ECommerce Fulfillment with ProList

March 15, 2022

Online store integrations are a must these days. The changes in shopping availability and access through digital avenues evolved almost overnight when the pandemic started. These changes forced already established businesses to improve upon their eCommerce strategies, and it roughly shoved small businesses into the online retail store terrain. Of course, this opened up the opportunity to reach a wider target audience, but new challenges come with a larger, more accessible audience. One such challenge comes in the form of eCommerce fulfillment options, and that’s why ProList is here to help.

For larger online retailers, warehouse space, shipping costs, and back-end fulfillment options are streamlined in-house. Unfortunately, for smaller businesses, the challenge presents itself not only in the form of necessary warehouse space but in shipping options and integrative online processing and turnaround time for fulfilling those orders.

What is eCommerce Fulfillment?

If you’re the owner of a small-scale retail type business, and you rely on online sales whatsoever, it’s easy enough to start fulfilling orders from the comfort of your workspace. Oftentimes, from the moment that order rolls in through your online cart to the moment you’ve selected your product, packaged it, printed your label, and get it off to the mail provider of your choice, you’re out a minimal amount of reasonable but valuable time and resources. In the beginning, fulfilling your own orders can absolutely save money!

But what happens when your order numbers start to reach 10 a day…or 30…what about 50? Of course, that’s the goal, and that kind of success is what every business owner is out to achieve. As a business owner, this means the need to expand your operation and come up with more efficient processes that not only save your business valuable time but also save on those operating budgets that can fluctuate so quickly.

A seamless eCommerce fulfillment experience means that once a customer hits that checkout button on your website, the order is picked, packaged, and shipped with shipping turnaround time and cost always at mind!

By utilizing an eCommerce fulfillment provider like the one ProList offers, an online retailer can not only house and manage inventory remotely, but highly efficient systems are integrated to easily communicate via API’s to ensure a seamless checkout process and an expedited fulfillment turnaround time. In a nutshell, this means a simplified fulfillment processing operation that takes the stress of packing up and shipping orders off of the business owner’s plate.

So how does this back-end fulfillment system work? ProList uses these advanced systems to talk to and communicate with eCommerce platforms like Shopify, and from there, your customer’s orders are immediately communicated to our fulfillment warehouse. From there, our experts pull your warehoused fulfillment product from your existing inventory, package it up, prepare it for shipment, and get it shipped directly to your customer. It’s that easy! And because a business’s product is located in one space, with an online fulfillment provider like ProList handling your packaging and shipping, you’ll save on packaging and shipping costs too.

What About Fulfillment Shipping Costs?

Retail fulfillment packaging and shipping are two other important factors to consider when looking to outsource your eCommerce fulfillment. With the costs of shipping services skyrocketing with surcharges, fuel charges, and so many other factors, it can be daunting to navigate through the countless options a retailer has when it comes to shipping.

Fulfillment shipping and packaging costs can also greatly impact a business’s bottom line, which is why it’s important to explore and research all options available. Packaging sizes and needs, and shipping carriers can make the difference in how fast and efficiently an order can be marked as fulfilled.

There are affordable options available out there including the USPS(usually for packages under 2 lbs), and comparing shipping options from say, FedEx vs, UPS, and other local and international carriers is sometimes best left to fulfillment specialists. Packaging considerations are also another big component in getting the most for your fulfillment budget. Specialty packing options like specific dimensions and sizes, padded mailers, or other custom packaging in comparison to free and carrier-supplied packaging options are considerations that can also greatly impact the cost of your fulfillment operation.

As is always the case, the experts at ProList understand that utilizing a service like eCommerce fulfillment means taking your operation to the next level. The professionals on the ProList team will help business owners fully understand the scope of services they might benefit from, and we’ll help you make the most informed decision when it comes to shipping and fulfillment costs. We’re here to make this next step in the growth of your business as successful and cost-efficient as possible!