Choosing the right global ecommerce fulfillment center is easier said than done. When chosen correctly, fulfillment centers can be great partners that help you grow your business. Order fulfillment providers fulfill orders on your behalf, reduce your overall operating costs, improve your customer service, and utilize technology to streamline the order fulfillment process. With that in mind, here are five tips for choosing the best fulfillment center: 

Know the Difference Between a Fulfillment Center & Warehouse

One of the first things you'll need to understand is the difference between a fulfillment center and a warehouse. Warehouses store high volumes of inventory for longer periods of time, and these static operations primarily serve wholesale and B2B operations, although there are many different types. 

Fulfillment centers, on the other hand, handle a much greater variety of tasks. Not only do they receive inventory and store it (in smaller quantities than a warehouse), but they also process orders and ship them. On the same token, you should also know some key differences between levels of fulfillment centers. For instance:

• 1PL fulfillment centers spearhead manufacturing and retailing

• 2PL fulfillment centers are primarily carriers that focus on transportation

• 3PL are logistic service providers

• 4PL lead logistic providers and handle end to end supply chain management

• 5PL aggregates the needs of 3PL and other levels to achieve maximum cost savings for bulk products

Finding a Good Partner

Finding a good partner requires you to look into several key factors. First and foremost, you need a company that can meet your needs. How knowledgeable are they about your industry specifically? Do they have other clients in the same market as you? If you have different sales channels, do they have the ability to address the unique needs of each of them? These are questions that you should be asking early on. Some fulfillment companies specialize in specific types of fulfillment, like ecommerce or perhaps working with small businesses and startups. 

You also need to look into versatile shipping solutions and pricing. A great brand experience starts when your customers receive the items they expect in good condition and in a timely manner. Choose a center that already has established, strong relationships with shipping partners. Furthermore, work with an established partner that has demonstrable experience. 

Scalable Centers

It's important for you to work with a fulfillment center that will be able to help you now and in the future. As your business grows, you want them to be able to scale with you and handle that growth, but if they don't have the resources and manpower to do so, this could become problematic later down the line. Be sure to choose a partner that's scalable and flexible, and are able to make improvements to the process based on your growth. 

Branding

Your product is the epitome of your brand efforts. Small details on and inside the packaging go a long way for the customer and help solidify your brand as a whole. What you want to keep an eye out for are providers that put their branding on any of the packaging, which means your customers never know that you've gone ahead and used a third party fulfillment center to get them their order. 

The product will look as though it came directly from your retail store because there are so many different ways to customize packaging. Always investigate the type of branding options that your potential partner will offer. For instance, you might want your logo in the boxes or special inserts inside the package. 

Customer Support

In a perfect world, we would never run into problems with our business, particularly when it comes to the logistical parts of shipping products and processing returns. However, this is simply unrealistic, and it's best for you to take preventative measures when it comes to choosing the best fulfillment center. With that being said, it's crucial that you gauge their level of customer service. 

If something goes wrong with an order, you want your fulfillment center to be able to handle it with ease and solve the issue in a satisfactory manner. How can customers reach your fulfillment center? Are they responsive to your inquiries? What is their turnaround time for addressing customer complaints and what technology do they use to field inquiries? Asking these questions early on can help prevent a customer service disaster.