Switching Fulfillment Company? Here’s What you Need to Know
If you are considering a switch in your fulfillment company, here are some points to consider and hints to aid the process.
First, identify potential fulfillment companies that are equipped to handle your business processes and are located in optimal geographical locations for your business. Prepare a thorough Request for Proposal (RFP) providing a high level of detail to better evaluate responses and use in later implementation. Evaluate all RFP responses and make your selection for fulfillment services partnership.
After the contract phase has been completed, shift to implementation and be prepared to involve a cross-functional team of operational, financial, and sales experts in the planning process. During the crucial months while transitioning from one fulfillment company to another, be ready to send a lot of data to your new fulfillment partner. Be prepared to supply:
- Demand history and sales forecast by customer and location
- Sales order information, such as average number of items per order, etc.
- Information about inventory requirements, material pallet quantities, size requirements.
After identifying the material to be transferred to the new warehouse, be sure to ask your new partner for their recommendations to minimize freight charges for the transfer. Also, don’t be afraid to ask your new fulfillment partner to split this material transfer expense.
Aim for zero downtime during your inventory transfer by adopting a phased transition approach. Transfer a representative inventory sample to your new fulfillment partner as you focus on systems integration and process setup in parallel. After all infrastructure and technical setup issues have been addressed, process a trial order through completion and, upon success, plan for the remaining inventory transfer and volume ramp-up.
A typical fulfillment company transfer takes 6 months from initial contact to full operational transfer. Contact Fulfillment America if you’re considering a switch and would like additional information about our service offering, including print-on-demand and ecommerce fulfillment.