Open Communication & Financial Stability are Essential in a Fulfillment Partner

When choosing a third party fulfillment center, two additional and important issues to consider are the quality of communication and the financial stability of the warehouse.

On the surface, all order fulfillment services may look alike and offer similar services. However, when you take a closer look at their individual methods of delivering those services, there can be large differences. As you investigate the process of outsourcing to an order fulfillment service, you need to really think about what you want and what you need in a business partner to help grow your business.

I’ve discussed several things that I feel are crucial to choosing the right operation. Today, I’d like to discuss two more – “Communication” and “Financial Stability”.

Communication

Communication is always mission critical. There will always be times that require changes in the customer’s address, cancellation of an order or checking specific stock. The fulfillment center that you select must be available by phone, email and fax. You should never have to wait more than an hour or two for any request.

Financial Stability

Your fulfillment center must be financially sound – especially during the current economic environment. You will want to question how much debt the fulfillment center is carrying, if they look and act like a profitable company, their Dunn & Bradstreet rating and whether or not they are willing to give bank references.

There are several other important considerations when choosing an order fulfillment service. They are now available in a Whitepaper on our website. If you have additional questions, or are interested in receiving this white paper by email, please feel free to contact me directly. I can be reached at (708) 587-4116 or kshay@ware-pak.com