Order fulfillment, or delivery of goods, is a part of commerce operation once an order is received. Fulfillment refers to those providing the storing of customers' materials until they request delivery to themselves or to a third party. Vendors also provide fulfillment services of requests received form a customer by mail, phone, fax or any other electronic means, better known as “pick and pack.”
Order fulfillment is usually made by contacting the US Postal Service or delivery/logistics firm referrals, although word of mouth from colleagues and partners is generally the best way to find a company in your area, which will work for you. The Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association (MFSA) is another good source to find fulfillment companies and their references.
Some companies specialize only in literature fulfillment services. Others may offer a range of corporate business solutions, such as catalog and literature fulfillment, magazine premiums, kit assembly, hand fulfillment, inventory and warehouse space, along with a broad line of shipping services, in addition to order fulfillment, processing your orders, payments and pick and pack your products.
These fulfillment companies are particularly appreciated by companies with established commerce, e-commerce and telemarketing activities. Doing research for fulfillment services, the most important observation on your checklist is to look at the companies’ profile to find their capabilities. This makes it easier to partner with fulfillment companies that meet your order fulfillment or literature fulfillment needs.
Double check how many years the fulfillment services has been in business, since the better companies are those that have been providing services for a long time, guaranteeing they will not take your money and be gone tomorrow. Although, new companies should not be mistaken for being incompetent, just beginning.
In fact, many of them are just starters but have highly qualified professionals just waiting for the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to establishing a reliable partnership. Continuing with your checklist, ask the fulfillment companies to describe the areas of their business, such as order fulfillment, fulfillment services, literature fulfillment, etc.
Through their description, you can have a better idea of their services whether communicated verbally or provided by means of printed literature. If your business engages an important amount of money in your chosen fulfillment companies and you are concerned about them, check with outside sources like your local Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, Dun & Bradstreet, as well as with the different delivery services they work with.
Reliable fulfillment companies should comprise financial stability, a positive background history, reputation in the marketplace, equipment list and fulfillment services offered (order fulfillment, literature fulfillment, etc.). Companies with quality control processes, postal knowledge and solid service rules in written or electronic form are your best option when choosing a fulfillment service company.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Options of E-commerce Order Fulfillment
With the Internet boom, e-commerce is a top-notch activity requiring more often a fulfillment service. If you take online orders, an order fulfillment service can help you enormously, saving you from the tedious packing and shipping process that is probably not your core competency, as you probably have not had the experience of a fulfillment company you can partner with.
By means of drop shipping, a form of blind shipping of merchandise from the manufacturer to the end-user, fulfillment companies are the helpful hand saving your time. Otherwise, you would have to forward to the end-user the merchandise and the lack of experience on this process may increase your costs and cause delay.
Because time can make the difference between a successful e-commerce business and another closing sooner than you expected time, the choice of your fulfillment company is an important decision that you must analyze. Starting with the advantage of having your inventory stored off-site, order fulfillment enables the small e-commerce owner to store a larger quantity and variety of inventory.
The fulfillment service will be in charge to receive and organize your inventory in its land-based storage service, while you will be able to log in through the fulfillment company's web-based interface to check your current inventory and the drop shipping history of each item. Many online e-commerce sites and small retailers use drop shipment to close their deals, as an example, eBay sellers.
Order fulfillment can be tracked online and even automated, accepting shipping requests via your web-based application, emailing the invoices generated directly to the fulfillment company's storage center, from where the shipping request is received, and the items ordered are automatically packaged and shipped to the customer, in fact, a drop shipping process.
Outsourcing your order fulfillment is convenient, even if you are just an individual running a small e-commerce website. A fulfillment company for small commerce sites, independent vendors and individuals willing to start an e-commerce activity, will be pleased to reply to all your enquires related to order fulfillment and drop shipping, as well as its overall fulfillment service.
A few factors to consider when selecting a drop shipping and fulfillment company is the location of the fulfillment service, size of the storage facilities, shipping options provided, turn-around time, order fulfillment, communication between the company, the distributor and customer service, error rate managed by the company as well as the gross costs of the service.
More than storage, shipping costs are the highest item within e-commerce order fulfillment, so make sure to find a fulfillment company offering you a savings in delivery, and depending on your e-commerce approach, verify if the company provides domestic and international shipping, returns processing, secure payment gateway, electronic support, online ordering, reporting and tracking, as well as a customer service call center.
By means of drop shipping, a form of blind shipping of merchandise from the manufacturer to the end-user, fulfillment companies are the helpful hand saving your time. Otherwise, you would have to forward to the end-user the merchandise and the lack of experience on this process may increase your costs and cause delay.
Because time can make the difference between a successful e-commerce business and another closing sooner than you expected time, the choice of your fulfillment company is an important decision that you must analyze. Starting with the advantage of having your inventory stored off-site, order fulfillment enables the small e-commerce owner to store a larger quantity and variety of inventory.
The fulfillment service will be in charge to receive and organize your inventory in its land-based storage service, while you will be able to log in through the fulfillment company's web-based interface to check your current inventory and the drop shipping history of each item. Many online e-commerce sites and small retailers use drop shipment to close their deals, as an example, eBay sellers.
Order fulfillment can be tracked online and even automated, accepting shipping requests via your web-based application, emailing the invoices generated directly to the fulfillment company's storage center, from where the shipping request is received, and the items ordered are automatically packaged and shipped to the customer, in fact, a drop shipping process.
Outsourcing your order fulfillment is convenient, even if you are just an individual running a small e-commerce website. A fulfillment company for small commerce sites, independent vendors and individuals willing to start an e-commerce activity, will be pleased to reply to all your enquires related to order fulfillment and drop shipping, as well as its overall fulfillment service.
A few factors to consider when selecting a drop shipping and fulfillment company is the location of the fulfillment service, size of the storage facilities, shipping options provided, turn-around time, order fulfillment, communication between the company, the distributor and customer service, error rate managed by the company as well as the gross costs of the service.
More than storage, shipping costs are the highest item within e-commerce order fulfillment, so make sure to find a fulfillment company offering you a savings in delivery, and depending on your e-commerce approach, verify if the company provides domestic and international shipping, returns processing, secure payment gateway, electronic support, online ordering, reporting and tracking, as well as a customer service call center.
9 Tips to Make Your Product Photos Sizzle
If you are selling products online, be it your own online store or in an auction site, good photos are a must!
Here are 9 tips if you want to ensure your product photos stand out!
1. Snap a shot of a portion of the product. It could be half or three-quarter of the product. You don't need to show the whole product. Use a thumbnail of the partial product to attract customers to click for a larger photo.
2. Angle the product. Must all photos be shot from the front and flat straight? No. Angle your camera so it shoots... well... from an angle.
3. If your product is combined from a number of parts, have a separate photo showing the separate bobs and bits. This allows the customer know how it all fits together and what they'll be getting when they buy it. And describe the parts.
4. If the product you sell is tiny or elaborate, show off the incredible detailing of this tiny product. Shoot close-ups of the product and get more of the intricate details.
5. Show how it is used. If the product is best shown being used, shoot the photo with a model using the product especially if it is new or complicated. For instance, having one or two darling children fiddling/using/wearing your products (if they're meant for children) always helps.
6. If you are selling clothes, get someone to model them. If your model is shy, tell him or her to turn their face sideways. Or better, just focus the camera on their bodies. Many people love to see how clothes drape and fit the actual body!
7. If you have the same product in different colours, why not arrange them in a circle and shoot? It's always attractive and at the same time, shows your customers the range of colours available.
8. If you are selling photo frames, why not insert a photo into the frame to make it look lively? Inanimate objects always look better when they're shown used.
9. If you're completely lost for ideas, pick up great catalogues and brochures (my favourites are those by IKEA). Study how products are featured and how they are arranged.
Here are 9 tips if you want to ensure your product photos stand out!
1. Snap a shot of a portion of the product. It could be half or three-quarter of the product. You don't need to show the whole product. Use a thumbnail of the partial product to attract customers to click for a larger photo.
2. Angle the product. Must all photos be shot from the front and flat straight? No. Angle your camera so it shoots... well... from an angle.
3. If your product is combined from a number of parts, have a separate photo showing the separate bobs and bits. This allows the customer know how it all fits together and what they'll be getting when they buy it. And describe the parts.
4. If the product you sell is tiny or elaborate, show off the incredible detailing of this tiny product. Shoot close-ups of the product and get more of the intricate details.
5. Show how it is used. If the product is best shown being used, shoot the photo with a model using the product especially if it is new or complicated. For instance, having one or two darling children fiddling/using/wearing your products (if they're meant for children) always helps.
6. If you are selling clothes, get someone to model them. If your model is shy, tell him or her to turn their face sideways. Or better, just focus the camera on their bodies. Many people love to see how clothes drape and fit the actual body!
7. If you have the same product in different colours, why not arrange them in a circle and shoot? It's always attractive and at the same time, shows your customers the range of colours available.
8. If you are selling photo frames, why not insert a photo into the frame to make it look lively? Inanimate objects always look better when they're shown used.
9. If you're completely lost for ideas, pick up great catalogues and brochures (my favourites are those by IKEA). Study how products are featured and how they are arranged.
Online Credit Card Merchant Accounts
A recent survey indicates that when you accept credit cards online, you can expect your sales to increase by an astounding 50 to 400%. If experts are to be believed, in this fast-paced world you simply can't compete if you don't accept credit cards. For the online web entrepreneur, the most important factor in credit card processing is how many products you think you can realistically sell in a month.
Business firms are often forced to extend credit to increase sales. In some businesses, the entire sale takes place on credit, cash sales being negligible. In certain other businesses, hire purchase and installment payments are the normal practices. Even in those cases where the sales to consumers are on a cash basis, credit is extended to the distribution channels. It is essential for any business firm to evolve a clear policy on credit and exercise proper control of it.
The firm must ensure that customers and channels do not exploit the credit policy of the firm. Credit transactions should not turn into bad debts. Credit has two cost dimensions: the interest on the money involved in the credit transaction, and the risk of bad debts. Bad debts must be seen and understood as an important part of the cost of credit. They erode the profits of the firm.
All credit transactions have the potential of becoming a bad debt. And even if they are sound, credit transactions always have another serious implication-- of affecting the liquidity of the firm. An analysis of outstandings and overdues will highlight the corrective action to be taken. Some firms offer cash rebates to customers in lieu of credit, with a view to reducing credit transactions and accelerating recoveries. Proper credit rating of the client is the fundamental step in credit control. Credit rating ensures that the credit worthiness of the client is assessed objectively before the firm proceeds with the risk of extending credit facility to him.
Online Merchant Accounts provides detai
Business firms are often forced to extend credit to increase sales. In some businesses, the entire sale takes place on credit, cash sales being negligible. In certain other businesses, hire purchase and installment payments are the normal practices. Even in those cases where the sales to consumers are on a cash basis, credit is extended to the distribution channels. It is essential for any business firm to evolve a clear policy on credit and exercise proper control of it.
The firm must ensure that customers and channels do not exploit the credit policy of the firm. Credit transactions should not turn into bad debts. Credit has two cost dimensions: the interest on the money involved in the credit transaction, and the risk of bad debts. Bad debts must be seen and understood as an important part of the cost of credit. They erode the profits of the firm.
All credit transactions have the potential of becoming a bad debt. And even if they are sound, credit transactions always have another serious implication-- of affecting the liquidity of the firm. An analysis of outstandings and overdues will highlight the corrective action to be taken. Some firms offer cash rebates to customers in lieu of credit, with a view to reducing credit transactions and accelerating recoveries. Proper credit rating of the client is the fundamental step in credit control. Credit rating ensures that the credit worthiness of the client is assessed objectively before the firm proceeds with the risk of extending credit facility to him.
Online Merchant Accounts provides detai
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