For small and medium-sized businesses that have limited resources for maintaining an in-house warehousing and distribution system, the services of fulfillment centers can be very useful to meet customer needs. Such rapid service to customers is essential for business growth.
The services of fulfillment centers enable businesses to quickly respond to product orders, regardless of where the business is located. Their services include warehousing, inventory management, picking, packing, shipment and delivery. The best fulfillment centers have better storage facilities, better inventory control, and management by using the latest inventory scanning and RF tracking systems. They help to track each product that enters or leaves the fulfillment center to maintain accurate inventory data.
The best fulfillment center integrates the inventory management system with the client's existing ordering infrastructure. This system helps the clients to quickly identify products that are currently in-stock, and those that need to be restocked. Besides, it minimizes possible delays in fulfilling customer orders. With the service of fulfillment center the clients can deliver products directly to their warehousing facilities and ship them to consumers with little or no participation on the part of clients. The fulfillment center can take care of picking, packing, and distribution using the client's own branding and packaging.
For companies that are new to business with limited client base and product demand, the fulfillment centers can provide customized storage space which can be rented based on their needs. This is very beneficial and cost-effective for businesses whose order volumes fluctuate based on factors such as seasons. The services of fulfillment centers help clients to make huge savings in terms of shipping costs. The fulfillment centers are able to ship products in discounted, bulk shipping rates which are not usually the case when shipped by individual companies which ship products in lesser volumes. This results in huge savings on shipping costs for the company.
As business expands, keeping track of all the transactions manually becomes an onerous task. At this juncture for fulfillment management, the fulfillment center needs the versatile Point of Sale or POS management system for ease of operation. The POS management system helps in fulfillment management to track and maintain accurate sales records and to increase customer base. Also the POS management system by keeping a track of the market demands enables the fulfillment center to make proper strategies and plans to face the stiff competition in the business scenario.
A well-developed and experienced fulfillment center can provide expert service at competitive fulfillment cost. The fulfillment cost is comparatively low than the cost spent by companies to maintain their own warehouse and to face competition. So the fulfillment center at low fulfillment cost can offer greater benefits for clients for business growth.