Small Business Headaches? Here’s How to Ease the Pain

Running a small business can feel like running a marathon. But at least marathon runners have help with all of the logistics! When it comes to managing your own business, it turns out that you, too, could benefit from delegating stuff like who fills up the water stations and marks out the finish line.

It turns out that managing the logistics of order fulfillment ““ packing, shipping, assembling, and kitting ““ gives small business owners some of their biggest headaches. One of the best ways to overcome these headaches is to outsource this labor when you need it. It’s a great tactic for earning back time to focus on the core of your business and plan for the future.

What Can Be Outsourced?

Among the most common tasks that we see outsourced at Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries have to do with order fulfillment. As many small business owners lack warehouse and packaging space, it’s often more cost effective to outsource assembly, packaging, and kitting to a third party to complete

Commonly outsourced tasks include  fulfillment, assembly, kitting, and packing services. Each of these requires careful attention, and choosing a trusted partner can help you avoid late shipments while making sure your customers get their delivery.

Questions to Ask

When choosing an outsourcing partner, here are some questions you should ask:

• What are the quality controls in place? How is order quality ensured?
• Do you have a dedicated representative on the ground at the outsourcing company who can handle any concerns you have?
• How are returns managed? Will the company handle this, or will orders come back to you?
• How will you be invoiced? What is the payment schedule?

Outsourcing Partners

When choosing an outsourcing partner, look for providers like Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries with a long history in the business. Read testimonials from their customers and pay special attention to what they have to say about pricing, service, and quality. And if possible, take a tour of their facilities to see their operations first hand.