Ecommerce is on boom and every business is embracing the digital model. On the surface, it may seem like all ecommerce brands need to do is create a website or register on a marketplace and watch the sales roll in. But, in reality, it's so much more.

‍

Running an ecommerce business has some specific requirements such as storing inventory and effectively managing it via ecommerce warehousing. Modern storage facilities provide a lot more than a traditional space to store inventory. They offer the basic foundation to your business as the most crucial ecommerce operations are performed in a warehouse—from storing inventory to processing and shipping orders.

‍

Often overlooked by ecommerce brands, warehousing holds the key to ecommerce growth! So, if you have dreams of your ecommerce business outgrowing your garage or embracing efficiency and cost-effectiveness, it's time to opt for the right ecommerce warehousing service.

‍

In this blog, you will learn what ecommerce warehousing, which warehousing options are available for your ecommerce business, which type of warehousing is right for your business and the must-have features of ecommerce warehousing.

‍

What is ecommerce warehousing?

‍

Ecommerce warehousing refers to the process in which an ecommerce brand stores and manages inventory in a warehouse intended for online sales. The most common ecommerce warehousing operations include:

‍

• Storing inventory while taking appropriate safety and security measures
• Managing bins, shelves, or pallet locations of each SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)
• Performing warehouse audits and inventory audits
• Maintaining optimum inventory levels
• Training and managing warehouse staff
• Picking, packing and shipping orders
• Maintaining safety precautions for accident prevention
• Recording daily inbound and outbound shipments

‍

‍

What ecommerce warehousing options do you have?

‍

1. Warehousing from home

Many ecommerce brands start out by storing their inventory at home (living room, garage, office, or more). This kind of warehousing is suitable for small businesses with a low order volume. However, when the order volume increases, it becomes crucial to invest in additional storage space.

‍

2. Fulfilment centres by 3PL providers

Fulfilment centres are the large facilities used to store inventory close to customers. Unlike traditional warehouses, fulfilment centres are highly secure facilities that leverage powerful technology. It ensures that inventory is appropriately managed and orders are picked, packed and shipped on time.

Fulfilment centres are often owned or leased by third-party logistics (3PL) providers like Eshopbox. You can outsource your fulfilment to a 3PL and leverage their network of fulfilment centres.

‍

3. On-demand warehousing

On-demand warehousing allows ecommerce brands to rent available storage space on a temporary basis. If you're experiencing high order volume due to seasonality or a festive sale, you can easily deal with such sudden and temporary surges while ensuring seamless fulfilment. Moreover, you can use on-demand warehousing based on location as well. For instance, you have a warehouse in Mumbai, but now you are getting orders from Delhi. You can easily avail a warehouse or an FC for that particular location. Thus, it is best to temporarily store inventory and carry out fulfilment without incurring huge infrastructure costs.

‍

Which type of ecommerce warehousing is right for your business?

‍

The right warehousing option for your ecommerce brand depends on several factors, such as your daily order volume, your available capital, your short-term or long-term goals, and the resources you can dedicate to your ecommerce logistics strategy.

‍

1. You can manage warehousing from your home if you have sufficient warehouse space to:

• Cater to your inventory needs
• Deal with daily order volume easily
• Carry out order processing efficiently
• Drive the customer experience that only you can orchestrate

‍

2. You can use a 3PL provider's fulfilment centre to store your inventory if you want to:

• Scale your ecommerce business fast
• Improve inventory management
• Streamline ecommerce fulfilment
• Leverage powerful technology
• Achieve fast shipping speed
• Enhance customer experience

‍

3. You can also use on-demand warehousing service if you want to:

• Avail a 3PL's superior fulfilment services on a temporary basis (location-wise or on a seasonal basis)
• Handle sudden spikes in order volume without additional investment

‍

Must-have features of ecommerce warehousing

‍

1. A warehouse management system (WMS)

‍

A warehouse management system (WMS) is a software solution that enables businesses to optimise an ecommerce warehouse with numerous features. As inventory levels fluctuate with every transaction in ecommerce, you need powerful reporting and real-time insights. It will help you manage your inventory and improve warehouse operations. A WMS can help you:

• Track real-time inventory across fulfilment centres and sales channels by status and quantity in hand
• Set reorder points to maintain optimum inventory levels and avoid stockouts by planning inventory replenishment
• Analyse historical data to avoid overstocking and calculate ecommerce metrics like inventory turnover, inventory ageing, sell-through rate, and more
• Implement batch tracking for Food and Beverages (F&B), cosmetics, and more
• Streamline the ecommerce fulfilment process and make your operations more efficient
• Optimise the warehouse layout to improve Order Picking Accuracy (OPA) and order accuracy rate

‍

Eshopbox gives you access to an actionable dashboard to provide complete visibility of your inventory across fulfilment centres in real-time with valuable insights. This can help you to ensure each aforementioned point.

‍

‍

2. Integration with your sales channels

‍

Integrating your warehouse and sales channels (Shopify store, Amazon, Flipkart, and more) will help you connect and sell on sales channels easily. Moreover, when an order is received from any sales channel, the order will be assigned to the fulfilment centre nearest to the customer location. Then, the order will be picked, packed, and shipped to the customer.

‍

Eshopbox has 2-step integration with marketplaces and shopping carts. This means you can sell on your own website and various marketplaces using Eshopbox's pre-built shopping cart integrations or use custom integrations with developer-friendly APIs. Eshopbox also syncs your inventory across all fulfilment centres and sales channels every 5 minutes, enabling you to relay accurate inventory levels in real time and prevent overselling.

‍

‍

3. Distributed network of fulfilment centres

‍

Splitting your inventory across multiple warehouses reduces shipping costs so that when an order is placed, it is automatically shipped from the nearest warehouse to the customer. Multi-warehousing also improves the customer experience by providing lightning-fast shipping speed.

‍

Eshopbox's distributed network of fulfilment centres across PAN India helps you optimise shipping cost and speed.

‍

4. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for ecommerce fulfilment

‍

In ecommerce warehousing, a lot of activities take place, such as receiving inventory, performing quality checks, picking, packing, shipping orders, and handling returns. Therefore, it's crucial to follow a set of documented step-by-step instructions known as SOPs to streamline these routine operations. These help you increase the operational efficiency of the fulfilment process.

‍

Eshopbox follows a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to streamline order processing and achieve maximum fulfilment efficiency.

‍

‍

5. Custom packing capability

‍

Custom packaging is a great way to create a memorable first impression of your ecommerce brand and an excellent marketing tool. Instead of using a standard box during packaging, you can curate a unique unboxing experience for your customers.

‍

Eshopbox enables you to maintain a superior brand image with flexible packaging rules. You can choose the packaging materials for different products and add inserts such as samples, gift cards, coupons, pamphlets and more.

‍

‍

6. Scalable operations

‍

In ecommerce, the order volume doesn't stay constant all year long. Your inventory levels fluctuate based on seasons, flash sales, discounts, and more. It means you need scalable storage and fulfilment resources. If your warehouse doesn't allow you to manage the variability in sales, you will either be unable to ship your orders quickly or efficiently or end up paying more for storage space, handling costs and manpower.

‍

Eshopbox allocates warehouse storage and all the fulfilment resources according to your current order volume to effectively manage variability in sales.

‍

Bottom line

‍

When it comes to ecommerce warehousing, finding the most suitable solution can be tricky. After all, your ecommerce brand needs an efficient ecommerce warehouse to accommodate your goals, needs, and preferences. If you're looking to improve profits and scale, you must evaluate your options carefully. You need an ecommerce warehousing service and fulfilment solution that can streamline order fulfilment and provide a great customer experience.