Recommendations for low volume but scalable fulfillment in the UK?

Original Post:

Aurok

Aurok

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  • #1
    Hi everyone, I'm new here. I am in the process of setting up a niche business selling graphite composite musical instrument parts. We are very low volume at the moment and shipping straight to individual customers from China. When the website has been launched, I would like to ship speculatively to a warehouse in the UK and then on to UK customers to make the ordering experience more convenient. It would be good to have a solution that can scale with the business once I start exploring B2B potential. My wife has been selling on Ebay for about 15 years but the fulfillment solution she uses isn't going to work for my products unfortunately.

    If any of you have recommendations for low volume but scalable fulfillment solutions, I'd welcome your feedback.
     
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    fisicx

    fisicx

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  • #3
    How low is low volume?

    It maybe more cost effective to pay someone to work from home picking packing and despatching.

    A quick Google search turns up a whole bunch of 3PL providers who offer low volume fulfilment. Most will quote for the service.
     
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    Aurok

    Aurok

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  • #4
    fisicx said:
    It maybe more cost effective to pay someone to work from home picking packing and despatching.
    Click to expand...
    Yes, this is a potential back up option with some friends in the short term but it's not going to be as scalable as I would prefer. In this sector and in my experience, demand can spiral out of control quickly if a product becomes popular (although perhaps that might be constrained by the current economic conditions). So I would prefer the flexibility that comes with a commercial solution.

    Google searches are a little too haphazard for my taste, I hope some personal recommendations might help save me some time.
     
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    fisicx

    fisicx

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  • #5
    Most people I know using 3PL are high volume businesses. It’s the volume that keeps the costs down.

    A friend works out his shed doing fulfilment and is able to process around 200 orders per day. It’s all very slick with a lot of automation. Are you planning to sell that many guitar necks?

    Consider also low volume 3PL providers may also not be able to scale if your business expands rapidly.
     
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    Aurok

    Aurok

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  • #6
    fisicx said:
    Most people I know using 3PL are high volume businesses. It’s the volume that keeps the costs down.
    Click to expand...
    Yes, I would expect this. I will also need to talk to specific providers to find out what their idea of volume might be and shape my plan around that. But without going into too much commercially sensitive detail, I'm taking things into unchartered territory to some extent.
     
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    Carol Learmouth

    Carol Learmouth

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  • #7
    Morning Aurok,

    I would be able to help you with this if you care to drop me a line. We specialise in helping start-ups get on the fulfilment ladder and tailor our fees to ensure that you are not paying for services you do not need in the development stage. We do not have a minimum order quota.

    When your orders start to increase we work alongside our partner company (who do have a minimum quota) so scale up is not an issue.

    Can I ask how many SKU’s you envisage importing initially?
     
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    JEREMY HAWKE

    JEREMY HAWKE

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  • #8
    Carol Learmouth said:
    Morning Aurok,

    I would be able to help you with this if you care to drop me a line. We specialise in helping start-ups get on the fulfilment ladder and tailor our fees to ensure that you are not paying for services you do not need in the development stage. We do not have a minimum order quota.

    When your orders start to increase we work alongside our partner company (who do have a minimum quota) so scale up is not an issue.

    Can I ask how many SKU’s you envisage importing initially?
    Click to expand...
    Good Morning Carol

    Your business has been under the radar on here and should be highlighted more as it looks like you could bring a decent service to some companies on here that ask questions and are looking for fulfilment companies
    @Ozzy
     
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    Carol Learmouth

    Carol Learmouth

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  • #9
    JEREMY HAWKE said:
    Good Morning Carol

    Your business has been under the radar on here and should be highlighted more as it looks like you could bring a decent service to some companies on here that ask questions and are looking for fulfilment companies
    @Ozzy
    Click to expand...
    Thank you Jeremy. Appreciate the shout out. Always happy to help a new business get going. Fulfilment can seem tedious and time consuming so often hampers growth. But without the ability to get your product to its destination in a timely manner there can be no growth!!
     
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    Carol Learmouth

    Carol Learmouth

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  • #11
    Aurok said:
    Probably about 5-10 initially for demand checking purposes. But it won't be until the website is up and running, and that can't happen until I have the product photography ready, maybe around Christmas.
    Click to expand...
    5-10 is superb. Easier (and therefore cheaper) to store. When the web site is ready and you need more help please do not hesitate to get in touch. Good luck.
     
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    Paul Kelly ICHYB

    Paul Kelly ICHYB

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  • #12
    You could use Amazon and also list the parts on their site!
     
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    A

    AlexS

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    Mar 16, 2026
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  • #14
    Aurok said:
    Hi everyone, I'm new here. I am in the process of setting up a niche business selling graphite composite musical instrument parts. We are very low volume at the moment and shipping straight to individual customers from China. When the website has been launched, I would like to ship speculatively to a warehouse in the UK and then on to UK customers to make the ordering experience more convenient. It would be good to have a solution that can scale with the business once I start exploring B2B potential. My wife has been selling on Ebay for about 15 years but the fulfillment solution she uses isn't going to work for my products unfortunately.

    If any of you have recommendations for low volume but scalable fulfillment solutions, I'd welcome your feedback.
    Click to expand...
    Try fulfilment, they a basically a comparison site for 3pl
     
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