Order fulfillment tends to be one of the most significant cost line items for small business budgets. That means choosing an appropriate growth option for this need tends to be a big decision.

Anyone who has ever spent time packing orders, even if it’s to send a Christmas gift to someone, understands the various issues that develop during fulfillment operations.

• You need to find an appropriate box or container that holds the item safely.
• There should be enough wrapping materials to prevent damage from occurring.
• The labeling and addressing must be correct and properly placed.
• When opened, the item should look like when you placed it in there for transport.

If doing it once seems like a headache, imagine a small business owner who packs dozens of orders per day. It gets complicated quickly!

Most direct-to-consumer businesses start by doing their own fulfillment work. It can be fun to see transactions coming in and products going out, but the need for scalability eventually arrives. 

Are packing, sorting, and labeling boxes the best use of your time?

Steps to Take to Scale Your E-Commerce Order Fulfillment

Every business has a tipping point. It occurs when the value of doing your own fulfillment work gets eclipsed by the time and energy you take to complete that work.

This point looks different for every small business, but the aftermath is almost always the same. Fulfillment operations must ramp up quickly to respond to unusual spikes in demand. A customer wants their items – not a complaint about your logistical issues.

That’s why the best way to scale order fulfillment as an e-commerce business is to select a trustworthy 3PL (third-party logistics) provider. Your only other option is to build the infrastructure needed to hold your inventory and automate as much of the process as possible.

Most 3PLs already have the warehouse space, technology, and automation to handle large-scale fulfillment needs. Some work with specific products or industries, while others provide general support to everyone. The operations should be optimized for efficiency and accuracy to reduce errors in picking and packing.

What to Do After Choosing a 3PL?

Choosing a 3PL is the first step. Reviewing the following scalability needs is the second to ensure your small business’s reputation won’t take a hit because it struggles in this area.

Ways to Scale	Benefits of Scaling This Way
Automation	When your business sells smaller products, it’ll benefit more from automation. This option increases the speed and accuracy of the picking and packing, reducing the need to find temporary help whenever order levels rise.
Paperless Tracking	Administrative work does an excellent job of slowing down scalability efforts. Misplacing an order or typos on a product number can cause significant problems. The best system track products from intake to delivery without any paperwork exchanging hands.
Real-Time Visibility	The best systems let small businesses have control over the fulfillment process from beginning to end with real-time information. Investing in a warehouse management system, either internally or through a 3PL, proactively prevents out-of-stock issues.
Strategic Partnerships	Working with a 3PL ensures that all types of product fulfillment occur. By maintaining relationships with various vendors, it’s much easier to tap into other needs as a small business owner. This benefit ranges from digital marketing solutions to international shipping.
International Capabilities	When a 3PL is outside the domestic border, it’s much easier to scale order fulfillment to global communities. This option reduces the cost of import duties while streamlining the logistics of cross-border management.
Peak Planning Capacity	Working with a partner makes it easier to create detailed plans about volume and productivity expectations. Having a fresh set of eyes evaluate your processes to determine your max capacity ensures that you’re not biting off more than you can chew when considering scalability.
Enterprise Resource Planning	When an e-commerce business achieves a specific size, it becomes necessary to invest in systems that drive costs downward by analyzing data. This need is where most operations reach a breaking point because a 3PL that offers scalability is usually a more cost-effective option.

What About Outsourcing Fulfillment? 

Outsourcing fulfillment is another option. Some e-commerce brands turn to drop shipping as a way to increase e-commerce sales without the added need to build a fulfillment service.

Customers want to know that they’ll get a product quickly. That’s why many sellers work with a large marketplace that provides fulfillment services for a minimal fee. That’s a small price to pay to ensure you get a happy customer!

When you want to avoid outsourcing, the best option is to scale with the help of a 3PL. That frees up more time to complete all the other duties that await you as a small business owner.