Tips and Best Practices for Green Fulfilment 

When an ecommerce business starts out, the normal path taken for fulfilment is to handle it in-house. This is fine at that particular stage – as inventory is typically small – and there are actually several advantages. For example, customers feel this is more personal, you have a great deal of personal control over the actual process of fulfilment, and you can personalize it to a large degree.

And no customer buying a niche product from a small ecommerce site is under any illusions that it is going to offer super-expediated same-day delivery. That point only comes when you start having the type of inventory load that requires it and when you start shipping to more customers living further afield.

In-house order fulfilment also comes with one further advantage. It is easier to be green. You can source packaging yourself; you do not have to ship too far, and small companies simply have a better reputation when it comes to environmental protection.

And this last advantage, as it happens, raises a particularly important point when it comes to ecommerce marketing – customer bases today have never been more concerned about the environment. Furthermore, they make this known with their wallets.

If you handle order fulfilment yourself, then you should certainly make the most of this advantage while you can. There is also the point that it is simply a moral good to try to help the environment. However, if you want to grow, then there will come a point when you need to outsource order fulfilment.

Last mile delivery and ecommerce fulfilment experts Shipping and Handling of Texas note that this is one of the surest signs that a company is growing, as it reflects expanded inventory and revenue to pay for order fulfilment outsourcing.

Nevertheless, you should also bear in mind that the step up to third-party fulfilment does not need to be the end of green fulfilment. The previous point about customers appreciating this still very much applies, and there is much that you can do to ensure that your packaging and shipment impact the environment as little as possible.

Advantages of Green Fulfilment 

Before getting on to some handy tips for green order fulfilment, it’s wise to go over some further advantages of the practice.

Create a Green Reputation for Your Company 

We have already mentioned how many customers really appreciate the green approach. Following green practices also creates a reputation for your company, and you can get all sorts of official recognition with which to advertise that reputation.

Can be Cheaper

Specifically, green order fulfilment can be cheaper if you follow the practice of using less packaging. This will cut shipping costs and allow you to advertise the fact that you are doing it for the environment.

Tips for Green Order Fulfilment 

Prioritize Cardboard 

As things stand, recycled old cardboard is one of the most important components of new cardboard. That means if you prioritize this as a packaging material, you can much more easily do so sustainably.

Optimize Delivery Routes 

This is something that can be managed by a good, outsourced fulfilment service. The goal is to maximize the number of drop-offs along a route of last mile delivery. You can also make sure that the fulfilment services packs the maximum onto each load to distribution centers.

Keep the Packaging Compact

This is a great move because it uses less material, and it can end up making a much sleeker package – without lots of annoying garbage for customers to pull out before they even see their product.

Prioritizing green fulfilment will make you look good – and it can even work out very cost-effective too.