07 May
Convenience is at the core of eCommerce, and subscription box services are an excellent way for online merchants to give their customers exactly what they want. For successful subscription box delivery, online retailers must deliver their items on time with reliable shipping.
We’ve put together a checklist to help you streamline your subscription box fulfilment. With this list, you can keep track of your goods, ensure they ship out on time and maintain customer satisfaction. Here are 6 tips to help you get started.
What Is Subscription Box Fulfilment?
Nowadays, subscription boxes have become an integral part of eCommerce fulfilment. In subscription box fulfilment, eCommerce merchants ship products to their customers at a regular and predetermined time.
Once a customer subscribes to this service online, they receive their products at a designated time. For example, some customers may subscribe to an online haircare company that ships shampoos and other products at a specific time.
Subscription box products often require additional care and proper packaging to ensure their safety during transit. Organising a checklist will help you maintain quality control and ensure products reach customers on time.
6 Ways to Maintain Successful Subscription Box Fulfilment
The subscription box market is booming, so eCommerce retailers should ensure quality and efficiency at every turn. A successful subscription box fulfilment can prove lucrative for your business and help you retain a loyal customer base.
We’ve gathered 6 tips to help you build an ideal subscription box fulfilment checklist.
1. Consider Your Box Production Method
Before you start the fulfilment process, you must consider the box production model for your order subscriptions. There are two ways you can process your orders:
- Pick and pack items right when orders are due to be shipped.
- Plan ahead so you have ample time to prepare goods for shipping.
While the second option may seem reasonable, it’s not ideal for shipping perishable items and could become a problem during peak seasons. This model could take time from shipping other products and create issues during fulfilment.
If you opt for the second model, consider using it for non-perishable items with a predictable demand. If not done correctly, quick picking and packing of subscription boxes could lead to mistakes.
The first model works well for eCommerce companies partnered with a 3PL. 3PLs, like Meteor Space, ensure expert handling and prevent any mistakes from happening. These companies have a flexible roster of staff who can work well with high demand.
2. Choose Your Packing Method According To The Product
eCommerce retailers must go beyond general picking and packing to fulfil their subscriptions. Most subscription services offer a curated set of products based on the customer’s preferences. Everything is specifically packaged according to the customer’s taste and requirements, whether cosmetics, food products or clothing items.
Kitting and bundling are great ways to package items in a bespoke manner. This process involves bundling multiple items together into one single package. Kitting is highly beneficial as it reduces individual packaging and improves cross-selling opportunities.
Companies can use kitting to combine multiple complimentary items, creating attractive product bundles that will improve customer experience. This method is also great for marketing efforts, as you can create influencer packages and gift sets to improve brand recognition.
3. Make Your Operation Scalable
As we’ve mentioned, the subscription box market is constantly growing and evolving, so eCommerce merchants should be able to accommodate this growth.
Nowadays, there are several ways companies can achieve exponential growth. Whether it’s a successful advertising campaign, word of mouth or catching online attention, your business should be prepared. A scaleable warehouse allows you to deal with high demand to get your products out on time and maintain customer satisfaction.
On the other hand, a flexible operation also allows you to prepare in periods with less demand. This way, you won’t have extra stock lying around or have to pay extra for unused storage.
4. Keep Track of Inventory
Since subscription boxes often include various products, you must always carefully monitor your stock. Imagine a customer placing an order for your beauty box, and you realise one of the products is out of stock. Without careful monitoring, you’ll disappoint customers and lose a potential sale.
Invest in an innovative warehouse management system or partner with a 3PL that provides 24/7 inventory tracking in real-time. With this tool, you’ll be able to keep track of which items are in stock and which aren’t.
5. Expand Your Reach
While your region might provide lucrative subscription box sales, marketing your products overseas will help you expand your business and reach even more customers.
To upscale your business, you must maintain a robust shipping operation and hire expert staff to avoid product returns. A quality 3PL will streamline subscription box fulfilment so you can grow your eCommerce retail.
6. Elevate The Unboxing Experience
Lastly, your subscription box shouldn’t be just any regular box; instead, it should elevate your products.
The unboxing experience is a significant part of curated subscription box services, so you must put some time and effort into creating the perfect packaging that wows your customers. From the void fill and thank you cards to promotional inserts and the box itself, all these components should be perfected.
Next, you must ensure your team can pay attention to details and consistently assemble a perfect subscription box. Careful handling will be crucial in this step, as cutting corners can lead to low customer satisfaction.
If you need additional help, partner up with a 3PL. A dedicated 3PL can create custom packaging befitting your brand and provide the expert handling your subscription boxes deserve.
Common Challenges of Fulfilling Subscription Boxes
Even though subscription boxes can make customers’ lives easier, recurring shipments can create certain challenges for eCommerce retailers. Here are some common challenges you might face with subscription box fulfilment.
1. Shipping Orders Regularly
With subscription boxes, it’s crucial that you get your orders shipped on time. When customers subscribe to this service, there’s an expectation of timely delivery, so your business must meet these criteria.
2. Maintaining Product Change
While some subscription boxes routinely ship the same products, others may ship new products each month.
If your service relies on new goods, you must give your manufacturer enough lead time to reach the fulfilment stage. A great way to stay on top of such matters is by keeping a close eye on your inventory and maintaining the timely organisation of your operation.
3. Ensure Quality Control
A lot of meticulous care and attention goes into creating a subscription box. Whether you outsource or fulfil your orders in-house, you must maintain quality control at every step.
These challenges can help you organise your fulfilment operation to ensure all items are packed with care and are shipped on time. If you’re looking to partner with a 3PL, think of challenges to find the best choice for your business.
Outsource Your Subscription Box Fulfilment to a 3PL
The best way to guarantee customer satisfaction is by offering quick and reliable delivery. Online stores can greatly benefit by partnering with an experienced 3PL company.
Such services provide multiple features to optimise the shipping process. Here are some incredible benefits of choosing a subscription box fulfilment service.
Meeting Efficiency Requirements
Efficiency is crucial when packing subscription boxes. Often, with a high volume of orders, there’s a risk of the efficiency dropping. Companies will have to spend additional money to hire more labour to maintain a high efficiency rate.
A good 3PL will provide technological features to grow your business without additional costs. These features will also maintain high efficiency throughout packing to reduce returns and complaints.
Provide Custom Packaging
Creating a great first impression is crucial for customer satisfaction, and this is even more important for subscription boxes. Often, in regular shipping, consumers get their orders delivered in brown battered boxes.
A dedicated packaging fulfilment service can provide high-quality materials that fit your brand aesthetic. Personalised packaging allows you to create custom shipping boxes, inserts, coupons, and more.
With this feature, you can create a unique package that fits your brand image and make the unboxing process exciting for consumers. Custom packaging is also a great way to create brand loyalty and retain customers.
Manage Order Volume
One of the biggest issues during peak season shipping is the volume of orders. With online shopping making it easier to place orders, eCommerce companies should expect a high order volume. Often, these orders can build up and become overwhelming to ship out. Preparation is key if you want to avoid volume issues.
Optimising your shipments and prioritising supply chain resilience are excellent ways of combatting volume issues and sending out orders as soon as possible. A quality 3PL service will help you keep track of your inventory and provide accurate logistics that help you map out deliveries. A 3PL also provides enough flexibility to fulfil with a wide range of products.
Choose Meteor Space For Subscription Box Fulfilment
Great packaging is crucial for subscription box services, so you need a 3PL that pays attention to details. If you’re looking for a high-quality subscription box fulfilment service, choose Meteor Space.
We offer many features designed to help eCommerce stores through all packaging and shipping needs. Meteor’s expert team members help streamline subscription box fulfilment without losing efficiency. Our technology-based services provide excellent management and organisation programs to help you stay on top of your inventory.
You can also access Meteor’s easy-to-use web portal, fast shipping, efficient pick and pack and much more. Meteor always uses a customer-first approach, so we understand the importance of top-quality customer service.
Here’s a look at some great features you can avail of at Meteor Space.
Bespoke Packaging
Our custom packaging feature takes the unboxing experience to a new level. Personalised packaging allows you to create custom shipping boxes, inserts, coupons, and more.
You can also choose kitting or bundling for products with several parts and components. This will allow you to reduce packaging waste and ship multiple items together. Our expert staff pay close attention to detail so even the smallest arts and crafts product will get the care it needs.
With Meteor’s custom packaging option, you can create a unique package that fits your brand image and make the unboxing process exciting for consumers. Custom packaging is also a great way to create brand loyalty and retain customers.
Technology-Driven Approach
At Meteor Space, you can use our fully integrated digital warehouse management system without additional cost. With these tools, you can seamlessly transition your system into ours and start fulfilling orders in no time.
Our WMS provides complete transparency on your stock information so you know which item sells the most and which the least. This information is provided in real time so you can quickly replenish the inventory before it creates problems in the supply chain.
In addition, our clients have access to end-to-end tracking, so you know exactly when your products leave the warehouse and when they reach clients. With all these innovative tools, you can easily streamline the fulfilment process.
Flexible Storage
Flexibility is key for any eCommerce. At Meteor Space, we understand that each business has unique storage and order processing demands; therefore, we offer adaptable fulfilment and storage solutions.
Depending on the size of your inventory and the order volume, Meteor’s space offering can be scaled down or up to meet your demands. Our warehouse boasts over 200,000 square feet of storage space to ensure ample room for any inventory.
No matter the size of your eCommerce stores, Meteor 3PL can provide enough space for any client. We can adjust and adapt to your specific requirements, help you grow overall sales and provide your customers with a great shopping experience.
Author:
Colleen Ballantine
Colleen is a marketing specialist at Meteor Space , writing in-depth blog content on warehouse management, inventory control, and logistics. With extensive industry experience, Colleen focuses on delivering informative and insightful posts
UPDATED ON: 07th May 2024
