Tag: order fulfillment

6 Ways to Save Cost On Shipping and Fulfillment

One of the challenging areas for small to medium size e-commerce businesses is to streamline the shipping and fulfillment process. From packing an order safely to shipping it on time can be complicated and costly. If not done right, you can seriously end up hurting your company’s reputation and growth. However, with proper management and planning in place, you’ll be able to crack the opportunities that can turn a one-time buyer into a loyal customer.

How to save Shipping and Fulfillment Cost?

Here are 6 tips that have been tried and tested, and have saved me a lot of time and money in shipping and fulfillment. So, let’s get started!

1. Buy packaging material in bulk

You can save a great amount on the packaging material if you choose to buy it in bulk. Don’t just focus on the packaging material. Consider the protective layers that you might be used for packing. Stamps, envelopes, and everything else that is required for packaging can be purchased in bulk and stored at your facility to use for the long term.

2. Consolidate your LTL shipments

If you’re sending small freight that doesn’t take up the entire space inside a truck (i.e. less than a truckload or LTL), you might want to consider a freight consolidation service. This way, your shipment gets shipped along with others to make a full truckload. Since you are sharing the space, you share the cost too. This is another great way to cut costs, especially when your shipment budget is low and shipping time is flexible.

3. Mark the package dimensions

Have you invested in a parcel scale? If not, then it’s high time you do. Weighing your product and packing materials beforehand will help you get an estimate on the shipment charges. Therefore choose the right packing material, ideally something lighter but sturdy enough to protect your goods while in transit.

4. Look for packaging alternatives to save cost

When it comes to packing materials, bubble wrap and foam peanuts are everyone’s first choice. But there are tons of packing materials that provide the same support and also affordable. For example, recycled old newspapers, magazines, wood chip material can work the same, but can save you a lot every month depending upon the size of the shipment.

5. Consider freight services for bulk orders

Freight services are a great choice if you are fulfilling an order in bulk. However, if you’re considering using a freight service, you need to first ensure that your customer won’t be deterred by their shipments arriving on different dates.

6. Have a Reverse Shipping charge policy in place

Make sure you have a reverse shipping charge policy in place. Once you have it, ensure you clearly stated it to your customers as well as your sales and customer service guys who deal directly with customers. The policy should clearly mention that under what circumstances the company will pay for the transit charges (like a standard shipment) and when a customer needs to bear the cost.

7. Outsourcing to a 3PL Company

Outsourcing your order fulfillment to a 3PL company is not only a cost-effective solution, but it also enables you to shoulder off other responsibilities like warehouse and inventory management, labor costs, supply chain management, and claims.

Order Fulfillment Service in Canada

If you run an e-commerce business and looking for an e-commerce order fulfillment solution, check out Tenaxx Logistics. We are a third-party logistics provider (3PL) that offers complete fulfillment services from picking to packing to shipping. Contact us for a free logistics consultation.

Reasons Why You Should Outsource E-fulfillment

There are many reasons why a company should outsource its e-fulfillment. While some reasons are obvious and easy to understand, such as many companies do not pay any attention to the benefits of outsourcing its fulfillment services, some are comparatively not so obvious reasons and are hard to understand.

Why You Should Outsource E-fulfillment

The process of receiving orders from your web store, and shipping them to customers around the world is termed as E-fulfillment, and these are the obvious reasons you should outsource E-fulfillment.

Lack of capital:

Many Startups and established companies do not have the capital to rent a warehouse, hire employees, lease a forklift, pay for insurance, and any other charges. In such cases using Third Party Logistics companies to handle the fulfillment services is the only way to go.

Faster Turn-Around time:

When you are selling products online, in order to succeed in the e-Commerce business you need to ship fast. Customers these days don’t want to wait for an additional day or two to receive their products. Most “fulfillment centers” have enough staff to ensure that the orders leave as quickly as possible, something you might not be able to do if you have limited resources.

Focusing on your own business:

A company needs to focus on its core abilities whether it’s selling or developing new products. That is why several companies outsource their order fulfillment services. It is just wiser to worry about sales than receiving, warehousing, shipping, and inventory shortages.

Flexibility:

Companies that are selling online can choose the Third Party Logistics Company and the location to ship from. They can also have multiple locations to ship from without the haste of renting the space at any of these locations.

Not so obvious reasons why you should outsource E- Fulfillment.
While obvious reasons are easy to understand and can be seen easily, there are some reasons which shouldn’t be overlooked.

Lower shipping rates:

3PL companies usually have higher benefits as they have high shipping volumes which qualifies them for larger discounts and much lower rates than if you try or ship on your own. This applies to all forms of shipping such as Inland Transportation, or even Ocean freight.

Expertise:

While the company must focus on newcomers, they should also have people who are working in the fulfillment centers for many years, it can be really helpful and you cannot put a price on experience.

Cross-Selling:

Through working with the fulfillment company you get to meet potential clients.

Global reach:

If you are planning on exporting your products, you should go for 3PL’s as many of these companies are freight forwarders.

Value-added services:

Fulfillment centers can help with branding and marketing in addition to other services such as collections and receivables management.
According to a study by the Harvard Business School, it is better and efficient to use a fulfillment company instead of doing the fulfillment yourself.

How Tenaxx Logistics Can Help?

If your company is seeking a partner for third party warehousing and e-commerce fulfillment services, Tenaxx Logistics is the right place for you. With over 1 million square feet of warehouse space, effective costs, flexible agreement, and modern tools and software, it’s the ideal warehousing partner for the company of all sizes.

Best Tips For Choosing the Right Shipping Partner

If you’re an eCommerce business, you would know the importance of quick, convenient, and cost-effective shipping options. Reaching your customers, whether they are in Canada or the US, and reaching them on time will always be a primary concern. Dealing with delayed shipments, last-minute custom clearances, carrier, and logistics issues, and limited support from a shipping partner can make a big impact on your business reputation. This is especially true if you’re shipping to the US and your shipping partner company doesn’t have FDA clearance support. Therefore, choosing the right shipping company and fulfillment partner can make a huge difference to your overall revenue and net profits. Here are some tips you should follow when looking for a shipping partner.

Choose the quality of service

While looking for a shipping partner, make sure the company delivers to all the locations that you want to service. Are most of your shipments going to be within Canada or are you going to be shipping to the US as well? Get knowledge about the additional duties, customs, and taxes that you would have to bear if you are shipping internationally to count your total cost. Does your shipping partner have FDA and custom clearances to ship your products across borders? Getting the answers to all these questions will help you choose the right shipping partner for your business.

Pick a central induction point

An important consideration in cross border shipping is the induction point at which the goods enter the country. If you’re shipping from Canada to the US, you wouldn’t want them to sit idle at a processing center and delaying your transit time. A shipping company with a centrally located induction point can eliminate the extra transit time and may also be able to guarantee the same or next-day delivery. That’s extremely important in the world of eCommerce where your customers do not want to wait long periods of time for their goods. With the right shipping partner, you can master international shipping.

Find a technology efficient partner

A shipping partner with the right technology and delivery partners would come in handy especially during cross border shipping. For instance, with the technical process of their industry-leading tracking partner and last-mile delivery by USPS, Tenax guarantees cheap shipping rates and effective solutions for small and medium businesses in Canada. As an eCommerce business, getting the right fulfillment partner on board can be the difference between good and exceptional service to the customers.

Compare and Choose Best Shipping Rates

It’s only natural that customers would want to stick to your eCommerce store if they see value in it, especially if that value comes in the form of lower or no shipping cost. Of course, it might not be possible for you to simply do away with the shipping costs, more so if you’re a small business. In such a case, it would be wise to find a shipping company that offers cheap shipping rates that are competitive without compromising on the quality of service.

Be mindful of tracking and support

Your goods are in transit and all you know is that they will reach the destination in two days from now. However, you have no idea where they are at present, at what time they will reach the destination, and what to tell your customers if there are any delays. To avoid a situation like this, find a shipping partner that gives you 24/7 customer support and allows for tracking. Real-time tracking of packages not only helps you in ensuring that goods are delivered in time but also helps your customers to prepare for the arrival of their packages.

Get all-in-one service package

Having multiple carriers for your business can be time-consuming and honestly, may even be more expensive in the long run. Instead, you can have one shipping partner that will cater to all your shipping needs. Some of your products may require special handling, while some others may require shipping in small batches. You might be shipping domestically within Canada while also shipping to the US. Customs and FDA clearance might be mandatory in some cases. Same-day delivery might also be an important consideration for your business. Evaluating a shipping company on all these aspects and finding one that meets all the requirements might be time-consuming but it’s definitely worth the effort.

SHIPPING FROM CANADA TO THE US

If you think that it is almost impossible to find a shipping company that meets all your requirements, offer cheap shipping rates, does shipping from Canada to the US, and allows real-time tracking of the packages, think again! Tenaxx Logistics offers International air freight and ocean freight shipping solutions from Canada to the US at an affordable price range with door-to-door tracking, customs, and FDA clearance support, as well as real-time customer service and support. We empower you with a solution that works wonders for cross border shipping, avoids delivery delays, and helps you ship packages from Canada to the US in the most efficient way.Click here and get a quote today!

Tenaxx Logistics Makes Third-Party Logistics Easy

Third-Party Logistics

A 3PL or Third-Party Logistics is outsourcing all or much of a company’s logistics operations to a specialized company. The term 3PL was first introduced in the early 1970s to identify intermodal marketing companies or IMC’s in transportation contracts. A 3PL allows you to focus on other parts of your business as it allows you to outsource operational logistics from warehousing. This includes transportation, warehousing, picking and packing, inventory forecasting, order fulfillment, packaging, and freight forwarding.

Why Choose 3PL?

When the company grows, the need for warehouse space increases beyond that business’s ability to manage it. 3PL warehousing is always a good option for companies facing storage capacity issues. 3PL also provides more value including challenges with customer service, order fulfillment, returns, order tracking, technical services, inventory management and much more.

Types of 3PL

Depending on the services required there are particularly three types of 3PLs:

Warehousing:

This type of 3PL store, ship and handle returns.

Transportation:

This type of 3PL are specialized in the transportation between locations, transportation 3PLs include DHL, FedEx, UPS including the USPS.

Distribution:

This type of 3PL includes shipping and receiving the goods from one point to another.

Benefits of 3PL

3PL provides a great deal of value to the companies dealing with challenges such as rapid growth and changing market conditions. 3PL has several benefits:

1. 3PLs providers have a vast network of resources across countries, which includes warehousing space, trucking, and transportation fleets. This provides cost-saving options, as the company themselves will have to give in extra effort and double or triple the money.

2. As the 3PLs have a vast network across countries, the company can also expand its market outside its country and manage internationalization.

3. Leasing warehouse space and hiring a team of workers increases the overhead, instead of working with a 3PL can minimize the costs so capital can be directed toward return generating endeavors.

4. Customers can expect to achieve faster and more reliable delivery times, tracking systems have improved and customers can thus have order status, there are reduced chances of damage or incorrect product delivery. 3PL got it covered for you, all you have to do is select one Third-party logistics for your company and they will take care of the rest.

How to choose your 3PL provider?

The right 3PL provider can make or break your company’s logistics, customer service, company’s reputation and repeat purchase rate. If you are about to select a 3PL provider for your company trust someone with sales, inventory and other information at significant risk. Choosing the right provider is a balance between quantitative and relationship building.

1. Make sure that the 3PL can handle your current volume but also the forecast stock of volume, you want to choose a 3PL that can handle your business now and when you are at your full speed.

2. Check the provider’s terms and conditions and get a report on the company’s performance over the last few years. Seek references and information about on-time deliveries and delays. Your main focus should be on how the provider deals when there are problems.

3. Make sure your 3PL provider is using the latest technology.

Tenaxx Logistics is top Logistics Company in Cambridge, Ontario

We offer full-service 3PL – we’ll manage everything so you can focus on growing your business. Find out why so many people trust us with their third party logistics needs. Call our Tenaxx Logistics expert team today on +1(437)2200463 to know more about our services.

Essential Guidelines for Warehouse Inventory Management

Managing inventory operations can make all the difference to productivity within your supply chain. By organizing your warehouse operations effectively, you can get benefit such as
• Maximize the use of storage space
• Save time
• Keep the record of stocks
• Fewer Overheads and increased cost-benefit

You can get all these benefits by implementing some very simple steps within your workflow. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways of achieving a more managed warehouse inventory.

• Arrange the warehouse properly

There are certain stocks which used more frequently than other stock, plan your warehouse space with these stock in mind. Always put the most commonly used items in an easy to access location. By making all these necessary arrangements, you can save the time it takes to load and unload such items.

• Demand forecasting

Some times of year will be busier than other times, especially the peak season, so plan ahead and accordingly for your business seasonal demands. Forecast the demand based on past sale records and ensure that you have enough stock for that time period to avoid any delay.

• Be Flexible to the change

Business demand change over time, what may have worked for your business earlier may not work in later years. Examine how your warehouse operations carry out every year, check your stock records and new changes in your business throughout the past few years. Evaluate every area very carefully to make the necessary changes to run it more effectively.

• Implement Cross Docking

Cross-docking is a form of supply chain management process in which the products from a supplier or manufacturing unit are shipped directly to a customer or retail chain without any requirement for the storage of goods in the warehouse in between. That means a quick turnaround for your business, saving time and money. It is not ideal for all needs, but it saves cost and time for a certain stock.

• Give the right training to your staff

A staff that understands warehouse inventory operations will keep it better and manage the business more efficiently. By having knowledgeable staff, you can ensure that your workforce maintains a properly organized warehouse inventory.

• Label your items

Put SKU(stock keeping unit) numbers on every item in your stock in the warehouse. It clear labels ensures that it’s easy to identify products, before moving or transporting them. A barcode system can also be used, depending on the needs and size of your business. Whatever you use, ensure it’s up to date and that no numbers are re-used inappropriately.

An Ultimate Guide to Plan Your Warehouse

Warehouse planning and implementation should be as efficient as possible to compete in the daily growing market. Fundamentals of warehouse layout designs are such that it accounts for the efficiency of operations, from stocking and refilling to order fulfillment, your warehouse design can either streamline your business processes or can slow it down. The following tips on how to plan your warehouse can help you achieve more efficiency, which can help you grow your business.

1.Define and Understand the objectives.

Objectives can be defined depending on the business such as to reduce cost and providing maximum customer services. Some need more inventory while some need more pick and packing. However, your objective must be such that it can be acted upon immediately.

2.Requirements.

Stocking and fulfillments are two of the major tasks that can either eliminate your burden or does the exact opposite. Once you get an understanding of what’s happening inside your warehouse you can organize items according to requirements, more frequently ordered products must be kept near the exit door so it gets easy to pack and pack them. Stocking must be greater than the demand to meet the supply.

3.Traffic Flow.

How great is the traffic, determines the design of the warehouse, if a warehouse with less traffic is built, it doesn’t need a large space and many employees while a place with great traffic will require much more space and employees. Traffic flow also controls the stocking and shipping from the warehouse, more traffic means more demand which needs greater space.

4.Space

How to utilize space, with a fixed length and width of your warehouse try to stack things vertically rather than organizing things horizontally. Keep similar things together and always have room for overstocking if occur, with some parts of the warehouse dedicated to office and some to working areas and empty pallet storage utilization of available space is done to increase the efficiency of the warehouse.

5.Implementation Plan

The focus should be on creating a clean and accurate warehouse, there is always a room for improvement, so Detail every step forward to create your warehouse layout design, Allocating suitable resources to tasks and projects in the plan. Checking what can be done to improve the design and when finished double-check everything.

6.What to do after planning?

Start implementing and try to manage inventory, a well planned and designed warehouse will surely help increase your efficiency and taking inventory management into factor you can deal with overstocking and stockouts. A planned warehouse will help you reduce pick, pack and shipping time and will eliminate any extra space and utilized it for other purposes.

How Tenaxx Logistics Can Help You

To know more about warehouse space utilization and optimizing your entire supply chain, go to Tenaxx Logistics and give us a call to find out which solution is right for you.

Key Stages of Order Fulfillment Process

Order fulfillment is an important part of the supply chain process. It is the process of receiving, processing, and shipping orders to the end customers. It’s possible to handle fulfillment in-house or outsourcing it to a third party logistics company that handles the process for you.
To maintain quality control and maximize profit as much as possible, many smaller operations opt to handle their own order fulfillment process. But if you want to focus more on the main fields of activity, and work more efficiently and productively, opting third-party logistics is the best solution. The order fulfillment process varies according to the type of business, inventory management, and supplier selection and can become highly complex. Here are mentioned the key stages of the order fulfillment process:

Receiving Stage

When you receive inventory from suppliers and manufacturers at your warehouse. the next steps will be:

1. Count all the items which you have ordered.
2. Check to make sure no items have been damaged during shipment.
3. Add the record of new inventory to your warehouse management software to keep the count, sales numbers for each item and also to track the location of items.
4. Add SKUs/barcodes to every item you received if they aren’t already labeled correctly.
5. Place individual items into ready-to-deliver kit packages, if necessary.

After following all these steps carefully, the next stage is to shelve it in the warehouse. By properly storing the items in the warehouse, you can maximize the speed and accuracy of your order fulfillment process thus can increase warehouse productivity.
Store each SKU in its own box, with overflow stored in another area of the warehouse. Keep SKUs that sell most often in boxes closer to the packing stations for easier access.

Processing Phase

The order processing phase starts when an order is received from the customer. Typically, fulfillment software integrates with shopping cart software so that when someone places an order online, the order is automatically sent to your fulfillment software at your warehouse, too.
After receiving the order, items are picked by staff and taken to an order packing area. In the packing area, firstly the items are checked for quality and packaged with the best materials appropriate for the items. Packing slips and other information are added, then the box is sealed and moved to the shipping station.

Delivery Phase

Once the order is in the shipping station, it’s ready for delivery to the end customer. In the shipping station, the package is weighed and the best delivery method is selected. Once the package is ready to deliver, the shipping station will update the status of an order to make sure customers can track their orders until they are delivered. After the order has been delivered to the customer, it can be considered fulfilled.

Choose Tenaxx Logistics for Your Order Fulfillment Services?

Want to find out more about our order fulfillment services? Contact Tenaxx Logistics today by filling out our online form or call us at 519-260-2738 and let us know what your business requirement. We’ll talk to you about possible shipping requirements and give you an accurate estimate for the services you need.

Types of Pallet Racking System in Warehouse

With a well-designed pallet racking system, you can improve warehouse productivity, increase storage space by 40% or more depending on the warehouse design. Choosing the right pallet racking system can make a big difference in your business outcomes. The main step is to decide what type of pallet rack suits best for your business requirements.

Here are mentioned some common types of pallet racking systems and their applications:

Selective Pallet Rack

Selective pallet rack is the most common and flexible pallet racking system in the industry. It provides efficient use of storage space and quick access to every load stored using any type of forklift. This type of rack is available in debris-resistant, easy-to-clean structural steel (ideal for food handling operations). The selective pallet rack is used commonly in manufacturing, retail, and general warehousing.

Back Racking / Push-Back Rack

These pallet racking systems have a last-in/first-out (LIFO)) rotation and are fabricated in structural or roll form. These systems are suitable for high-density multiple product storage. Push back racking allows easy access to inventory items and also good for a specific selection of inventory items. When a pallet is loaded or placed on the structure, the next pallet is pushed backward on the rails where it rests firmly. When the pallet is unloaded, they are ‘pushed’ to the front of the structure. Therefore it is called push back rack or back rack system. It is generally used in food-oriented operations, general warehousing, and retail.

Pallet Flow Rack

Pallet flow rack, also called gravity flow racks, utilize sloping racks. In pallet flow rack, new pallets are added at the higher end and removed from the lower end, thus it is a first-in/first-out(FIFO) loading system. Pallet flow storage can double or triple storage capacity as compared to drive-in or conventional pallet rack systems and is a perfect solution for freezer warehouses, food distribution centers, and storage of high-volume, perishable consumer goods.

Double Deep Rack

Double-deep racks are made by placing one row of selective racking behind another. This is the most affordable way to create high-density storage in the warehouse. Double deep racking can increase storage for up to 40% depending on the warehouse structure. It is recommended for general warehousing and manufacturing business.

Roll Formed Cantilever Rack

Cantilever racking is ideal for storing long products such as textiles piping, tubing tires, furniture, carpet rolls, steel rods, and timber. The racking structure has long arms extended from a metal framework specifically designed to store long and heavy items. Cantilever racking allows easy access to all the inventory items as it has no front column, unlike other pallet racking systems.

Drive-In Racking

Drive-in pallet racking system follows last-in/first-out rotation. It is designed to increase the utilization of floor space within a warehouse. This type of racking system requires a small passage area for the same amount of storage thus saving storage space. It is designed in a way that allows forklifts to make their way through the aisles to continue stocking and adding more pallets. It is suitable for large-volume storage of similar products, general warehousing, freezer, and high-turnover retail products.

5 Ways to Optimize Your Pick and Pack Process

The picking and packing process is an important part of the order fulfillment process. By optimizing the overall pick and pack system, you can streamline your order fulfillment, gain customer trust, and increase your business profits.

Here are given 5 ways to optimize the pick and pack process:

Utilize your Warehouse Space Effectively

The items should be placed according to the order requirement. By designing your warehouse for efficiently storing and picking of items, you can save the time it takes to gather items for your orders. The arrangement of items should be done carefully such as always place top-selling items near the packing stations, store items right next to each other which are commonly packed together.

Keep Your Warehouse Well-Ordered

By keeping your warehouse area clean and well ordered you can make pick and process easy and fast. Ensure that the items your packers staff needs for orders are arranged correctly around the workstation. Always place the items from receiving inventory in the same place to avoid wastage of time in searching for items.

Use WMS for Tracking Items

Use a warehouse management system (WMS) to keep the record of items that are listed in the order and to find them easily. By using advanced warehouse management software you can save lots of time in it takes in finding and keeping the record of the items for orders.

Try Different Order Picking Methods:

Try different order picking methods such as zone picking in which each order picker is assigned a particular zone and will do order picking within this zone only, or batch picking where the assigned picker picks multiple orders simultaneously.

Ensure your Inventory is Up To Date

An optimized pick and pack process always depend on the accurate inventory system. Always ensure that your inventory is up to date for easily keeping the records of the items and to track them easily. Check for items that are out of stock and place the orders of those items for avoiding delay in the order fulfillment process.

Bottom Line:

Your pick and pack process is only one important part of running a warehouse efficiently. With the help of up to date inventory management system, you can optimize your pick, pack, and shipping process and increase your business profits by maximizing warehouse productivity and gain customer trust.

If that’s what you want in your business, we are here to help you.