topic Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies in Selling

Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

gigabean-au — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 12:40:08 GMT

Hey everyone,

We use a company in NSW which holds all our stock and each night we send them a spreadsheet of what orders we've made for the day and they send them out for us - saves us a bunch of time and of course they charge for this service.

We'd been very happy with them up until recently but now there seems to be more errors than we'd like and we're starting to look at other potential options. So we're looking for recommendations of where we might take our business if you have any good experiences with companies that would do the job.

Obviously this could be a good thread for a number of people who are looking to stop doing all the boxing up and sending themselves and handing that off to someone else.

Thanks to anyone who can help out!

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

kizacks — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 02:23:57 GMT

who do you use for this service if you don't mind me asking?

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

austeam — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 03:11:33 GMT

How much storage space would you require and approximately how many items will need to be pick/packed each day?

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

gigabean-au — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 07:12:55 GMT

kizacks - I'd rather not mention them directly on here as they have provided a good service for us up until now and I wouldn't want to be giving anyone a bad reputation.

austeam - I'll message you directly

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

austeam — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 07:16:49 GMT

ok 🙂

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

phorum_junkie* — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:48:42 GMT

I couldn't see anywhere in your listings where you say you are dropshipping although there is so much waffle I may have missed it!

You have found the major drawback to drop shipping that we always advise potential sellers to be wary of, it is your reputation and money that is at risk when your dropshipper lets you down as many do sooner or later.

I think it unlikely that anyone who has a reliable dropshipper id going to pass that information on to you thus increasing their competition.

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

austeam — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:16:55 GMT

I got the impression the OP was simply looking for a logistics service to store, pick and ship their own goods. That is not the same as a drop shipper who owns the goods and you sell as an agent.

The quality of the goods is in the seller's control. The shipping is no worse really than employing someone to work in your own warehouse. In fact the right company can often provide a better service than some sellers do who work from home because of their own freight accounts etc. 🙂

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

autopartsmate — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 10:16:22 GMT

phorum_junkie - rather than be concerned about the op's "waffle" you might want to google what drop shipping really is, and what the op is doing isnt it. Here I will help you:

Drop shipping is a supply chain management technique in which the retailer does not keep goods in stock, but instead transfers customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer or a wholesaler, who then ships the goods directly to the customer. As in retail businesses, the majority of retailers make their profit on the difference between the wholesale and retail price but some retailers earn an agreed percentage of the sales in commission, paid by the wholesaler to the retailer.

What the OP is doing is simple warehousing logistics which can be a very smart move...

FYI - 50% of my operation is based on dropshipping and it is working fine for me.........

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

austeam — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 10:52:12 GMT

One of my suppliers was using QLS and I thought they were great http://www.qlslogistics.com.au/

However my supplier said they were having issues with them and they changed to Star Track Express Logistics.

Another supplier who is based in Melbourne uses a logistics company in Qld because the lower cost of storage made it worthwhile. I'm trying to remember their name.

I know someone in Sydney who gave up his own eBay business to help another seller build up theirs. Now his job creating listings and websites etc for that seller is done he is looking for new work. He might be able to take care of logistics for you and he understands eBay expectations.

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

phorum_junkie* — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 11:29:26 GMT

I stand, or rather sit, corrected but it still means that you are relying on the services of a 3rd party to maintain your reputation and income.

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

autopartsmate — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 11:36:15 GMT

As we rely on Australia Post, Couriers, and staff to maintain our reputation and income. I now have 3 people that take care of my packing and sending, all within my warehousing, however, I dont have the time to oversee what they are doing, and instead, when required, deal with any issues that may arise. It is basic business sense to utilise the services of others, whether they be in house, or outsourced.

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

gigabean-au — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:39:55 GMT

phorum_junkie - without that service, our business wouldn't be able to sell as much as it does. No drop-shipping involved btw.

We started off with all the stock in my garage and we'd be boxing it up and sending it out each day and it was really the biggest time drain plus it meant I didn't have much of a garage anymore.

Fast forward two years later and there is no chance I could fit all our stock in the garage even if there was nothing else in it. Some of our iPad compatible tower speakers are 1m tall and 15kg - get a few hundred of those in one order and that's taking up a lot of room just on that one product! I also work full-time elsewhere these days which I wouldn't be able to do if I had to deal with sending out the daily orders.

We have had very minimal complaints about postage time, if you look at our non-positive feedback it's very rarely to do with postage time (maybe one neutral mentions it iirc) so I don't think it has negatively affected our business so far. The last week has been an abnormality and I'm not 100% convinced we're going to switch companies yet, just want to see what else is out there. All customers who have been getting delayed parcels have had their entire postage costs refunded or otherwise been getting refunds of a similar nature or upgrades to better products in some cases. We'll look after our customers 🙂

I guess you're right - maybe I do waffle a bit!

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

brizzybee63 — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 02:33:14 GMT

gigabean-au ... I think your listings look GREAT! Seems like heaps of information for those of us who are tech friendly. Sometimes, especially with technical items, people don't have enough information. I know that my hubby always ask specific questions and most listings don't have it, or even if you go in to a store the sales person has a dazed look. Keep doing what you are doing, because obviously if it wasn't working, you wouldn't be getting the sales. Some things works for some people and other things work for others. I would have a different opinion if you weren't getting the sale.

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

gigabean-au — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:54:31 GMT

You're right in that some people want a little info and some want a lot - we found if we excluded some of the more technical info we would get a lot more emails from people asking for it - we generally try and separate the listings into different sections so people who prefer the advertising spiel can just read that and those who want to know specs can easily get what they need.

Thanks for the feedback on our listings 🙂

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

bede3823 — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 09:34:41 GMT

yeah i reckon your listings are pretty cool as well.

Mate your in a dificult category but seem to be doing well.

I'd buy something off you anyday, keep it up.

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

gigabean-au — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 08:19:34 GMT

Thanks very much, I appreciate it 🙂

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

beez*kneez — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:50:22 GMT

well done auto .. can i ask you , from another thread, do you change the item location in the listings for the items that are drop shipped ?

🙂

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

beez*kneez — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:57:23 GMT

hi, personally i find every word you write quite uplifting & encouraging! you are the great aust story of a small business growing too much for the family home , what we'd all like 🙂

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

*new2vintage — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:06:16 GMT

Congratulations on recycling a 2 month old thread.

Re: Pick & Pack / Warehouse & Distribution companies

thecatspjs — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:14:36 GMT

May be a 2 month old thread - but if it has relevance to the poster good on them for posting 🙂

I too find the OPs business growth inspiring.