Best Practices for eFulfillment Centers

In order to choose the best partner, you must first understand what separates the good eFulfillment Centers from the bad.

 eFulfillment Centers

What sets eFulfillment centers apart from one another? That’s a crucial question, if you expect to extend your company’s signature superior customer service all the way through to their package delivery. What’s the good of giving customers an exceptional experience up front, if you’re going to drop the ball at the back end? That final disappointment will overshadow your great first impression.

To choose a superior partner, you need to know what constitutes best practices for eFulfillment centers. Look for:

Comprehensive services that have you covered from soup to nuts.

It’s not “best” if they can’t even do what you need. But beyond basic pick-and-pack and shipping, you should expect product safety and security. And assured protection of your company’s data and your customers’ personal information.

Custom-tailored services – for two reasons.

One, you need a partner that can tweak the details of your fulfillment process to match your business and customer care goals. Two, they must also be able to quickly and smoothly handle fluctuations in service levels. If they can’t be flexible without losing a beat, you’ll sacrifice service. Not the best if your customers demand more.

Proactive approach.

The best eFulfillment centers operate at the leading edge. That requires an ongoing investment in on-site training and attendance at industry-wide conferences, etc. If your partner is “saving money” by cutting corners here, you’ll pay the price in lower quality fulfillment. The truth is, “best” is a moving target, never the status quo.

High touch commitment.

There’s more to being proactive than staying abreast of industry and client-specific trends and best practices. True high touch is a business model that puts customers first and says “wow” in every detail.

Statistics that verify claims of consistently superior service.

Many eFulfillment centers will tell you they meet industry standards. So bear in mind that “industry average” is just that – average. Best is better, if you expect to retain customers and grow their loyalty and lifetime value for your company. So look for a partner that can prove they answer faster, capture and pack orders accurately (all the time), and deliver on time or earlier than promised.

Bottom-line statistics that tell the rest of the story.

The best eFulfillment centers don’t just get it right every time to avoid costly mistakes and returns. Their services are so impressive that clients see increased sales revenue. It takes exceptional people backed up by state-of-the-art equipment and technology to assure speed, accuracy, efficiency, and an “unboxing event” that’ll have customers grinning with joy. Frankly, fulfillment centers that can do all that are few, indeed.

So does your eFulfillment tell customers you care?

If you didn’t give a mental check to each of the examples discussed above, you’re not getting the best. Take this quiz to find out more. Then give us a call. Here at USA Fulfillment, our goal is to help you deliver consistently exceptional experiences to your customers. Responsive. Friendly. Helpful. Flexible. Let’s talk about what we can do for you.