Dropshipping, renting a warehouse, or fulfilment? We should also consider how to ship our goods efficiently and effectively when setting up an online store. This is because it is an important factor in achieving positive brand perception and sales success.
Setting up a shop, creating a website, and acquiring customers is one of the most straightforward aspects of selling. Many shop system are available to help us create and maintain an online shop. We may also be able to attract our first customer if we are familiar with positioning or Google Adwords. Allegro is a great place to start a business, even if you don’t want to own it. No matter what route we take, customers will begin placing orders at our shop. What can we do? What should we do to execute these orders?
Organizing your own warehouse is still the best option.
We will likely only need some storage space and the time to pack them and ship them. While this might be sufficient for the initial stages of an online shop, the volume of orders will increase quickly and we will face more challenges. Warehouse-related tasks can be so time-consuming and costly that it is difficult to determine if you are the seller, owner, or just a warehouseman.
Next, you need to find ways to delegate warehouse-related tasks. It is possible to build a warehouse and hire people to help there. Unfortunately, after a few months, a shop may not be able to handle its warehouse work alone. However, the cost of building a warehouse is often prohibitive and unprofitable.
There are other options. These options, which are listed below, will assist us in getting through the most difficult phase of our commercial development without having to invest excessively.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a service that is only available to those who are able to supply their own large warehouses. Dropshipping is becoming more popular. But how does it work? This service allows shop owners to store their goods elsewhere. Many times, we don’t even see the goods we sell to customers. Some or all of the goods remain in the supplier’s warehouse after we sell them. In their warehouse. Our customer purchases something in our shop. We then buy it from our warehouse and ship it directly to him. Dropshipping is like any other solution for shipping goods. It has both its advantages and its disadvantages.
Dropshipping has many advantages
- Dropshipping reduces costs and investments associated with establishing a business activity. No funds are needed in advance to purchase the goods. If the goods are already ordered by a customer, we only purchase them if they can be guaranteed to sell.
- Dropshipping removes the need for warehouse work as it is done by our supplier. Their warehouse.
- Dropshipping reduces time to order execution because the goods are shipped directly from the warehouse to the customer (excluding the seller/shop).
Dropshipping is a risky business model.
- Dropshipping is a risky business. You need to trust the warehouse that will be receiving your shipment. We are not able to control the order execution as sellers. We have almost no control over the shipping date, packing materials and packaging.
- Dropshipping allows the warehouse to have a significant impact on our brand and reputation. This is because the goods we offer our customers aren’t available to us. Our business is based on the assumption that the goods must be in stock at the warehouse. We have no control over the storage method, stock levels, or speed of replenishing stock in case of shortages. If we sell goods that aren’t in stock, we must face legal consequences. The customer doesn’t have to know how online shops work. They only know that they ordered the goods, but have not yet received them or that they received them after a delay.
A warehouse can be rented
Renting a warehouse or renting a portion of it allows us to store our goods and do all other warehouse-related tasks. It’s almost like having our own warehouse. The only difference is that the cost of renting a warehouse is lower than the initial investment to build it. It does not change the fact that we still need to hire people, train them, and manage their work. We must also organise our goods’ supply and shipment on our own, which is contrary to dropshipping.
This means that in addition to the cost of the warehouse, we have to fill it up with goods. In turn, it is necessary that stock be invested and that the warehouse’s rotation is managed. This is not much different from independent warehouse management. This requires a deep knowledge of new areas, such as. The supply, organization, and tools for warehouse operations (Warehouse Management Systems, warehouse gear, etc.). and the day-today management of warehouse operations.
ADVANTAGES OF RENTING A STORE:
- Dropshipping allows for greater control over stock levels and order execution. The warehouse is “ours” so we have a better handle on this. We are responsible both for the goods that will be stored there and the way they will be shipped. We have complete control over all elements that influence the buyer’s opinion of our shop.
DISADVANTAGES OF RENTING A STORE:
- The need to invest in warehouses, hire people, and other equipment.
- The need to manage and maintain stock.
- The need to oversee and manage the warehouse’s work.
- The need to negotiate with courier companies, etc.
Fulfilment
A third option is to purchase fulfilment services. Fulfilment is renting space in a warehouse and full service. With the necessary warehouse staff and ready solutions to facilitate the warehouse’s work, and sometimes even a variety of courier services. We usually rent space in the warehouse, but also a fully functioning warehouse where the goods can be placed. We, the shop owner, only need to manage the supply and order execution. We don’t have to discuss operational details regarding the warehouse, such as how many employees should be hired and how the work should be organised. These are the details.
ADVANTAGES OF FULFILMENT:
- Fulfilment provides full warehouse services without the need for a warehouse to be built or employees to do so.
- Fulfillment allows us to control the quality of work in the warehouse (packaging, shipment of packages), comparable to managing our own warehouse. We can take decisions about every aspect of order execution, shipment deadlines, and even how to pack the goods without needing to have specialist knowledge in warehouse management.
- Warehouses that provide fulfilment services usually have all the tools necessary to speed up and improve the quality of their work (Warehouse Management Systems code readers, warehouse equipment, etc. .
- Fulfilment services are typically settled on a monthly basis, based on actual warehouse space usage and the amount of work commissioned (e.g. The number of orders that have been executed. The cost of the service is based on increasing sales. The increasing sales will cover every cost.
- Fulfilment is when the warehouse organisation’s efficiency can be improved beyond what is possible with independent management. We pay for the service we need and get it done by professionals who are more experienced than beginners. This allows us to skip the learning stage from our mistakes and instead rely on the experience and knowledge of a co-operating company.
DISADVANTAGES to fulfillment
- Fulfillment does not relieve us from the responsibility to manage the supply situation, and monitor the rotation stock.
- Similar to dropshipping fulfilment, it requires a lot confidence in the company we have given the task of fulfilling certain tasks that directly influence the perception of quality service among our customers.
