Fulfillment Firm Fundamentals

In direct-selling lingo, fulfillment covers everything from taking the order to packing, shipping, and processing the purchase for payment. You can fulfill orders yourself or you can outsource these duties to a company that specializes in managing all or part of the fulfillment function.

The decision comes down to a trade of control for simplicity. Keeping fulfillment in-house allows you to retain control of the process and increases your customer interaction. Outsourcing cedes some control, but it significantly simplifies your operations and offers state-of-the-art technology.

Either way, fulfillment is expensive. When you tally all of the costs, it may be more cost-effective to outsource these tasks than to set up and support your own fulfillment systems.

It's crucial that you go with a company that meets your performance standards. If you decide to outsource, ask yourself these questions before you sign a contract:

• Does the company maintain an adequate level of personal connection with the customer? If the connection between your company and its customers is very important, a fulfillment service may not be the best answer.
• Do the staff members who take the orders have the ability to fully explain your product and close a sale? Again, if your product requires a lot of explanation, outsourcing may not be the way to go.
• Will the fulfillment service dedicate sales representatives to your orders and allow you to train them?
• How fragile is your inventory? Are you selling books or hand-blown goblets? Will you be shipping perishables? Are the fulfillment firm's experience and facilities appropriate to your products?
• Can the firm meet your turnaround requirements? If fast response is crucial, look for a firm with a strong track record for 24-hour service.

Choose a firm with experience in catalog-order fulfillment. A lot of companies call themselves fulfillment houses but may only handle brochures and other mailings. The best way to find any good firm is through referrals from other e-commerce or catalog companies. Know too that directories of various services are available at The Direct Marketing Association.