By Outsourcing your print fulfillment function, you not only reduce your overhead expenses, you also lower your risk and aggravation
What is Print Fulfillment?
Print Fulfillment, also known as Literature Fulfillment, is an important business function for many organizations. The print fulfillment process varies from company to company, but it generally involves the warehousing of printed items, a method of receiving orders for the items, the gathering of items to be shipped, the packaging and addressing of the items, the shipping or mailing of the items to the correct recipients, and confirmation that the orders have been filled.
An organization may use a print fulfillment program for promotional purposes, to fill customer orders for printed matter, or as a method to streamline the distribution of print materials to affiliate locations…
Promotional Purposes – a fulfillment program can be set up to distribute print materials that help build awareness, stimulate interest, and encourage inquiries. Catalogs, brochures, info and sample packs, branded premiums, and coupons are common examples of printed items used to promote a product or company. A promotional fulfillment program could be a one-time event or an ongoing campaign. Also, promotional fulfillment could be targeted at new prospects and/or existing customers.
Fill Customer Orders – a fulfillment program is commonly used to efficiently fill customer orders for printed items. For example, businesses that sell books as a primary or secondary source of income use a print fulfillment program to satisfy orders. Other popular items distributed through print fulfillment programs include educational materials, repair and training manuals, sheet music, calendars…basically any printed item that is offered to consumers can be part of a print fulfillment program.
Streamline Distribution to Affiliates – some organizations use a print fulfillment program to distribute sales materials and operational supplies to branch offices, field reps, dealers, franchisees or other associated locations. Common printed items distributed in this manner include price lists, order forms, contracts, displays, employee benefit information and business stationery. Non-printed items, such as repair parts, tools and general office supplies are also sometimes distributed along with the printed items.
Some companies still handle their Print Fulfillment operation in-house, but an increasing number are Outsourcing this vital business function to a third party provider.
Why Outsource Print Fulfillment?
Based on our experience through the years, the three main reasons an organization chooses to outsource its print fulfillment function rather than perform it in-house are: 1) to reduce overhead, 2) to reduce risk and 3) to reduce aggravation.
Reduce Overhead – by outsourcing fulfillment, you have no large upfront investments or capital expenditures. You don’t have to rent or purchase warehouse space to store, pack and ship your goods. There’s also no outlay for employees, utilities, insurance, security, forklifts or equipment, software, or maintenance needed to run the warehouse.
With outsourcing, you pass most overhead expenses on to your fulfillment partner. You only pay a pre-determined rate based on the services you actually utilize, making your fulfillment expenses predictable and easy to budget. So instead of having your money tied up in warehouse-related expenditures, you are free to invest in new products, marketing efforts, and sales growth.
Reduce Risk – once you commit to a warehouse lease or purchase your own storage facility, you have obligated a large portion of your operating cash… whether your products move off the shelves or not. This is particularly risky for a new or growing business which does not yet have an accurate sense for how the future may play out. Hiring your own warehouse staff is also a risk because your order volume may encounter seasonal or unforeseen fluctuations – you may have too many workers one week and not enough workers the next.
However, by outsourcing your fulfillment operation, you basically only pay for services as your products get packed and shipped…not as a large upfront outlay. Outsourcing turns your fulfillment cost into a predictable cost-per-order. And you’ll never have to worry about expanding or scaling back your space, staff or systems if your business should increase or decrease.
Reduce Aggravation – chances are your expertise lies somewhere other than warehousing, packing, shipping, order tracking and returns processing. So for many businesses, in-house print fulfillment becomes an incredibly time-consuming process. Needless to say, the hassles associated with managing inventory, personnel, shipping and other daily fulfillment tasks can greatly interfere with your core business activities.
Fortunately, the core business activity of a fulfillment outsource center is FULFILLMENT. So it is streamlined for efficient receiving, storage, gathering, packing and distribution. It even handles any returns. So you don’t have to do any time-consuming fulfillment tasks at all …or even oversee them. You outsource your entire fulfillment operation to a specialized partner and then spend your valuable time on marketing, sales, new product ideas and whatever else helps your business grow.
Formax Printing Solutions would like to become your fulfillment outsource partner! With over 25 years experience, state-of-the-art facilities and a centralized location, we can make your print fulfillment program a resounding success. Give us a call and let us demonstrate how we can help grow your business…while reducing your overhead, risk and aggravation.
Take care! Keith
