You’re likely reading this article today because your business sells physical products to its customers. As your business grows, so too will your requirements for storing that stock. After all: you want to ensure you’ve got plenty of products available to satisfy customer demands.
With that in mind, you might not know it, but there are four different ways you can store your firm’s products and ship them out to customers. Each option has its advantages and can even save money for specific business types. Here’s what you need to know:
1. Store your products in-house
Arguably one of the most common and easiest ways to store your stock is by keeping it in-house. No shortage of business premises offers both office and warehouse space.
As you can imagine, having access to stock from a few feet away from your offices makes it easy to do stock checks, dispatch goods to customers, and receive new stock ready for storage.
One downside to having such premises is the cost can sometimes be beyond many small firm’s budgets. And another is that if you run out of storage space, you may find it impossible to extend your warehouse.
2. Lease a storage unit
When companies run out of warehouse space (or don’t have any at all), a convenient option is to lease a storage unit. There are many advantages to that option. Examples include having a choice of where stock gets stored and the size of your storage unit.
Another thing to consider when renting a storage unit is scalability. If you start running low on storage space, you can easily upgrade to a bigger unit at the same premises. Plus, the cost of doing so is usually negligible.
Most storage units have a plethora of security, and many offer 24/7 access for your convenience.
3. Use a fulfilment service
In case you didn’t know, fulfilment services offer a one-stop-shop solution for businesses. Yes, they allow you to store your products in a safe and secure environment. But, they also provide shipping services – regardless of the volume you sell each month.
Fulfilment services can be perfect for startups and small businesses alike. Firstly, there’s no requirement on the business to keep stock in-house or arrange the lease of a storage unit. And, secondly, they don’t need to physically send products out to customers.
One of the best-known examples of fulfilment services in action is with Amazon. Many of Amazon’s sellers store stock with the e-commerce giant and ask them to send their products out to customers.
4. Use a drop-shipping service
One final way to deal with stock is to not even own it at all! Drop-shipping makes it affordable for micro-entrepreneurs to sell thousands of products online without the financial burden of buying stock from a wholesaler.
When your business receives an order, you place an order with the drop-shipping provider. They will send the products directly to your customer and even use your firm’s branding and invoice details.
The only downside to using drop-shipping services is the margin your business makes will be quite slim. Still, it’s possible to do that and then move to buy products in bulk at discounted prices when your business grows.
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