Welcome to the beginner’s guide to eCommerce fulfillment and choosing the right 3PL warehouse for your direct to consumer brand. A 3PL, such as RLS Logistics, offers outsourced cold chain solutions so your company can focus on other key aspects of your business. At RLS Logistics, we provide a diverse menu of services, including cold storage warehousing, LTL shipping (less than truckload), freight brokerage and frozen eCommerce fulfillment services.
As cold chain experts, we offer these services and many more for frozen and refrigerated food grade commodities. Some common commodities we service include frozen fruits and vegetables, refrigerated dairy products, frozen and refrigerated desserts, frozen meats, and seafood.
We understand that choosing a fulfillment partner can be stressful, with many factors to consider. This guide serves as an introduction to eCommerce fulfillment and critical considerations for selecting a 3PL partner.
1. What is Direct to consumer fulfillment?
Ecommerce fulfillment allows the supplier to sell directly to the end consumer. There is no retailer or wholesaler involved in the process. The customer does their shopping online, and their purchase arrives at their doorstep.
2. How does the consumer learn about your product?
Direct to consumer fulfillment is a great way to take total control of educating consumers about your brand. It is recommended that you include more images and videos of your product line for consumers to get an inside view of your product. You want to make their shopping experience feel as personal and special as possible on a digital platform.
3. What role does technology play in direct to consumer fulfillment?
Today’s consumer values transparency and advanced tracking. Leveraging the right technology can help your company improve its customer experience, track errors, and make necessary changes to improve efficiency and productivity. If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it. Choose a fulfillment partner who can provide valuable insights into your operations to make your job easier. RLS Logistics offers an online customer platform, Anello, that provides complete transparency into your company’s supply chain. This in-house made business intelligence tool allows you through create reports and access data essential to running your online store and keeping your customers happy.
4. Do you have the right timeline?
When launching a D2C brand, timing is crucial. You must build awareness and hype around your product line. Give yourself time to deploy marketing tactics and develop a strategy catered to the timeline. If joining a partnership with a fulfillment company like RLS Logistics, trust, and transparency are essential. Make sure you discuss time constraints and expectations. Honesty is necessary for understanding and optimizing your supply chain. If you have a deadline that must be met, make sure you are transparent with that information.
5. Is a subscription based model suitable for your brand?
Subscription-based pricing models are great for strengthening brand loyalty. Consider your consumer preferences and product attributes. Do your customers regularly shop, whether monthly, quarterly, etc.? Is the product perishable? These are just a few questions you can consider in this decision. Partnering with an eCommerce fulfillment 3PL warehouse partner like RLS Logistics helps show that your company has an established customer base and a growing demand. A subscription-based model makes it easy to track repeat customers, unsubscribes, and price-driven customers who join during promotional periods.
RLS Logistics is setting the new standard in the food logistics and supply chain management industry.
If you are ready to expand and leverage eCommerce fulfillment for your frozen food business, contact our fulfillment team at 800-579-9900 for a no-obligation call.
