Whether you need to fulfill orders domestically or abroad, it is vital that you choose the top order fulfillment provider available. A great order fulfillment provider will oversee tedious aspects of shipping products so that you can focus on running your business.
In order to help you find the right partner for your company’s needs, we have created this guide to the best order fulfillment companies out there. We also answer basic questions like “What is order fulfillment?” and “How can I improve my order fulfillment capabilities?”
Quick Look: Best Order Fulfillment Companies
- Best For Enterprise Brands: ShipBob
- Best For Vehicle Transport: Uship
- Best For Software Solutions: The Fulfillment Lab
- Best For Book & Physical Print: Print Bind Ship
- Best For Price & Transparency: Deliverr
- Best For International Shipping & Large Volume: Fulfillment.com
6 Best Order Fulfillment Companies Available Today
The six best order fulfillment companies available today are the following:
ShipBob
Best for: Enterprise Brands
ShipBob is valued at over $1 billion. The company continued to experience meteoric growth throughout 2021 — a trend that is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
ShipBob has a dynamic cloud-based platform for order management. It also has shipping warehouses and fulfillment centers located both domestically and abroad. ShipBob can help facilitate fast direct-to-consumer fulfillment across the globe.
Uship
Best for: Vehicle Transport
uShip is a unique online marketplace for individuals and businesses in need of shipping services. It connects shippers with carriers to facilitate the transport of vehicles, motorcycles, freight, boats, heavy equipment, and furniture.
uShip gives shippers the freedom to choose the driver and price that best meets their needs. While Uship specializes in automotive transport, its network of carriers can also haul the other items mentioned above.
If you want the ability to choose your own rates, GPS tracking, and 50-state shipping services, Uship may be a good choice for your business.
The Fulfillment Lab
Best for: Software Solutions
The Fulfillment Lab’s Global Fulfillment Software (GFS™) caters to modern eCommerce businesses with lightning-fast operations. It’s an ideal choice for enterprises looking for comprehensive software solutions to streamline order fulfillment, inventory management, and shipping logistics. With features like easy integration, customization options, and real-time tracking, it empowers online stores to efficiently manage their operations.
Print Bind Ship
Best for: Book & Physical Print
Print Bind Ship offers clients a diverse range of packaging choices and convenient access to regional fulfillment centers strategically located across the Midwestern United States. Additionally, the company boasts the capability to manufacture both books and magazines, coupled with the flexibility to offer on-demand binding services.
Traditional book printing often forces publishers to collaborate with 2 or 3 different vendors, leading to increased printing expenses and logistical challenges. Print Bind Ship, however, simplifies this process by providing a comprehensive solution all in one place. With Print Bind Ship, you can access printing, binding, and fulfillment services seamlessly. Additionally, their team specializes in crafting custom packages, a valuable offering for subscription box companies seeking design and fulfillment solutions.
Deliverr
Best for: Price & Transparency
Deliverr is committed to providing clients with a simple order fulfillment experience and total pricing transparency. They most certainly deliver.
On their website, they have invested substantial resources towards itemizing and calculating specific order fulfillment expenses. They’ll break down your costs line by line so that you know exactly what you are paying for. You can obtain a simplified itemized list for just about any product you are researching or selling.
Fulfillment.com
Best for: International Shipping & Large Volume
With fulfillment centers located around the world, Fulfillment.com has the network and resources necessary to meet your international shipping needs. The platform also integrates with all major ecommerce software.
For brands with thousands of daily orders, Fulfillment.com is the ideal partner. They can help you scale your capabilities to meet growing client demands for your products. Fulfillment.com even allows you to facilitate custom integrations using their API.
What Is an Order Fulfillment Company?
Order fulfillment companies are third-party logistics providers that handle the back-end operations of ecommerce order processing, taking over the storage, picking, packing, and shipping responsibilities from online retailers. By outsourcing fulfillment, ecommerce companies can focus resources on sales, marketing, and product development while relying on the expertise, infrastructure, and economies of scale of a dedicated fulfillment center.
In essence, an order fulfillment service will warehouse a company’s products until orders are received, at which point the fulfillment center picks, packs, and ships the items to the customers. This allows ecommerce retailers to offload labor-intensive fulfillment tasks to a provider focused solely on efficient small-parcel shipping and quality customer service.
How Does an Order Fulfillment Company Work?
Order fulfillment companies integrate seamlessly with ecommerce stores to provide prompt order processing and shipping services from their dedicated warehouses. Once an online order is received, the fulfillment center picks the products from inventory, packs them as per the retailer’s preferences, and ships the parcel via the chosen carrier. Robust fulfillment software provides the connectivity between the ecommerce platform, order fulfillment center, and shipping carriers to ensure a smooth workflow.
The key steps are the fulfillment center receiving inventory in bulk from the merchant to store in their warehouse, receiving orders and instructions digitally from the retailer’s ecommerce platform, assembling the correct items to fulfill each order, packing them with the right materials, generating shipping labels, and tendering the parcel to the selected delivery service. This allows the online retailer to focus on sales and marketing without inventory management and shipping headaches.
How to Choose an Order Fulfillment Company
When selecting an order fulfillment company, consider the following factors:
Cost
Cost is always a top consideration for businesses as they explore outsourcing opportunities. If you are looking to partner with a fulfillment company, we suggest obtaining multiple quotes. While a small difference in price may seem negligible, the impact of this variation will compound as your order volume increases.
Software Integrations
Most modern fulfillment companies will have the capabilities to integrate with your existing ecommerce platform. However, you should never assume this is the case. Find out what software integration capabilities a fulfillment company possesses before partnering with them.
Specialization
As discussed above, some fulfillment centers specialize in specific product types. For instance, Uship primarily provides auto transport. While they offer other types of services, you should seek out a partner that offers the type of solutions that best aligns with your company’s needs.
Shipping Warehouse
Thanks to companies like Amazon, consumers now expect to receive their packages in days, not weeks.
If a fulfillment company wants to provide your customers with the same sort of turnaround on orders, they must have shipping warehouses in or near the regions you serve. Otherwise, they may not be able to offer prompt turnaround times on orders.
Return Services
Managing returns is one of the most frustrating components of order fulfillment. Fortunately, many of the top companies offer return services, which means that you won’t have to deal with this logistical nightmare. Effective return services not only take some responsibilities off your plate but they also improve customer satisfaction.
Packaging Options
The best order fulfillment companies offer multiple different packaging options. This variety is important for several reasons. First, you will need different-sized packages if you offer products of varying dimensions. Second, mixing up your packaging every now and then can keep customers excited about ordering your products.
Choosing an Order Fulfillment Company
While all of the order fulfillment companies outlined above have some great qualities, not all of them will be the right fit for your business. When choosing an order fulfillment partner, find the provider that offers the best combination of support, services, and value for your company.
By using this approach, you can get the most out of your new business relationship and access the resources your company needs to grow.
FAQ
The three key functions of order fulfillment are picking, packing, and shipping.
The best way to improve your order fulfillment is to outsource. A third-party provider has the knowledge, resources, and expertise necessary to streamline your fulfillment operations.
Your fulfillment strategy is your game plan for getting products from the manufacturing facility to paying customers. This strategy should address production, storage, delivery, and everything in between.
Sign up for a FreightWaves e-newsletter to stay informed of all news and trends impacting supply chain careers and operations.
