3 Signs It’s Time to Outsource Your Fulfillment

If you’re spending hours packing boxes, managing inventory, or grappling with shipping labels, you’re likely neglecting strategic tasks like marketing, product development, or customer engagement. A 2023 survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) shows small business owners can spend up to 36% of their time on operational tasks like fulfillment, leaving little room for planning growth. This imbalance can hinder your ability to scale, respond to demand spikes, or focus on critical operations like sourcing new products or expanding your market reach.

A 3PL like Reliable Logistics lifts this burden by handling inventory storage, picking and packing, shipping, and returns. With advanced systems to streamline these processes, they free you to concentrate on growing your business. Their expertise also ensures your fulfillment process is optimized, reducing errors and boosting efficiency, which is challenging to achieve when you’re managing everything yourself.

A surge in orders is every business owner’s dream until it overwhelms their operations. Struggling to keep up with demand can lead to missed delivery deadlines, incorrect shipments, and an overworked team. A 2023 report from Descartes Systems surveying 8,000+ consumers across North America and Europe found that 23% of shoppers indicated they won’t buy again from a store after a delayed delivery, 21% lost trust in the brand, and 17% actively discouraged others from shopping there. This emphasizes the importance of reliability during growth periods. Mistakes like these frustrate customers and can damage your brand’s reputation and trust.

Partnering with a 3PL like Reliable Logistics equips you to handle high order volumes with ease. With our warehouse space, team of experts, and cutting-edge technology, we ensure orders are processed accurately and delivered on time. From automated order tracking to scalable solutions that adapt to your demand, a 3PL keeps your customers satisfied and your team focused, no matter how many orders come in.

As your business grows, so do the costs of running an in-house fulfillment operation. Warehousing, packaging materials, shipping rates, and staffing expenses can escalate, cutting into your profits. For instance, according to warehousingandfulfillment.com’s 2024 Warehousing Services Pricing and Fulfillment Costs Survey, the average cost of warehousing in the U.S. has risen by 8.31% between 2022 and 2024 due to increased demand for space and labor shortages. In Canada, according to Statistics Canada, the cost to lease a space in industrial buildings or warehouses increased by 3.8% in 2023 compared to 2022. Add the hidden costs of managing returns or correcting shipping errors, and fulfillment can quickly become a financial strain.

Outsourcing to a 3PL like Reliable Logistics eliminates the need for costly in-house warehousing, dedicated fulfillment staff, or navigating unpredictable shipping rate increases. By leveraging their economies of scale, 3PLs can negotiate better shipping rates and optimize packaging processes, saving you money. These savings can be reinvested into marketing, product innovation, or expanding your reach, fueling the growth you’re striving for.