Benefits of eCommerce backordering
You have orders flooding into your stores, and everything seems to go well. Inventory is flying as the orders come, and your revenues are giving your goosebumps. Everything looks perfect. Suddenly, you don’t have an adequate supply to meet the demand. The panic button has been triggered; what do you do? How do you avert this and keep your customers? Backordering is a common phenomenon in the eCommerce industry. When faced with such a situation, you should panic because most business successfully operates and rely on backorder to boost sales. Backorder is a widely used strategy to manage inventory and customer expectations, especially during the holiday period when sales are high. Benefits of eCommerce Backordering While some eCommerce storeowners see backordering as something terrible, especially during the festive period, it can be an excellent strategy to cut costs for new store owners. When rightly implemented, there are several benefits of eCommerce backordering. Let’s look at a few of these benefits. Cut carrying cost For new retailers, the first thing to avoid is overstocking your products. However, you should focus on backordering to allow you to have enough orders pending when people start buying. With this, you don’t have to pay additional money for storage space since you deliver the goods once they arrive. For a new eCommerce store, the order volumes aren’t high initially, which can help minimize cost. With backordering, you can reduce costs. Save warehouse space When you have a large inventory volume, you need space to accommodate these products. Regrettably, it can take a huge toil for your business, which can turn out to be expensive. However, keeping a low stock can help cut costs and save warehouse space since you pass your inventory to customers as they come. Increase product value In retailing business, curiosity is very important. A backorder can help increase a product value. A company can create a product and allow a consumer to order it before they can ship it. It creates significant value for the customer and a great marketing plan since customers will think the product is very good or offers excellent benefits. However, to utilize this strategy, a particular number of customers are waiting for the product. When a customer waits for a particular product excessively, it can create disinterest in buying it. Therefore, you have to be careful when using a backorder strategy. Apple is a reputable brand that utilizes this strategy such that its customers always wait when it announces a new iPhone. Retain customer Backordering provides relevant information about product sales, trends, and customers’ behavior. You can use it to understand what customers perceive about a particular product. You can use the statistics to analyze what you need to stock, the product your customers want, and how frequently you need supplies. Must read: Customer retention strategies. Conclusion Backordering is an excellent way to handle high volumes when you don’t have adequate storage. However, despite this, customer service needs to be top-notch. Ensure that you keep your supply chain open so that you can consistently deliver the product when necessary. Although customers understand that backordering takes time, it shouldn’t take too much time to become uninterested in the product. Be sure to check out our product BigCommerce BackOrder if you are looking for a backordering solution for your eCommerce store.
Managing Inventory with Third Party Fulfillment for Ecommerce Shops
Effective inventory management is the backbone of a successful eCommerce business. It ensures that products are available to meet customer demand without overstocking, which can tie up capital and incur storage costs. Proper inventory management minimizes the risk of stockouts and overstocks, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and optimizing operational efficiency. This blog explores the concept of third party fulfillment and its critical role in inventory management, providing insights on leveraging these services for better inventory control. What is Third Party Fulfillment Third party fulfillment involves outsourcing logistics and inventory management to specialized providers. These providers handle tasks such as receiving inventory, warehousing, picking and packing orders, and shipping products. This allows eCommerce businesses to focus on core activities like marketing and product development while ensuring efficient and reliable order fulfillment. Key services offered by third party fulfillment companies include secure warehousing with real-time inventory tracking, efficient order processing, and managing shipping with multiple carriers to ensure timely delivery. They also handle returns and provide inventory management services, such as monitoring stock levels and conducting regular audits. The main differences between in-house fulfillment and third party fulfillment are related to cost, scalability, and expertise. In-house fulfillment can be resource-intensive, while third party providers benefit from economies of scale, leading to lower costs. Third party fulfillment offers scalability, allowing businesses to adjust operations based on demand without significant investment. Additionally, these providers offer specialized knowledge and advanced logistics technologies, ensuring efficient and reliable fulfillment processes. Benefits of Using Third Party Fulfillment Cost Savings Using third party fulfillment can lead to significant cost savings for eCommerce businesses. By outsourcing logistics and inventory management, businesses can avoid the high costs associated with maintaining their own warehouses, hiring additional staff, and investing in logistics technology. Third party providers benefit from economies of scale, enabling them to offer these services at a lower cost. Improved Efficiency Third party fulfillment providers are experts in logistics and supply chain management, and they employ advanced technologies to streamline operations. These providers use sophisticated inventory management systems to track stock levels in real-time, ensuring that inventory is accurately monitored and managed. They also optimize order processing and shipping, reducing errors and delays. This increased efficiency leads to faster order fulfillment and reduced operational complexities for eCommerce businesses. Scalability Third party fulfillment offers unparalleled scalability. Businesses can easily adjust their inventory levels and fulfillment needs based on seasonal demand fluctuations or growth spurts without worrying about capacity constraints. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for eCommerce shops experiencing rapid growth or dealing with unpredictable demand. Enhanced Customer Experience By leveraging third party fulfillment, eCommerce businesses can provide a better customer experience. Faster shipping times, accurate order fulfillment, and efficient returns management increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, the ability to offer multiple shipping options and real-time tracking enhances the overall shopping experience. Best Practices for Managing Inventory with Third Party Fulfillment Accurate Inventory Forecasting Accurate inventory forecasting is crucial for effective inventory management. By analyzing historical sales data, market trends, and seasonal patterns, businesses can predict future demand more accurately. Third party fulfillment providers often offer advanced forecasting tools and analytics to help businesses make informed inventory decisions. Regular Inventory Audits Regular inventory audits are essential to ensure that the actual stock levels match the recorded inventory. This practice helps identify discrepancies, prevent stockouts, and reduce excess inventory. Third party fulfillment companies typically conduct routine audits and provide detailed reports to maintain inventory accuracy. Effective Communication Effective communication between eCommerce businesses and third party fulfillment providers is vital for smooth operations. Clear communication regarding inventory levels, order volumes, and shipping schedules ensures that both parties are aligned and can address any issues promptly. Regular meetings and updates help maintain a strong partnership. Leveraging Technology Leveraging technology is key to optimizing inventory management with third party fulfillment. Many providers offer integrated inventory management systems that provide real-time visibility into stock levels, order status, and shipping updates. These systems enable businesses to make data-driven decisions and respond quickly to changes in demand. Managing Inventory with BackOrder BigCommerce BackOrder, created by Grit Global, is an innovative solution designed to help eCommerce businesses manage inventory effectively, even when products are out of stock. By allowing customers to place orders for out-of-stock items, BackOrder ensures that sales momentum is maintained and customer satisfaction is enhanced. BackOrder offers several key features and benefits that make it a valuable tool for inventory management: Conclusion Managing inventory effectively is crucial for the success of eCommerce businesses. Third party fulfillment offers significant advantages, including cost savings, improved efficiency, scalability, and enhanced customer experience. Additionally, tools like BackOrder from Grit Global can help maintain sales momentum and customer satisfaction, even during inventory challenges. If you have any questions or need assistance with managing your inventory through third party fulfillment, please contact us.
Best Upsell Apps For BigCommerce
Today, a lot of store owners choose BigCommerce as the best option to host their store for its unlimited sales, easy-to-use dashboard, 24/7 support, and 0% transaction costs. However, besides these features, you always need one or more additional third-party apps to boost your sales. Some tasks that can be done by the best BigCommerce apps are marketing, upsell, delivery tracking, etc. With several apps available to test and try, it might be confusing to identify the best apps for your store. In this article, we’ll sort out apps that are highly recommended by Bigcommerce users to boost your sales. What is upsell? Upselling is a sales tactic where a seller offers their customers more expensive products, add-ons, or upgrades to make more profitable sales. Practically, most businesses use both upselling and cross-selling techniques to increase customer satisfaction and revenue. In this write-up, we’d share three of the best BigCommerce upsell apps. However, keep in mind that there are other options you can use for your store. FOMO – Psychology to sell more What do you think FOMO is? Fear of missing out? Well, as the name reveals, FOMO uses allows users to tap into unconscious psychological triggers to boost sales. Most store owners often don’t have time for social proof and pop-ups. With FOMO, this becomes easier than ever. For example, you can quickly create a pop-up to showcase your discount deal when a visitor comes to your store. ShipperHQ – Transparent Shipping One of the most delicate aspects of an online store is shipping. You don’t want to lose customers at this last stage because of shipping difficulties. Fortunately, BigCommerce has an in-built abandoned cart feature that allows you to integrate ShipperHQ. ShipperHQ uses IP addresses to evaluate the shipping costs and calculates additional fees on delivery. Additionally, you don’t want to have such a high delivery cost that might scare your customers away. Then, ShipperHQ allows merchants to set rules based on locations so that you won’t over-charge your customers. PriceWaiter If you want to upsell hot leads, then PriceWaiter is a good app for BigCommerce. Most online stores have issues getting to know how much customers will be willing to pay. PriceWaiter allows you to give the customers an option to determine the amount they want to spend. For instance, you can use the “Name your Price” button that prompts you to fill in their dream price. If you are contemplating that your customer will put a very low price, you can set the lowest price possible at your backend. It also comes with bundling items that allow you to push customers towards buying some more products. GritGlobal’s BigCommerce Product Recommendation App With flexible recommendation rules tailored for BigCommerce pos stores, this is a must-try solution. The app is powered by an easy-to-use interface and automated behavior-analytical engine. Therefore, it can boost your revenue with relevant upsell, cross-sell and recommendations. Register for a demo here: Final note While these apps can effectively accelerate upsell efficiency in your BigCommerce store, always pay attention to your content. This means ensuring that all of your recommendations are genuinely helpful, and your site comes with great customer reviews and is backed by outstanding customer service.
