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If youโre Googling the kind of things that led you to this article, youโre probably realizing that your business has grown beyond the point where you can handle pick and pack fulfillment and shipping operations in-house.
First, appreciate what an amazing milestone that is! Itโs a sign that your company is gaining a loyal following and that the products you provide have found their footing with your target markets.
Next, take a deep breath. There are A LOT of considerations to go through when choosing your pick and pack company. A great one will take your business to the next level. A poor choice can significantly set back your progress. This article will take you through the things you need to consider as youโre interviewing pick and pack partners.
If youโd like more personalized recommendations, please reach out! Our experts have been matching businesses with pick and pack warehouses since 2005 and are attuned to the unique needs of growing companies and startups alike. Weโve helped businesses find the best partners at crucial points in their companiesโ growth, allowing them to expand into new markets and focus internal efforts on making and marketing their products. Our matching services are unbiased, objective and always free to companies.
Average Pricing for Pick and Pack Services
If this is your first foray into outsourcing pick and pack operations, your initial questions probably center on pricing and whether you can keep margins healthy while bringing on additional help.
While prices are going to vary significantly depending on regional and product-specific factors, these rough pricing benchmarks from our latest survey can help you get started in your considerations.
Selection Factors Businesses Need to Consider
Beyond pricing, your business will need to ensure the pick and pack partner you select can meet your needs across the following areas:
- Tech integration: Whether you sell online using Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, social-native shopping tools, or sell to businesses using EDI or a proprietary tech stack, you want to make sure that your provider can plug directly into your process without the need for an intermediary.
- Proximity: As youโre getting used to working with an external pick and pack center, you may want to occasionally drop by their facility to stay lightly involved in the process. If so, proximity to your business headquarters may be worth prioritizing. Otherwise, itโs best to find one near the closest inbound port or in a central location within your sales territory.
- Fulfillment time: With certain products, you can compromise shipping speed to provide more affordable pricing. With others, time is of the essence. Ensure you pick a provider that can accommodate your customersโ expectations when it comes to shipping and handling times.
- Customer service: Your businessโs reputation hinges on responsiveness and proactive problem-solving. Select a pick and pack fulfillment center that is willing to work with you to implement systems around order tracking, reverse logistics, and lost or delayed package issues.
- Shipping courier discounts: Pick and pack companies are often able to negotiate discounted rates on freight because of the cumulative scale of all the shipments they manage. When interviewing companies, inquire if they have any such deals with your preferred carriers.
- Appropriate package sizing options: Ask about the sizes of packaging offered and ensure the options represent choices that are cost-efficient for your business. For example, if you need to ship out socks that can fit in an envelope, you donโt want to be splurging for shipping on a large corrugated box.
- Eco-conscious packaging: If sustainability is a core part of your brand ethos, youโll need a partner whose practices are in line with your beliefs and whose packaging choices represent your business in the best light.
- Preferred shipping partners: Ensure you are comfortable with the couriers your provider uses. If they have a poor reputation when it comes to timeliness and care, it will eventually rub off on your business.
- Service and size: Look for pick and pack services that specialize in your sales channels (B2C or B2B), and choose a company that targets companies of your size.
- Industry specific needs: If youโre shipping products that require climate control or other special handling, youโll want to make sure your pick and pack warehouse has experience dealing with similar needs. Donโt be afraid to ask about specific companies theyโve worked with and how theyโve accommodated their needs.
How We Make Our Recommendations
If youโre still feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the process, weโre here to help. Schedule a call with a member of our highly experienced team or fill out a form and weโll help match you with your ideal pick and pack service, free of charge. Our analysis is independent, completely unbiased, and rooted in decades of pick and pack know-how.
When you get in touch, weโll ask a few questions to better understand your business model and your personal priorities. Our decades of experience working with pick and pack warehouses allow us to maintain an up-to-date database of the industryโs leading providers. Weโll assess which is the best fit for you based on pricing, location, packaging, compliance needs, integrations, speed, and dozens of other factors.
Then, weโll match you with the providers we feel can best meet your needs. You have no obligation to move forward with our recommendation. Whether our matchmaking results in you finding your pick and pack partner or not, you pay nothing. Pick and pack companies pay us a one-time fee of less than $50 to get the chance to quote your project.
Last Step
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