Outsourcing your Fulfilment this Christmas

If you’re in two minds about whether you should be outsourcing your fulfilment, then the Christmas rush may be an indicator of whether it’s time you do. The Christmas period is one of the most important times for eCommerce businesses and retailers, as you should expect a huge spike in demand during this time.

Customers will be frantically shopping for gifts for loved ones, and therefore expect the best service and fastest shipping. There are much higher expectations from consumers this time of year, and it can be hard for businesses to keep up with these. This blog post is going to dive into the main ways partnering with a 3PL company can help your business this Winter period.

A 3PL provider will store your stock in their warehouse, then pick, pack and ship your orders to your customers. You can read everything you need to know about 3PL here.

Manage More Orders

Christmas is one of the busiest times of year for shopping, as everyone rushes to buy all their gifts at once. Many eCommerce businesses will see a huge spike in orders at this time, and this can be very hard to keep up with and can lead to delays in orders and mistakes being made. The reputation of your business is crucial, so partnering with a 3PL can leave you feeling at ease that your orders are going to be sent out correctly and fast to your customers.

3PL providers operate at huge volumes, so no matter how many orders you have coming through, they will be able to manage and process these orders fast. They will also be able to offer multi-channel fulfilment, so whether you sell on Shopify, TikTok, eBay, Amazon or any platform you prefer, they can fulfil these orders in real time.

Free and Fast Shipping

Customer expectations are extremely high this time of year and being able to offer free and fast shipping may be the difference between you and your competitors. With the rise of Amazon prime, now more than ever customers will expect to pay as little as possible for shipping and expect it straight away, and this can be very costly for a business. By partnering with a 3PL company, they can make this possible for you to offer, at the best price, and fulfilment companies can often give you access to tracking technologies, making it easier for you and your customer to see where parcels are. This will help keep your customers as happy as possible and whilst keeping your brand's reputation solid.

Cut Down on Work Stress

By sorting your own fulfilment, your staff may feel huge levels of stress and pressure around this time of year. A heavier workload may result in more mistakes being made and therefore more unhappy customers, whereas this can be avoided if you partner with a 3PL as picking accuracy is much higher and your chosen 3PL can handle all levels of workload. By outsourcing your fulfilment, not only can your staff focus more on other areas of the business (like building the brand, product renovation or sales), but it can reduce the stress of your staff, making it a happier place to work.

Better Stock Control

It is so important you stay on top of your stock management during the holiday season with such a huge spike in sales. Running out of your best-selling products means you will lose sales but on the flip side, if you have too much stock it can result in extra costs and wasted resources.

By partnering with a fulfilment company, you will have access to high-end inventory systems that track your stock and can provide valuable insights in real time. This is the best way to help you predict demand better and handle your stock levels better. You can use this data to determine which of your stock performs the best, and which is dead stock too, ultimately helping you with your product range.

Grow Your Business

By outsourcing your fulfilment, you can focus your time and resources on other areas of your business in order to grow and scale. From new product innovation, marketing, sales, and exploring new brand opportunities, there is so much more to focus on whilst your 3PL takes care of the boring stuff.

Making sure your business is as adaptable as possible in the Christmas period is very important as unexpected trends and demand will likely arise, and your business needs to be ready. Q4 (and specifically the Christmas rush) is a pivotal point for growth in the year and you want to make sure you’re as focused as possible on all other areas of the business.

Cost Effective

You can save on HUGE warehousing, staffing and technology costs this Christmas by outsourcing your fulfilment. Your 3PL should be able to negotiate better shipping rates too, allowing you to offer the cheapest and fastest shipping for the best prices.

3PL pricing is completely dependent on your company and your needs and you can find out more about it here. Each 3PL will have a different pricing structure, but it will usually depend on how much space you require and how many parcels you will be sending out.

Work With GNOC

Here at GNOC, we are a trusted 3PL provider who thrive in helping brands grow and scale. You can store your items at our warehouse, and our helpful team will pick, pack and ship your items to your customers. You can contact us today, or fill out our requirements form, giving us as much detail as possible on your business, so we can help choose the best options for you. By starting your 3PL journey today, you can begin to grow and scale your business fast, and GNOC will be here to help you every step of the way.