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Outsourcing fulfilment: a checklist of 12 questions

What should you look out for when you outsource your logistics? Twelve questions to ask every fulfilment company, from integrations to returns and notice period.

Outsourcing your fulfilment, or all of your webshop logistics, is not something you do every year. Switching costs time and stock, so it pays to ask the right questions up front. Take this checklist to every introductory meeting.

Integrations and software

  1. How does the integration with my webshop and marketplaces work? Directly, through a plugin or through a middle layer such as ChannelDock or Channable? Who fixes it when an integration breaks down?
  2. What do I see in the client portal? Real-time stock, order status, inbound deliveries, returns and invoices should all be there.
  3. How quickly does the track & trace code get back to my store? On bol and Amazon every delay counts against your performance.

Shipping

  1. What is the cut-off time, also at weekends? Ordering until 22:00 or later and receiving it tomorrow is now normal in the Netherlands.
  2. Which carriers do you work with, and who chooses per shipment? Letterbox parcels via PostNL, parcels via DHL or DPD, Belgium via bpost: a different carrier can be cheaper for each size.
  3. What does shipping cost per country and per size? Ask for the full table.

Products and storage

  1. Do you have experience with my products? Think of shelf life (FEFO), fragile, valuable, XL or dangerous goods such as perfume and lithium batteries.
  2. How do you charge for storage? Per location, per pallet or per cubic metre, and what happens at peak times?
  3. How does inbound work? How quickly is new stock available online, and what if a delivery arrives unsorted?

Service and contract

  1. How quickly do you process returns? And do you get photos and a reason for each return?
  2. Who is my regular contact person? A small team with short lines or a ticket system: both can work, as long as you know what you are getting.
  3. What are the set-up costs, the minimum volume and the notice period? More and more companies work without set-up costs and can be cancelled monthly.

Compare faster

With a complete order profile, fulfilment companies have less to guess and you get an accurate quote sooner. On FulfilmentMatch you create that profile in a few minutes by connecting your store or shipping software. Start your match.

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