When your business is a successful crowdfunding project, one of the last things you’ll have to worry about is shipping the product to the backers. Not all crowdfunding projects can become a big success, but all the projects with successful development should send what they promised to their backers. And this task can be very overwhelming for people who don’t have any experience in sending bulk items. For shipping bulk orders on different addresses, you might need to get an order fulfillment service from a reputable company. Here are some of the things worth considering when choosing one.
1. Wide Range of Shipping Destinations
When it comes to internet projects, it is very probable to see backers and supporters from different parts of the world. International shipping services and providers are often contracted by businesses all around the world to deliver their services for overseas customers. This can also benefit crowdfunding projects with a lot of international backers. Service providers such as Next Smart Ship usually allow custom solutions and custom quotes to help customers in shipping their products.
2. Meets Your Packaging Requirement
What if your product needs to be packaged carefully because of fragile components? This is especially important for products that require special handlings such as electronics, glass products, and other commodities that might need packaging requirements (or temperature-specific containers). Usually, accommodating custom packaging costs additional funds, but getting the intended result is worth it.
3. Choose a Reputable Company
A reputable order fulfillment company is expected to have a lot of experience in handling different products. It also means that they have the technology and knowledge to deliver certain products which new logistics companies don’t have. If your product is customized and needs specific instruction for shipping, the peace of mind is worth the extra cost and handling fees.
4. Easy To Integrate Software and Hardware
Warehousing needs to be efficient to make delivery faster and accurate. This is one fact known to the order fulfillment industry. To make this possible, logistics companies make and use their software and hardware and integrate it into the operations of the business. Most warehousing software doesn’t use hard-coded systems since not all businesses who use their services sell the same thing. You can find out more about the company’s software and hardware via online reviews or getting a demo from the company itself.
5. The Location of Operations
And last but not least, the location of the company’s operations is essential. It’s not cost-effective to use a service from the US when you’re covering your market from China. Local order fulfillment services usually perform better and faster, as the coordination is done locally. However, if the majority of your market is in the US, it would be better to consider getting a contract with a company operating in the country. That way, the flow of shipping is faster and more convenient.
