Warehousing & Fulfillment
The terms warehouse and fulfillment center (or distribution center) are often used interchangeably but can have very different connotations. Both are large buildings that hold inventory for businesses that sell goods; however, the use cases and services provided are often quite different. Let’s break down each option, so you have a better idea of what the best ecommerce shipping solution is for your business.
What does a warehousing solution do?
When we talk about a warehousing solution, we’re referring to a company that stores products for an extended period of time. Our warehouse is a large storage center or industrial space designed to house inventory in bulk. You will see equipment like forklifts and containers, with shelves stacked high and stocked with large quantities of products.
There are warehousing providers that are geared toward wholesale fulfillment and businesses that primarily do wholesale orB2B ecommerce orders in huge quantities. Some large retailers will have their own warehouse(s) in which to store excess inventory, while others rent space in our warehouse in conjunction with other ecommerce businesses.
Leasing warehouse space is typically more cost-effective than buying for mid-sized and small businesses, though pricing depends on the lease terms available. It’s also worth noting that many logistics warehouse tenants can expect to see a 10% rate hike starting in 2021, due to a high demand for warehouse expansion and construction.
Some small ecommerce sellers may choose to rent more cost-effective space, like local lockers or inventory storage units if they don’t have space at home. That way, they keep some inventory on hand and retrieve more when they’re running low.
- Open an account and save up to 70% off freight shipping.
- Pack your shipment.
- Look up your freight class for LTL shipments.
- Get a freight quote.
- Decide on the right speed and service for your freight.
- Decide if you need a liftgate truck for pickup or delivery.
Yes you can. You can estimate the weight of your item and have that send to us.
Use high-quality boxes! Sharp objects or weights above 10 kg? Use double or triple-walled boxes. Do not reuse boxes that have lost their stability and strength.
The four elements required to calculate shipping costs are shipping point and origin, package weight, package dimensions and expected delivery times. You can calculate the majority of postal shipping rates using these figures. With this information, you can compare shipping rates using a shipping cost calculator.
Yes. Quotes expire 60 days after they have been created.
No, rates aren’t final.
- Flat Rates. A flat shipping rate is a specific amount that you charge your customer based on their order;
- General Rates
- Priced-based Rates
- Weight-Based Rates
- Free Shipping.
How do fulfillment centers work?
Our fulfillment center operations consist of the work that helps get online orders to your doorstep — also referred to as the order fulfillment process. An ecommerce business’s inventory is stored strategically in a 3PL’s fulfillment center in preparation for fulfilling customer orders. After a shopper completes a purchase on an ecommerce store, inventory is picked and boxes are packed, then labeled for shipment.
Our fulfillment centers can process both business-to-business (B2B) orders — typically a high volume of product that is sent to a big-box retailer — as well as business-to-consumer (B2C) orders, which are shipped directly to an individual consumer’s home.
When a seller outsources ecommerce fulfillment, the 3PL is completing the fulfillment process on the store owner’s behalf. This includes everything from inventory management to negotiating rates with shipping carriers.
Outsourcing order fulfillment processes to a 3PL can make it easier to manage inventory, improve customer service, and save the seller lots of time to focus on more strategic tasks.
