Top 5 eCommerce fulfillment services: Which is best for you?

Using an eCommerce fulfillment service can save your business money and resources.

Let’s take a look at what’s involved in the eCommerce fulfillment process and some of the best eCommerce fulfillment services.

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In this article:
What is an eCommerce fulfillment service? What is involved in the eCommerce fulfillment process? Top eCommerce fulfillment services

What is an eCommerce fulfillment service?

Behind every successful eCommerce business is an eCommerce fulfillment service.

An eCommerce fulfillment service handles order fulfillment. From packaging and storing your product, to shipment, delivery and even processing returns.

What is involved in the eCommerce fulfillment process?

An eCommerce fulfillment service stores your product inventory in their warehouse. This saves you space at your own business headquarters. Additionally, it enables your fulfillment service to manage your inventory. It also prevents you from having to hire extra staff and rent warehouses.

These can be significant investments for an eCommerce business starting out.

Let's say a customer buys one of your products from your online store. This notification of an order will be transmitted to your eCommerce fulfillment service. They will package and prepare your product. After this, they'll ship your product.

During the shipping process, they'll track its location. This enables you and your customer to know its delivery status. Using an eCommerce fulfillment service streamlines the supply chain in this way.

Customer complaints and returns are always a part of the business process. Luckily, your eCommerce fulfillment service is qualified to handle customer support issues. From product complaints to reverse shipping, your provider can sort the issue out. This frees up your time and resources for other tasks.

Top eCommerce fulfillment services

Let’s take a look at some of the best eCommerce fulfillment services.

Top options:
ShipBob Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Red Stag Fulfillment FedEx Fulfillment ShipMonk

ShipBob

For business-to-business (B2B) and direct-to-consumer (DTC) trade, ShipBob is a great option.

With retail dropshipping, omnichannel order fulfillment and two-day express shipping, ShipBob has a lot to offer.² ³

ShipBob’s software integrates with a wide range of eCommerce marketplaces. It integrates with inventory and order management apps and shipping providers too. They also integrate with branding, web development, CRM and accounting solutions.⁵

ShipBob charges for receiving, storing and shipping your inventory. Pricing with ShipBob is quote-based. So the easiest way to get an idea of the costs is by filling out and submitting their price inquiry form.⁴

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

For small, lightweight product orders Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a great choice. It’s also excellent for international business.

Amazon has fulfillment centers in more than 100 countries with global shipping capabilities. You can offer your customers two-day free Prime delivery. You also have the possibility to offer free shipping on eligible orders.⁶

Fulfillment by Amazon comes with a customer support and returns management team.⁶

FBA also integrates with third-party sales channels. This means you don’t need to be an Amazon seller to benefit from them. Amazon integrates with more than 100 eCommerce channels, offering true multi-channel fulfillment.⁷

Amazon charges by size and weight. This makes FBA particularly beneficial for businesses shipping small items.

The fee per unit includes:

• Picking and packing
• Handling
• Shipping
• Customer service
• Product returns

Amazon also charges inventory storage fees. These are based on the daily average volume your inventory takes up in cubic feet.⁸

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Red Stag Fulfillment

For shipping heavier items, you need a service that specializes in this type of order. Red Stag fulfillment does exactly this.

You can save up to 45% when sending heavy items with Red Stag.⁹

This is due to Red Stag's special relationship with shipping providers such as FedEx.

Red Stag boasts a 100% inventory and customer accuracy rate. It offers same-day order fulfillment. It comes with a web-based warehouse management system (WMS). This is for inventory management and returns processing.¹⁰

They also vouch to offer zero inventory shrinkage allowance, meaning that they will refund you in full for any damaged inventory.¹⁰

Red Stag charges $14.25 USD per pallet or $6 USD per non-pallet package received. They have a pick and pack fee of $1.80 to $2.25 USD for the first item in an order and $0.32 USD after that. Storage fees are $0.75 USD per cubic foot with special long-term rates available.

Other fees, such as additional barcoding or packaging, may also be applied.¹¹

FedEx Fulfillment

FedEx Fulfillment is another great eCommerce fulfillment service with international reach.

With FedEx International Connect Plus you can ship to 220+ countries within 2-5 business days. They have experience shipping international freight greater than 150 lbs.¹²

FedEx offers the FedEx Hold at Location service. This allows your customers the option to have packages delivered to alternative pick up locations. There are 17,000+ retail locations available, enabling for pick up flexibility.¹³

FedEx offers returns management and has an excellent customer support team. They offer a range of advanced tools such as reports and analytics. They also offer multiweight pricing. This gives you the lowest price when shipping multiple packages to the same destination.¹⁴

Unfortunately, FedEx doesn’t list its fees for order fulfillment publicly. So it’s best to contact them for a quote.

ShipMonk

For a transparent, easy to integrate fulfillment service, ShipMonk is an excellent choice. They also offer “special project” support. This is for tasks that go beyond normal order fulfillment duties.

ShipMonk integrates with 75+ eCommerce marketplaces, shopping carts, retailers and tools.¹⁵

They have warehouses based in the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe. This enables fast and cheap international delivery. They offer returns management, actionable reports and “special project” support. They boast a 99.9% picking accuracy.

ShipMonk also has automated warehouse technologies. These work to improve accuracy as well as warehouse management system software.¹⁶

ShipMonk has different pick and pack fees depending on your volume of monthly orders. For example, for 0-500 orders per month, the first item in the order costs $3.00 and the remaining items $0.75 USD. For more than 10,000 orders per month, ShipMonk offers custom pricing.¹⁷

ShipMonk offers small, medium, large and extra large bins, as well as pallets. One pallet costs $25 USD per month while an extra large bin costs $4 USD per month. They also charge extra, one-off fees.

For example, there is a minimum monthly pick and pack fee of $250 USD and a special projects fee of $45 USD per man per hour.¹⁷

What to consider when choosing an eCommerce fulfillment service

If you can’t get your product to your customers as promised, your eCommerce business won’t go very far. That’s why an eCommerce fulfillment service is key. A good fulfillment service will boost sales and grow your business.

But with so many to choose from, it’s hard to find the one that best suits your business.

Here are some of the main factors to consider when choosing an eCommerce fulfillment service.

Location of fulfillment warehouses

A fulfillment service has a range of fulfillment centers located in various places. Choosing a service with centers close to your customer base is key in saving you costs.

By being close to your customers, you’ll save on shipping and delivery costs. You’ll also be able to offer quicker delivery times. This increases customer acquisition and satisfaction.

Likewise, you should choose a fulfillment service with centers near major cities and trade hubs. This can enable you to enter into new markets, offering cheap and fast delivery times.

Fulfillment and inventory storage fees

Each eCommerce fulfillment service has a different pricing model. If you don’t yet know the size of your inventory or the volume of orders you’ll be receiving, price comparisons are hard.

Fulfillment services charge set up and monthly fees. They also charge per pallet, picking/packing, and receiving fees. Some providers also offer custom fees depending on the volume of orders you have.

Customer service policy

It’s inevitable that some customers may return your product.

An eCommerce fulfillment service that manages the order return process saves you time and resources.

You’ll want to look for a service that handles everything. This includes reverse shipment, refunds, and customization in line with your returns policy.

Order fulfillment speed

Your eCommerce fulfillment service might be near your customer base. But this doesn’t always mean that order fulfillment is quick.

When looking for an eCommerce fulfillment service, you should check if they offer same-day and next-day delivery. You should also check their average delivery times.

Advanced features and tools

Aside from the basics of order fulfillment, there are some extra features you should look out for.

End-to-end package tracking is one feature that benefits both you and your customers. Real-time analytics and machine learning are also key to increasing efficiency. They can help you make decisions about inventory management issues. For example, which SKUs need replacement. Reporting tools make this process far easier.

Ease of integration with shipping provider

If you already use a certain shipping company, you should ensure that your fulfillment service integrates with them. For example, if you use DHL exclusively, your order fulfillment service software should integrate with them.

This allows for easy communication between your order fulfillment service and shipping company. This in turn reduces the chance of supply chain issues such as delays. This translates to quicker delivery times, fewer delays and happier customers.

Ability for multichannel integration

Your eCommerce fulfillment service should integrate with every sales channel you sell on.

For example, let’s say you sell on Amazon, eBay and Alibaba. In this case, your order fulfillment service should integrate with all three channels.

This enables instant communication, making for a smoother and faster fulfillment process.

Experience in your product market

Challenges in eCommerce are inevitable. But having an experienced order fulfillment service provider can make challenges far easier.

You should look for a service with experience in your industry and similar clients. They’ll be able to guide you through industry specific as well as eCommerce related problems.

Their track record with similar clients is also a good indicator of how good a match they'll be for you.

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Sources:

1. eCommerce Fulfillment Statistics
2. ShipBob 2-Day Express Shipping: Coverage Across the Continental US
3. Omnichannel Fulfillment - B2B Fulfillment
4. pricing - ShipBob
5. ShipBob Partner Ecosystem & Integrations
6. Fulfillment by Amazon – FBA
7. What is Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment? Learn how it works
8. https://sell.amazon.com/pricing?ref_=sdus_soa_priov_n#fulfillment-fees
9. 3PL Pricing: Understanding the Red Stag Fulfillment Difference
10. Ecommerce Fulfillment Services
11. 3PL Pricing: Understanding the Red Stag Fulfillment Difference
12. International Shipping for Ecommerce | FedEx
13. Offer Alternative Delivery Options | FedEx
14. International Shipping for Ecommerce | FedEx
15. ShipMonk Integration Partners
16. Fulfillment Services by ShipMonk, Warehouses and Technology
17. ShipMonk Pricing | Fulfillment Center Pricing | 3PL Fees

All sources checked June 21, 2023