Determining how to outsource your fulfillment needs can be a confusing step for businesses of all sizes. “Drop shipping” and “e-commerce fulfillment” are terms that have been commonly confused and it’s important to know they are not interchangeable. When selecting the option you can trust to process and ship orders on-time, it’s key to understand the dynamics of these methods. First, assess your needs by taking your resources and expectations into account as you investigate these options. It’s advised to clearly identify the problem you are wanting to solve at the onset.
In simplified terms, if you are looking to have the storing, processing and shipping of inventory outsourced to the company, e-commerce may be your go-to option. On the other hand, if you are a supplier or manufacturer looking to have the fulfillment partner accept orders without having the product on-hand, this is closer to drop shipping. This option involves you, customers and your supplier without needing a fulfillment center.
There are pros and cons to each so learning the differences is crucial to finding the right method. Please see the accompanying resource for more about drop shipping versus e-commerce fulfillment and for help in deciding which is right for your business.
Author bio: Jay Catlin is CEO at AMS Fulfillment, a leading order fulfillment company servicing B2B and B2C clients nationwide. Catlin has been with the company since 2002 and helped grow AMS into the successful third-party fulfillment entity it is today.
This infographic was created by AMS Fulfillment, an eco friendly ecommerce company
