Fulfilment Centres

[Burningcotton]

Hello all.

I am thinking of using a fulfilment centre to ship our products (mainly small RM - large letter size).

It's an initial thought, so does anyone know a good fulfilment centre (other than amazon).

Thank you

 

[Roenal]

It depends on your locations. Using a fulfilment company that is geographically local to you will be beneficial for a variety of reasons, such as being able to assess the site and meet with people at the fulfilment company to discuss changes in your requirements.

Another reason why you should go for a local fulfilment company is the difference between your products arriving at your customers’ doors in one day or two. Obviously you’ll want to provide your customers with the best shopping experience possible to ensure they come back in the future, so choosing a locationally suitable company is more important than it seems.

Good luck
S.

 

[waj]

We use a fulfilment centre ( non amazon ) located south of England and quiet happy with their service. Tell me more what you are looking for exactly. Feel free to message me.

 

[owas]

Hi,
I will drop you a pm with our fulfilment contact info readysteadyfulfilment.co.uk we are looking to build up our customer base and would be happy to offer very low cost or even free for first month fulfilment so you can get a feel of how it works for you.

 

[boring-friday]

Whats the best prices people have found for large letters from fulfillment companies? I've looked a few times in the past and can never find anything even close to practical. Costs me a little over £1 each at the moment for packing,post and the small miscellaneous costs, if I could find anything anywhere even close to that I'd be tempted to use one for some items

 

[Burningcotton]

It depends on your locations. Using a fulfilment company that is geographically local to you will be beneficial for a variety of reasons, such as being able to assess the site and meet with people at the fulfilment company to discuss changes in your requirements.

Another reason why you should go for a local fulfilment company is the difference between your products arriving at your customers’ doors in one day or two. Obviously you’ll want to provide your customers with the best shopping experience possible to ensure they come back in the future, so choosing a locationally suitable company is more important than it seems.

Good luck
S.

Thanks Roenal,

Will take the advice onboard. The main reason behind the possibility to use a fulfilment centre to to free up time from packing & posting.

 

[joshgeake]

Fulfilment centres are great if you just want to ship something to your customers. It's fine and can bring benefits but if Amazon can sell something cheaper and get it to their customers faster then...it's probably a bad idea. A firm I used to work at basically applied a fixed ~£4.50 cost to every order exc. any shipping fees.

Personally, I don't like it. If you out-source your fulfilment then it really limits your ability to personalise orders with relevant gifts/loyalty things as well as paid inserts etc.

 

[IanDade]

I would be happy to take a look at your requirements and give you some prices. You can either PM me or visit www.fulfilment-services.co.uk and fill out the "Get a Quote" page.

Ian

 

[Iain Hill]

Hi,

Whilst I parlty agree that it is useful if the fulfilment company is close to you I would say that it is more important that they are right for you. In that they should have the flexbility to be an extension of your team.

I am writing from a fulfilment company and we have customers all over the world. Some have visited us and other haven't. It's whatever works for them/you.

If you have any specific questions please let me know.

Many Thanks,

 

[IanDade]

I agree with Iain on this one. I too am writing as a fulfilment company and we also have customers from all over the world, many of whom have not visited us.

The service that a fulfilment house provides you is more important that the location of their warehouse(s)

The only instance where locality is key is if you are needing to deliver stock yourself, then a local warehouse is good. Where goods come direct from supplier to the warehouse, the location is virtually irrelevant.

 

[Christopher Pearson]

Hi if your still looking please drop me a line, we specials in small to medium size company's

 

[Smiler Jim]

If selling on Amazon, is it best to use FBA? Are there any advantages/disadvantages to using an independent fulfilment service. Someone told me there are hidden costs in FBA.

 

[Iain Hill]

Hi Smiler Jim,

I would say that it depends on what you are selling, the volume and what margin you have.

Worth noting that if you have any stock with them for over a year this could be a problem. You would also need to consider the labelling/barcoding element before it goes to a Amazon warehouse. Generally I have heard that they are a bit marmite, some people love them, others hate them.

My point would be that if you just sell on Amazon and have no other sales channels then it seems to make sense (although you need to do the maths on the margins to make sure it works). Being with FBA can increase sales (as you are eligible for Amazon Prime and more likely for better results in the buy box). However, if you have multiple sales channels Amazon can be more expensive than other fulfilment houses and I hear that it will arrive in an Amazon box for all sales streams, depending on your brand and objectives this may or may not matter.

I am from a fufilment house so if you have ant questions please feel free to PM me.

Thanks,

Iain

 

[Christopher Pearson]

I would personally use seller central over FBA, if you use FBA they can return stock to you any time. We have had stuff back that has had nothing wrong with it and stuff that have been ruined. Also if you sending anything in weight it all and take pictures so you can prove you sent it. Also get individual tracking codes for each box you send.

 

[Christopher Pearson]

Drop me an email or PM me and i will drop you some example prices over

 

[Tomas_FBAprep_Poland_EU]

Jim,
have you decided to go with Amazon FBA?