As an eCommerce business, you need certain things when it comes to your order fulfillment provider, especially for the fulfillment pricing. The challenge is, the type of fees can vary significantly from company to company.
Generally speaking, there are three primary costs that you will see throughout the fulfillment industry:
- Warehousing fees – the cost of keeping your goods in the fulfillment warehouse, which is usually charged by cubic meter/foot or pallet and can vary by month.
- Pick & pack fees – The charge for warehouse employees to select and package your products according to the customer orders, which is usually charged by item or by order.
- Shipping fees – the cost of shipping to your customers worldwide, which is usually charged by weight or by dimensional weight.
In addition to these three most basic costs of fulfillment, you will likely encounter other additional fees for integration, returns handling or surcharge for overweight/oversize, long term storage, intercept order etc.
Fulfillment companies don’ t have industry uniformity when it comes to costs. In fact, how a company will charge you can make a huge difference in whether they’ re the right company for your business. Here are a typical comparison of the three main fulfillment companies for your reference:
(The general pricing structure of ChinaDivision, Shipwire and Amazon FBA)
ChinaDivision is a China order fulfillment company, characterized by a transparent pricing structure as the above, no minimums, no hidden fees or a series of surcharge. ChinaDivision also offers free China warehouse for the first three months. Unlike Shipwire and Amazon FBA, ChinaDivision charges a relatively lower pick and pack fee (only $0.5 per order), which is not calculated by per item. Taking advantage of the good relationship with a wide range of shipping carriers, ChinaDivision enables a discounted last mile shipping worldwide. By the way, ChinaDivision also has China product sourcing service, if you need a China sourcing agent, ChinaDivision is also a good option.
Amazon FBA has a complicated pricing structure, which is based on different product categories and product sizes. Besides pick and pack fees, weight handling fee is payable according to the outbound shipping weight. There are also multiple additional fees such as special handling fees (for oversize items), additional storage fees (>6 months), prep services fees etc. For 2016 FBA fee changes, please view the full chart here.
Shipwire is a fulfillment company notable for the breadth and integration of its services. However, it’s also known for a daunting tier pricing structure for order handling, which offers volume-based discount only. For start-ups, who sell products with low unit price, they can not expect a discounted order handling fees. Besides, Shipwire requires a Minimum Monthly Account Billing of at least $500. That sounds a little impersonal for small businesses, because they can’t be locked into long-term deals, nor forced to hit big minimum order volume thresholds every month.
It’s not easy finding an eCommerce fulfillment partner. When it comes to pricing, they all charge a bit differently. Whether you are a startup or an established business, looking for flexible and cost-effective fulfillment solution, ChinaDivision will be a great option.
