Marketing Tips From Cheri Cowell
Fulfillment companies, also known as third party logistics companies (3PL), act as contracted warehousing and shipping departments for other businesses, and may be a good choice for you if you have ancillary products to sell in combination with your books. This is a primer on fulfillment services.
How it works:
Here is a short overview of the steps involved.
- Your inventory is delivered to the warehouse
- The fulfillment company tags and stores your inventory
- Your website or Point of Sale (POS) system is set up to process through your fulfillment house
- Orders are received via your e-commerce site or POS system
- Orders are packed and shipped
- Fulfillment house handles returns and paperwork
How you are charged:
There are four main fees to understand. Not all companies charge every fee, nor do they charge in the same way. For instance, some companies charge storage fees by weight while others charge by space.
- Receiving fees
- Storage fees
- Pick and Pack fees
- Shipping fees
There are five primary fulfillment companies to compare. There are also several articles online that compare many of these companies in a side-by-side fee table. So do your homework.
ShipBob, Shopify, Webgistix, Redstag, Fulfillment by Amazon
I don’t have personal experience with any of these, but have author friends who are researching this option now. If you have experience, please share. We benefit from hearing/learning from one another.
Cheri Cowell is the author of a new devotional book, 365 Devotions for Peace, released from Zondervan. Her Bible study Parables and Word Pictures in the AMG Following God Bible study series is a favorite in bookstores everywhere. Her new Bible study One Story, One Mission, One God released in June. Check out her website to learn more www.CheriCowell.com
Connect with Cheri Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and you can read her blogs on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month Cheri’s Blog