Sometimes when a potential client first gets in touch with us, their main question for us is ‘what’s the price?’

这是一个很重要的问题, using price as your main criterion does not guarantee you will find a solution that fits your needs, 或者给你最低的成本. 毕竟，你不会只根据价格来买车、买房、度假或买保险. A cheaper car might cost more to run, a cheaper home might need lots of expensive repairs… there are a whole range of factors to consider when making your decision.

Your fulfilment partner will be an extension of your business operation and will contribute to your brand’s reputation; their ability to make sure your orders arrive in a well-presented and timely manner will have a huge bearing on how your customers perceive you. 因此, it’s crucial to work with a company you can trust, and not just go with the cheapest-sounding quote you can find.

Here are some important questions to use as criteria when selecting a fulfilment partner to suit your business.   

Ask: “我的账户将如何管理??”

为什么要问这个问题:虽然大多数物流公司都有客户服务团队, how you are able to contact them can vary.

Several fulfilment providers have a ticketing system in place, so rather than contacting a team member directly, 在您的查询得到确认之前，您必须“提交支持票”. These systems are always set up with the best of intentions, but sometimes you just want to talk to somebody!

Some of our clients have even reported that their previous fulfilment company imposed limits on how many times they’re allowed to contact their client service team per day. 如果你是一家新公司，对招聘流程有疑问，你可能会觉得很沮丧, or if you’re trying to get an update on a customer’s behalf.

Having a dedicated contact or two is often the best indicator that your questions are going to be answered in a helpful – and human! - - - - - -的方式. 在评估不同的履行提供商时，询问他们如何处理来自客户的查询.

Ask: “What are your parcel size definitions?”

Why ask this: It might seem a strange question, but we’re aware of at least one of the UK’s leading fulfilment providers offering ‘competitive’ prices for small/medium/large parcels - but their size definitions are smaller than that of the couriers they work with. 

这意味着在某些情况下, a parcel defined by Royal Mail as ‘small’ could be labelled as ‘medium’ by the fulfilment company: they can send the parcel on a ‘small’ service while charging you a ‘medium’ price. 这种定价方法可能会让企业付出比预期更高的代价. 

Ask: “What happens if I have a surge in orders?”

Why ask this: You want peace of mind that your fulfilment partner can maintain service levels through busier periods, 因此，有必要问一下，中国采取了哪些措施来应对不断变化的需求.

Being in communication with your fulfilment team before/throughout a busy period or promotion is essential to managing a successful sale. Make sure you will have a regular point of contact, or that you can easily get hold of someone from the company, so you can keep them updated on your plans.

我们注意到一些物流公司要求提前28天通知“激增事件”。, and imposing additional charges if less notice is provided. 这将使他们的客户很难适应市场的快速变化, such as reacting to a TikTok/Instagram trend. 

Ask: “What happens if I have a slump in orders?”

为什么要问这个问题:我们许多人都亲眼目睹了大流行病的影响, Brexit, and the cost of living crisis on online sales, and businesses’ ability to forecast demand. 尽管如此, some fulfilment companies still require quarterly sales forecasts, 如果你的销售额达不到预期，你有权提高成本.

This measure puts unnecessary additional pressure on business owners, who are already trying to navigate a challenging set of circumstances.

Ask: “Do you offer any additional services beyond the basic pick/pack?”

Why ask this: It’s good to understand the range of services that your fulfilment partner can offer - can they carry out 返工, 服装和礼品包装服务? Do they provide a wholesale fulfilment service? 

Even if you don’t need these additional services at the moment, your requirements could evolve as your business grows. 从长远来看，拥有一个服务可以与你一起发展的履行合作伙伴要简单得多, rather than having to find a new company when your needs change beyond the standard pick/pack service.

It’s worth considering what you would do if you ever encountered a problem with a stock delivery; for example if it needed 返工. Would your fulfilment partner be willing and able to help you fix it?

Ask: “Will your fulfilment software give me the information I need?”

为什么要问这个问题:外包你的履行不应该意味着忽视你的库存. While all fulfilment providers will tell you that they have a state-of-the-art system that keeps their warehouse running, that means nothing if you can’t work with it. It needs to be transparent and easy for you to use, without bombarding you with too much data at once.

问:“有任何隐藏费用吗?”

Why ask this: As well as reviewing any fulfilment quote thoroughly, you should ask the company to clarify if there are charges not included in your proposal that your business could be subjected to. 除了, we strongly recommend reading through their Terms and Conditions of service before making your final decision - this may reference fees not mentioned anywhere else. Some fulfilment companies omit the courier fees from their quote, so on first glance it will look significantly less expensive!

我们还建议检查您将与之合作的任何组织的财务状况. 进行信用检查, 查看公司注册处——如果公司有正在增长的现金储备, 它可能会遇到麻烦. While this is the worst-case scenario, your fulfilment partner going into administration would be a nightmare for your business - it could take weeks or months for the administrators to release your stock back to you.

If a fulfilment house’s quote seems too good to be true, then these points are particularly important - check for hidden fees, 而且他们激进的定价模式并没有让他们陷入危险的财务状况. 

比较不同物流公司的报价真的很困难, as there is a lot of variation in how they all structure their pricing. 列出几个常见的订单示例，以及每种订单的发货成本，例如:

• A gift-wrapped order with 2 products

• 1个产品的标准订单

• 30种产品的批发订单

然后, 估计一下每种类型的订单你希望在一年内发出多少，然后乘以费用. 下一个, work out your storage costs for the year, and factor in any additional annual costs in your proposal. 这应该有助于给出一个清晰的画面，你会支付每个履行合作伙伴, as opposed to trying to compare apples with oranges.

Ask: “你的入职流程是怎样的?”

为什么要问这个问题:你是否打算把内部的工作外包出去, 换一个新的履行伙伴, or plan ahead for your start-up business, your new fulfilment company should be able to outline its lead times and process for setting up your new account.

显然，您希望您的在线订单尽可能少地受到干扰, and for your new fulfilment partner to set clear expectations so you can make the necessary preparations.

Ask: “你有什么问题要问我??”

配送公司在分摊费用之前是否花时间了解你的需求?

If the fulfilment house has not asked about what you’re selling; your product characteristics, 交付的偏好, 你是否对完成订单有特定的要求，这是一个危险信号.

The time and processes involved in fulfilling an order can vary hugely from one business to the next. 然而，一些物流供应商仍在分发相同的通用价目表, 无论是卖自行车的, 金表, 食物会妨碍, 智能手机还是沙发!

共享标准化价格的配送公司之所以这么做，是因为他们知道这一点, 对大多数卖家来说, 这是他们最重要的问题，他们想在开始谈话之前知道价格. But these sellers run the risk of being lured in with low costs and then having their fees adjusted once they’ve already moved all their stock over and integrated their systems – simply because the fulfilment company didn’t accurately calculate the resource involved before you signed with them.

When evaluating different fulfilment companies, make sure you get satisfactory answers to all these questions. It’s always best to speak to a team member over the phone if you can.

What are Vdepot’s answers to these questions?

“我的账户将如何管理??”

We don’t use a ticketing system at Vdepot, 而是邀请我们的客户在他们需要任何东西的时候给我们打电话或发邮件. We allocate a team of people to each client. 这意味着你将有一个主要的客户服务联系人，货物的一致性 & 仓库管理，以及技术方面的一致性. Your business will be looked after by a dependable group of people who will become familiar with your products and processes.

“What are your parcel size definitions?”

您可以使用的盒子尺寸定义将在我们的提案中明确说明. You have the option to use your own packing materials, 在这种情况下，它们将是与我们使用的Courier服务相同大小的定义. If you would like to use Vdepot’s packing materials – we try and match box definitions as closely to the couriers’ as possible.

“What happens if I have a surge in orders?”

While we ask that our clients try to give as much notice as they can of upcoming sales and promotions, 我们永远不会阻止与我们合作的企业进行销售, or reacting to what’s happening in their market or on social media. 

我们采取了一些措施，以确保我们在繁忙的时间保持服务水平, including training seasonal staff in September so they have the necessary knowledge and experience to work through the demanding festive season, 每天审查客户订单量和团队成员分配情况.

“What happens if I have a slump in orders?”

We want you to consider the Vdepot team as an extension of your business, and we feel that penalising you for a drop in sales would not be conducive to a fair and successful partnership. 而不是经济处罚, 如果你的销售没有达到你所期望的水平，我们希望能够帮助你. 例如, we can organise a free digital marketing audit for you, 以及为我们信任的专家提供建议，帮助您克服任何业务挑战. 你成功对每个人都有好处，所以我们想尽我们所能帮助你. 

“Do you offer any additional services beyond the basic pick/pack?”

We are one of the few fulfilment companies that can bespoke the fulfilment service to whatever you may require, 包括B2C的专家履行, B2B, 线上线下渠道, 返工, 服装和礼品包装. 

“Will your fulfilment software give me the information I need?”

With Vdepot’s custom-built order management system, you can easily monitor the status of your orders and inventory levels, and specify exactly what other information you want to view each day. This can include the live status of all new orders, 按地点排序的订单编号, 通道和SKU, and any custom reports you might request. We actively compile reports and insights for our clients that help them evaluate their business performance and inform decision-making about their products, 价格和更多.

“有任何隐藏费用吗??”

我们为您定制的建议将列出您应该知道的所有费用，没有意外. We don’t hide any extra service charges in our Terms & 条件下, 你可以在这里读到. 只有当你选择的快递公司增加收费时，你的服务费才会改变, 如果考虑到通货膨胀, or if your fulfilment requirements evolved to be substantially different from those referenced in your first proposal. 

“你的入职流程是怎样的?”

在Vdepot, 我们可以得到您的新的履行过程，并在几天内从您的查询运行. 我们的平均准备时间是3个工作日，但在某些情况下，这可以少到1天. We include an estimated lead time in our proposal for you, based on your inventory and order volumes. 对于拥有数千个sku或正在从不同的履行合作伙伴切换的公司, we can offer the option of phased implementation.

“你有什么问题要问我??”

在Vdepot，我们更愿意与您聊天，给您量身定制，公平和准确的建议. We will run through a few questions with you - on a call or via email, depending on your preference - about your products, and your needs around packing/shipping/returns. 从那里，我们将创建一个定制的提案，并在电话中与您一起运行.

要与Vdepot开始对话，请致电+44(0)1603 881700或访问我们 http://vdepot.co.uk