E-commerce has steadily been growing for years. The current market’s growth rate is near 9%, with a worldwide value that exceeds $5 trillion. E-commerce is a great way to bring local businesses to the forefront of the global economy. As more e-tailers join the fray, staying ahead of the competition will be crucial, or you may find yourself out of business quickly.
When many e-commerce shops first start, inventory is often stored in the home or garage – simply because it’s convenient and cost-effective. However, this method only works for very small operations. Once your business grows, you will quickly want a better solution, and warehousing services can provide the services you need to help your company stay ahead of the game.
What Warehousing Offers Your Business
Warehousing services are a great way to streamline your operations and cut expenses. Among the many benefits that warehousing services can provide for e-commerce shops include:
- Professional solutions: While operating out of your home may work initially, you will quickly want to grow into something more formal and professional. As your orders increase, you may find keeping track of everything in your living space challenging. Therefore, warehousing services can give you a great way to get your inventory out of your home but still in a secure and accessible space.
- Affordability: Many e-tailers are reluctant to start working with a warehouse partner because they think it will be too costly. But this idea couldn’t be further from the truth. Warehousing is a value-added service, which means there are many additional benefits beyond just securing a place to store your inventory. The best news is that you can access all these benefits – usually at a much more affordable price than you think.
- Scalability: Business owners are also reluctant to secure warehousing services because they think their company is too small for the service. However, many warehousing service providers operate with multiple partner companies to deliver the space that each one needs. Therefore, no matter how big or small your company is, you can find a provider willing to work with you to achieve your business goals.
- Fewer mistakes: As your online business grows, it can become easy to make small mistakes, such as shipping to the wrong destination or pulling the wrong product. Warehouses have complex sorting and packaging technologies that maximize efficiency and accuracy. Therefore, you don’t have to rely on your abilities to get it right the first time, but rather, you can feel confident that you are working with a partner who will ensure your products are sent with fewer errors and damaged products. This benefit can reduce your losses and provide greater customer satisfaction.
- Security: One often-overlooked drawback to storing inventory in your home, garage, or shed is that it may not be the most secure environment. It can risk your entire business’s inventory for robbery, damage, or fire. When you store your products at a warehouse, you can trust that they will be safe. Most modern warehouses have advanced security systems and fire extinguishing capabilities to protect your products. Moreover, they are required to have sufficient insurance to cover their products in case the unthinkable happens. Ultimately, these safeguards can protect your business from catastrophes, which can be crucial if you plan to operate far into the future.
- Analytics: Besides the advanced security features many warehouses have, they often also use advanced platforms for tracking and shipping products. These platforms can generate business data and analytics that you can use to make data-driven decisions. These business insights can be invaluable in identifying changing consumer trends and preferences – and they can keep you one step ahead of the competition.
- Convenience: The reality is that if your business is growing, you likely feel overextended. After all, there’s only so much one person can do. For many e-commerce merchants, the time saved by working with a warehouse is worth the expense. The time you save by not having to sort products, do inventory, correct inaccuracies, or handle returns can be used for more productive activities to help your business achieve continued success and growth. Moreover, you can reduce stress levels, which is a great way to clear your mind and focus on your long-term business goals.
As e-commerce continues to grow, many more retailers will recognize the benefit of working with a warehouse service provider. To learn more about how warehousing can benefit your business, contact Dawson Logistics today!