Maybe you invented an awesome product, and wanted to share it with the world. Or, maybe you had some business sense and knew you could turn a profit on a particular group of products. Maybe you’re a key figure in small family business struggling to adapt to the digital era. No matter the circumstances that brought you here you’ve got one main goal, sell more product. If you’re doing that as an e-commerce company, you know it’s harder than it seems.
Beyond having a product and digital location to sell, e-commerce companies must have structures set up for inventory management, packaging, shipping, handling, and numerous other aspects of logistics. These tedious activities aren’t what motivated you to become an entrepreneur, but over time you’ve likely learned many of the details that make logistics manageable. The complicated part is using logistics management to actually help your company grow, instead of just surviving.
Complications of running an E-commerce Company
In the excitement that comes with starting a business and developing a product, it’s easy to overlook all the intricacies that will be involved in making your product accessible and desired. Setting up a digital storefront or selling on Amazon is just the first of a multitude of steps that go into putting your product into the market. Of the most intellectually demanding are creative branding and advertising. While running Facebook ads and designing ad copy isn’t the most time-consuming endeavor, developing a coherent brand identity and integrated marketing strategy should be a careful process that can often take months to years to create and establish.
Another complication is sourcing for your product as your business grows and sustains. Whether you resell a product on your website or develop your own products in-house, maintaining a healthy inventory level is crucial. Many small businesses find themselves constantly updating and adapting their sourcing and production process.
Shipping and logistics, the fulfillment aspect of the business, is second only to the physical product itself in satisfying the customer’s needs. Unfortunately for many businesses, it’s one of the more complicated aspects to establish, especially for businesses trying to do it by themselves. Luckily for many e-commerce businesses, fulfillment companies alleviate many of these issues, streamlining inventory management, warehousing, shipping, and into a seamless process.
Leveraging Logistics for Growth
The impact of proper inventory control on profits is substantial. Inventory management doesn’t exist just to keep a warehouse organized, finding an optimal inventory level can maximize the inventory’s impact on profits. Having a space to store your inventory is crucial as well. A proper warehouse with efficient organizational standards assists in optimizing the inventory management process. With an optimized process comes the ability to handle a greater volume of sales.
The same can be said for shipping and logistics. The fulfillment process is strongest when a balance is found between minimizing the impact on your bottom line while maximizing impact on customer satisfaction. Whether you handle fulfillment yourself or outsource to a fulfillment company, developing efficient fulfillment practices makes your whole business more efficient. If established properly, logistics processes are a catalyst for growth.
Developing organizational standards and proper fulfillment processes may not be the most exciting part of the business, but their impact on your bottom line is huge. Plus, creating processes that make your business more efficient allowing you to focus more on the aspects of the business that you take pride in. You can spend more time building your team and establishing your brand, and you’re able to spend more time delighting your customers with an excellent product and superb customer service.