The Pros and Cons of Multichannel Fulfilment Solutions

Multichannel selling can be beneficial for businesses of all sizes. From smaller companies gaining exposure across multiple outlets, to giant corporations selling excess stock on resell sites, multichannel has plenty of options. 

However, managing it in practice can be difficult, which is why having an outsourced 3PL can help to speed up the process.

Omnichannel understood

Omnichannel sellers can vary from brick and mortar, to the customer, to drop shippers and the traditional in house warehouse to customer (D2C). 

However, omnichannel sellers, as the name suggests, will only sell through one outlet. Preferred by startups to larger brands, it is a way of simplifying and having complete control of your supply chain. It can be a risk, as diversifying your supply chain can increase sales, but exclusivity is also a perk of omnichannel selling.

Many people see omnichannel selling as a way to exclusivity, and it can increase the “hype” around the product. For example, Supreme, a skate shop and streetwear supplier has incredible hype around its capsule collections, and releases are often sold out in seconds. Similarly to Yeezy, Kanye West’s shoe line, which generates a ridiculous amount of traffic to the site upon launch. 

This tactic or strategy can be good for well-developed brands and celebrity-backed products, but for your average Joe, it can be harder to generate sales through this omnichannel method. 

Sites like Etsy are the perfect example of an omnichannel marketplace. Artists and creators have an easy to use platform dedicated to handmade crafting. Some who sell on Etsy will also sell on other sites, whether that is their own website or social media. Etsy provides a discovery channel for brands, then making it a multichannel selling site.

Logistical challenges and how to overcome them

For businesses of all sizes, multichannel selling can provide logistical challenges. Ensuring cross-platform compliance with various shipping labels, sending the right parcels to different distribution centres, creating cohesive discount strategies, and more can prove tricky. 

Multichannel can also mean an increase in fees on some platforms but also overhead time. Using a Product Information Management system can help by providing connectors to multiple systems and gives you an easy overview of your stock levels and product. 

Sometimes a system isn’t enough. By using an established 3PL provider, such as ourselves, we can remove the logistical troubles. As we have existing relationships with multiple networks such as Shopify, Magento & Woo Commerce to name a few, we are able to maintain quick turnaround times and send orders out regularly. 

As your product is stored in our warehouses, we can quickly pick, pack and fulfil the order and send it out to the correct location with ease. It saves you the hassle of having to organise shipping to different locations; we can do it all for you. 

We can support your multichannel needs, simply email us on info@braysolutions.com or call 01780 784875.