E-Commerce can be a great way to make a profit for businesses of all sizes, but it also requires a lot of work. Building infrastructure, sourcing products, and selling online can all be taxing on a business with limited resources. Unless your business is like Amazon, you're probably having trouble managing your E-Commerce operations consistently.
Fortunately, you can get help with this problem by outsourcing your E-Commerce operations. E-Commerce outsourcing gives you access to the resources that you need while potentially reducing costs and stress on your business. Here is what you need to know about E-Commerce outsourcing and four ways to outsource your E-Commerce operations and still turn a profit.
What is E-Commerce Outsourcing?
E-Commerce outsourcing is the practice of outsourcing parts of your E-Commerce operations to a third party or business partner. Outsourcing E-Commerce operations is a great way for businesses of all sizes to get the resources they need without having to hire a whole new team.
Outsourcing, or contracting another business to complete a part of your business operations, is very common. One of the biggest examples of this is shipping. FedEx, UPS, USPS, and other major shipping firms are contracted by nearly every business to deliver packages anywhere in the world.
In E-Commerce, outsourcing often focuses on coordinating a network of companies to do different parts of your business that you cannot. Your job then becomes coordinating this network to serve customers. There are four areas where E-Commerce outsourcing is common:
- Shipping
- Product or service development
- Marketing
- Support services (i.e. website management, virtual assistant, etc.)
Why Do Businesses Outsource E-Commerce Operations?
There are a few reasons why outsourcing your E-Commerce operations can be a good move for your business. You can get access to specialized resources that you don't have in-house. Whether you need a team to source products for you or manage your customer service, outsourcing parts of your E-Commerce operations can help you get what you need. E-Commerce outsourcing can also be a good way to save money.
In many cases, it's more cost-effective to outsource certain parts of your E-Commerce operations than to hire and train in-house staff. Outsourcing can also help you streamline your operations, which can make it easier to scale your business as needed.
4 Ways to Outsource E-Commerce Operations
There are a handful of ways that you can outsource E-Commerce operations to get the resources you need and streamline your business. Here are four ways to outsource your E-Commerce operations and still turn a profit.
Source Products Differently
One of the biggest ways to outsource your E-Commerce operations is to source your products differently. You can outsource the sourcing process by partnering with a business that already sources products for retailers. This can give you access to inventory without having to spend time and money sourcing products in-house.
If you want to continue to source products in-house, find different sources. Instead of going directly to a manufacturer, try using a marketplace like AliExpress or Amazon to find white-lable (unbranded) products. Add your branding and you have products available to sell.
Drop Shipping and Fulfillment
There are also a few ways that you can outsource the fulfillment process for products that you sell online. You can outsource the entire fulfillment process to a logistics company that specializes in E-Commerce fulfillment. If you have a smaller online presence, you can partner with a company that specializes in dropshipping. Dropshipping lets you sell products without having to store inventory.
Dropshipping lets you sell products without having to store inventory. You partner with a supplier and then sell their products at your own website, but the supplier delivers the products directly to your customers. This gives you access to a huge range of products without having to invest in inventory.
Automate Your Operations With AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used across every industry to automate processes so that people can focus on more demanding tasks. In E-Commerce, this often means automating the first stage of customer service.
If you have a lot of customer service inquiries, you may struggle to keep up with demand. An AI chatbot can help you reduce the amount of time that you spend on customer service by letting customers self-serve when possible.
If you sell a lot of products online, you probably have a lot of inventory-related data. You can use an AI platform to track your inventory and forecast sales data. This type of AI also works well for managing complex supply chain operations.
Find the Right Digital Marketing Partners
Finally, you can outsource your E-Commerce operations by finding the right digital marketing partners. Digital marketing is the easiest and most cost-effective way for businesses to find success in crowded markets. It can be the key difference between success and failure, which is why businesses put so much emphasis on their marketing efforts.
One of the best options for E-Commerce outsourcing is to find the right digital marketing partners. Having a team focused on helping you market your company can return exponentially higher results than doing it all yourself. Whether you use social media or other means to draw in clients, look for a partner that specializes in the marketing channels that you use.
Expand Your E-Commerce Systems
E-Commerce is a great way to generate revenue, but it can be difficult to keep up with the heavy workload. Make things easier by getting a strong start on your business growth by developing better E-Commerce solutions. At KitelyTech, we specialize in building websites, apps, and other digital products that integrate with E-Commerce platforms. When done well, these digital assets make it possible to sell anything, anywhere in the world. Your business can easily overcome one of the biggest hurdles that every business faces: getting to potential customers. Call us at (800) 274-2908 and let us help you build the infrastructure to make your E-Commerce business more successful.
