’ll have access to inventory and order management technology.
What to look for in a fulfillment center for WooCommerce?
1. WooCommerce Fulfillment Plugin - You’ll obviously want a built-in WooCommerce fulfillment integration to sync your store with the 3PL’s software. When a customer goes on your site and places an order, the order information is synced to the warehouse’s platform so they can pack and ship the order. Having a direct integration lets your 3PL communicate with WooCommerce to ensure your fulfillment process is seamless.
With OTW Shipping, WooCommerce fulfillment is a breeze! To get started, simply connect your WooCommerce store to our platform and you’re ready to go. The second a customer places an order, we'll be getting it ready to ship out to your customer the same day.
2. Easy to Understand Pricing - Even though there are thousands of 3PLs out there, it can be difficult to be confident when choosing one. A fulfillment relationship needs to be built on trust. Make sure you watch for fulfillment centers hiding their fees in the fine print or taking days to respond.
The best warehouse provide all their rates (including the technical bits) right off the bat and are transparent about how they structure their fees. If you need to open an account or go through a contract to find all your fulfillment costs, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere.
Common Fulfillment Fees:
Account/Implementation Fees – Charges to create or maintain an account with your fulfillment partner. Usually covers support labor.
Receiving – Costs to process and store your inventory when it first arrives.
Types of Pricing
+ Per hour
+ Per unit
Pick & Pack – The work to pick orders from a storage area and packing them into the appropriate packaging.
Types of Pricing
+ Flat rate per shipment
+ Flat fee for 1st unit, plus a smaller fee per every additional unit
+ Flat fee per unit
Storage – Fees for storing your inventory in the warehouse.
Types of Pricing
+ Per Cubic Foot
+ Per Bin/Pallet
Shipping – Carrier charges to ship orders to your customers.
3. Fast and Helpful Customer Service - No one should be driving a car without insurance, right? You should treat 3PL customer service in a similar fashion. You won’t get in an accident every day, but when you do, you’re happy you have insurance to take care of it. With a fulfillment center, you should have an account representative to take care of you at a minimum. You’ll have a variety of requests and questions from your day-to-day operations. Many of these require a direct response from a knowledgeable source in a short time period. If a 3PL uses a support ticket portal, you should know they are not designed to prioritize supporting you. There are a few 3PLs, like OTW Shipping, who will assign you a direct contact in the warehouse for quick answers from the people who are managing your fulfillment every day.
Recommended WooCommerce Fulfillment Partner: OTW Shipping
With a complete WooCommerce plugin, simplified fulfillment pricing, and unrivaled customer service, OTW Shipping is your best option for WooCommerce order fulfillment services.
Click here to receive a quote and get your rates in minutes!
Comments