Why Use A Fulfilment Service?

One of the most common questions for any small business owner is why is a fulfiment company beneficial? After all, isn’t a fulfilment company just an added cost? There are occasions when this may be the case, for example if you have free storage, but in many cases a fulfilment company can be either cost neutral, or even lower your costs, if you take into account the time saving. Think of a fulfilment company as your own personal warehouse, without the commitment of a lease, staff, or even contract- and one that’s infinitely flexible so as you grow, you don’t have to worry about infrastructure investment or extra wages. Likewise, if you have a quiet time, you’re not having to fret about finding work for your staff or paying unneccesary wages. There’s also the management aspect- if you’re finding yourself overloaded with tedious repetitive tasks such as order processing or returns that are preventing you from planning the bigger picture, a fulfilment warehouse can take that strain and give you back your free time.

In terms of costs, a fulfilment warehouse may actually prove beneficial: You only pay for the storage you need, so there’s no wasted space. Postage rates and packaging can also be cheaper as we purchase in bulk and pass on volume discounts. You’re not paying for power, security or waste disposal and, best of all, you don’t need to commit to a lease on a warehouse (or you free up all that space in your house!)

Why Small Business Fulfilment Services Ltd?

There are many fulfilment companies out there, some offering a general service for all businesses, others tailoring what they offer to a particular market or business type. We’re family owned and run, and our strengths are our flexibility and our attitude. Working with small brands means we have to be able to adapt what we do to how you want us to work. None of our processes are set in stone- for example a current client requires us to not process any order before 11am, while another prefers to come in and pack his own stock, just using us for storage and shipping services. We’re proud to have a positive attitude, and a personal approach- you won’t be assigned a manager, you’ll deal with the whole team. We’re happy to adapt our systems to suit you, and invest where necessary to make things simple for you. As we’ve been involved in small brands for over 30 years, we’re also happy to help with advice- perhaps suggestions on packaging, regulations, product sourcing- we’ve done it all.

Our core services are stock receipt, order picking, packing and despatch, plus stock storage- more commonly known as fulfilment services. We can also offer returns processing, including grading and reworking returns, plus stock management, reordering, and labelling. We’re able to help with barcodes, printing, product sourcing, regulatory issues and many other issues a new business will face.

Additionally, for some clients, we offer basic customer service functions, website management, stock ordering and invoice chasing. We’re happy to look at any aspect of your business and if we can help you save time or money we will!

Opening hours?

Our warehouse is open Monday-Friday at present but we’re happy to discuss optional weekend working. We ship orders daily- orders placed before 2pm leave the same day. You choose the method of despatch and speed of delivery.

Consultations at no cost?

Yes, of course- let’s have a conversation. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! There’s no fee to start working with us either.

How secure is my product?

Our warehouse is low key, with police monitored alarms and CCTV operating 24 hours a day. We take security very seriously, but you are responsible for insuring your product.

What About A Contract, Or Set Up Charges?

No, there’s no contract, and no up front fees. Once we’ve agreed a schedule of costs, we will invoice you monthly for the previous month. You’re free to move stock in or out as you please. We ask for a week’s notice if you plan to leave- there are no long term costs or hidden extras.

Can You Use Our Systems To Process Orders?

In most cases, yes- our systems can link with most common e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Squarespace, etc. We can also link to eBay, Amazon, Etsy and other market places. We have several options available to us, so if you use a custom built website or other system that’s a little unusual, we’re probably able to work with it.

If you’ve read this far, well done… we hope we’ve answered most of your questions! Don’t be shy- a conversation commits you to nothing, apart from a few minutes of your time. Call us on 01225 430906, or click here to send us a message!