Order Fulfillment "Pick & Pack" Charges?

[Bizzi]

Good morning all

How much are you being charged for your order fulfillment service?

Just shopping around and although the pick/pack/shipping charges are similar, there are some hidden charges that I was not aware of such as:

* Account set up £200
* Monthly management fee £50
* Dispatch emails £0.03

Are these standard charges and have you renegotiated?

Also, how did you find when choosing a company; did their shipping charges vary and why did you choose the company that you did?

Would appreciate any advice you may have..

Many thanks
B

 

[JamieM]

We paid a fair bit more in set up and monthly account management but then maybe our pick and pack rates were less to offset the difference.

If you can list all the charges it would be easier to compare.

 

[MSFB]

3p for an email just takes the <<<profanity removed by Mod>>> if you ask me.

What rates do you pay Jamie?

 

[Daniel.ChannelGrabber]

I would probably suggest looking at Amazon Fulfilment. It may not be the best for what you sell but they are very well priced, have exceptional service for your customers and are obviously very professional.

Using FBA will also rank you higher for the Buy Box which will increase your revenue which may be worth the extra cost (if it is actually more, last time I looked they were very competative).

The 3p dispatch email did make me chuckle though, it seems Royal Mails price hikes have hit everyone

Daniel Williams
Managing Director

ChannelGrabber
Simplified (multi-channel) Selling

 

[Tin]

Please be aware that the OP is asking for advice and any self promotional posts have and will continue to be removed.

Ray

 

[MSFB]

When I said 'my fulfilment house' I meant 'the one I use'. I don't own or run one. If I wanted to promote it I would of just posted the link...

 

[Bizzi]

I've sent a proposal off to a few companies.. I'll update asap.

Thanks
B

 

[Ivanzyt]

We had a nightmare finding a good product handling partner. We sell industrial components (spray nozzles) these are not hugely expensive items but its a complex product set and its very important that the right one gets shipped on time.

The initial concept of our company was to not warehouse ourselves and outsource all the back end stuff. We initially tried some of the larger providers but they kept messing up orders and speaking to anyone with half a brain was almost impossible. We then tried local providers and they simply didn't seem to be able to cope which is odd because we were probably only sending 50 or so packages a week back then but they just could not get it right or could not understand the importance of why sometimes a product needed to be shipped yesterday!


My advice is to seek a company you can develop a long term relationship with. As with everything in business there will always be problems from time to time. All companies are as good as each other when things go well but when they go wrong is when you need a person you can call and get things sorted quickly. This is where the larger providers fell down in our experience.

Don't buy on price. This company will be the last people that touch your product before it goes to your customer is it worth the risk buying the cheapest service you can find? If the price is really cheap ask how they are doing this and what courners are being cut? How might this affect YOUR relationships with your customers?

Match your product to the company you select. This is probably the most important thing. Your needs will be specific to your business. If your margins are wafer thin and its a really competative market then perhaps you do need to buy cheap (contrary to what I said above). If you have fragile products or those that need special wrapping then find a company that has experience in these areas and will ensure that people with that experience will handle your product (this will generally preclude the big boys). I guess the question to ask yourself is "would I feel comfortable running my warehousing / dispatch department the way they do?"

Its not a decision to be taken lightly.


If you are wondering how we solved our pick and pack problem.... well we cheated we set up our own warehousing / pick and pack company!

 

[MSFB]

That's good advice above ^^

There are lots of unforseen issues and if you are working with people you trust it makes things a lot easier.

 

[LinkBright Media]

Dispatch emails £0.03 :| what the heck's that for? An e-mail telling you something's been sent? Jeeez that's weird

I've been using fulfilment services for 2.5 years now. Am currently on my 3rd company and am in negotiations with a 4th one and hoping to move soon.. seems I haven't made the right decision so far but have lots of experience

You didn't mention the two main things:

- storage charges per shelf
- picking charges per order for a single item and charges for additional items in the same order