As an ecommerce store owner, you have to think about various things. For instance, you have to ensure smooth shipping to customers. Besides that, you also have to consider the warehousing and inventory of the products. Luckily, you can take care of these things with Shopify Fulfillment.
Fulfillment includes the storing, packaging, and delivery process of the items. You can do this in various ways, but a leading option on the market is the Shopify Fulfillment Network. Do you want to know more about it? If so, here is a quick start guide to help you.
What Is The Shopify Fulfillment Service?
Storing the products at your property and packing them to fulfill orders is not the most enjoyable part of a business. Meanwhile, you have to consider additional expenses if you choose a warehouse for storage. This also means that you will have to transfer the items to a courier service for shipping.
Typically, you may not have the time and funds to maintain a warehouse. That is where Shopify Fulfillment will help you. This means that you will have to send your products to a fulfillment warehouse or center. The partner will store your stock until an order is placed.
After the order placement, the warehouse will package the item and ship it to the customer. So you will not have to worry about maintaining a location or sending the item to the client. The best part is that there are multiple fulfillment options on the market.
You can use the Shopify Fulfillment Network for this purpose. Besides that, you can also benefit from the Shopify Amazon Fulfillment. The latter lets you operate a Shopify store using Amazon's fulfillment service.
Of course, the Shopify Fulfillment Network operates on the same storage, packing, and delivery model. You can apply for the service and use it after getting approval. The best part is that the company allows you to use the fulfillment option for specific products or your entire inventory.
Benefits Of Using The Shopify Fulfillment Network
Here are the pros of using the Shopify Fulfillment option for your store:
1. One System
The top feature of the Shopify Fulfillment API is that your entire shop will be under one system. Your products will be stored, packed, and shipped by the service network. This means you don’t have to worry about anything except updating your stock at the fulfillment warehouse from time to time.
Besides that, you also don't have to think about taking the items to the courier service. Shopify will deliver the products while you wait for your payment. The one system model will also help you save time and focus on other business operations.
2. Branding Matters More
You should remember that a fulfillment warehouse does not matter much regarding customer satisfaction. The primary thing you should be focusing on is maintaining consistent quality. With Shopify Fulfillment, you can do this in many ways.
For instance, the network allows you to include custom packaging and slips during the delivery. This is something that most other fulfillment service programs don’t allow. So you can make your brand look more authentic and reliable by working with Shopify.
3. Keeps Cost Lows
If you get a warehouse for storing and packaging your items, you will have to pay the monthly rent. Besides that, you will also have to pay the additional money when delivering the item to courier service and shipping it to the customer.
Apart from that, you will also have to pay the staff for managing the warehouse and transferring items. Typically, the costs of these things are higher than the price of a fulfillment service. This is why you can save more money in the long term by using the Shopify Fulfillment service.
4. Multiple Locations
The best part about the Shopify Fulfillment Network is that it does not use one location for storage. Instead, its inventory distribution is spread across multiple regions in the US. For instance, the Wisconsin center will be the command place for handling orders received for Wisconsin.
Similarly, you will be using the warehouse of the region in which the order is placed. If that location does not have a fulfillment center, a nearby warehouse will be in charge. So you never to worry about the order reaching your customer late.
5. Supports Various Channels
You may think that the Shopify Fulfillment service only works with Shopify stores. However, that is not the case. This program is available for multiple channels and orders. So you don’t have to stress out if your shop is on another platform.
Typically, the platform links to multiple channels, including Facebook, eBay, Amazon, Etsy, and much more. The Shopify Fulfillment API offers shipping services to your customers despite their platform for order placement.
6. A Devoted Customer Support System
The fulfillment service includes multiple steps, and things may go south at any stage sometimes. This may be due to technical reasons, staff strikes, and much more. In such cases, your customer's order may be delayed, which can affect your business.
However, you can easily tackle the issue by contacting the program's customer support. The best part is that Shopify Fulfillment Network has an excellent system to help you. You can set up an appointment to meet the entire fulfillment team and logistics advisors.
Drawbacks Of The Shopify Fulfillment Network
Here are the cons of using the Shopify Fulfillment for your orders:
1. Multiple Restrictions
You should note that not all businesses can use the Shopify Fulfillment service. Instead, you have to apply for approval, and your application will be accepted based on multiple factors. The primary requirement is that your store must sell in the US.
Besides that, you should have less than 2,000 stock keeping units (SKUs). Your business should also ship ten to 10,000 orders every day. Moreover, you are not allowed to sell perishable or prohibited products. You can learn more about this by checking Shopify's store policy.
2. Low Customer Contact
Typically, you can form a connection with the customer when shipping the product yourself. However, you lose this by using a fulfillment service for delivery. You also reduce control over the item’s quality to a certain extent as the product can get damaged on the way.
Besides that, the warehouse may also mix the order and send the wrong item to your customer. Of course, this rarely happens because of Shopify's 99.5% accuracy rate. However, unforeseen events can occur at times and negatively affect your customer's experience.
3. May Be More Expensive
Shopify Fulfillment is more reasonable than other services and can help you save time plus money. However, the situation can also be the opposite, depending on your needs. For example, the platform charges additional money for including a marketing insert.
So if you choose to use multiple add-ons, you will have to pay for each of the services. This can lead to high overall expenses that may be more or less the same as the costs of managing a warehouse and delivering yourself. Once you consider this factor, you can make a better decision.
What Are The Other Fulfillment Options?
Besides the Shopify Fulfillment, you can meet your customer demands in other ways. Here is what you need to know about them:
1. Self-Fulfillment
As a small business owner, it is best to choose the self-fulfillment option for managing your shop. This means that you must store the items at your property, such as your home, empty storage space, or another location. You should also pack the product yourself without any hired help.
Lastly, you will have to ship the item yourself by delivering it through your own vehicle or using a courier service. These are the main features of the self-fulfillment option. You must remember that this service is mainly suitable for low needs.
2. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is the best alternative to the other fulfillment options. An external service will be selling you the product for a reasonable price. The best part is that the platform will deliver the item to your client's doorstep.
The best dropshipping service you can use is SaleYee. It has more than 30,000 SKUs and an extensive collection of items. The top benefit is that you will only pay for things that have been ordered. This means you don't have to get products beforehand and form an inventory.
SaleYee also has highly responsive customer support to help you and offers free delivery. So you can make high profits and save more money in the long term. It is also a better option than the Shopify Fulfillment network, as you don't have to worry about add-on fees.
Final Words
This is your complete quick start guide to the Shopify Fulfillment. The network can be used for inventory and delivery. You can also use the warehouse for stores on different channels.
However, remember that the Shopify Fulfillment Network operates in the US only. So you cannot accommodate your international clients. Luckily, you can use a dropshipping platform such as SaleYee to tackle this issue. Once you consider these factors, you can make the best decision.
