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eCommerce Site - Outsource?

by ken1111
8 replies
I'm starting a site focused on organic hair and skin products. I'm new to all of this.

I would *really* appreciate guidance on the following:

1. Should I outsource all of the order fulfillment and shipping or should I do this myself initially? Any recommendations on companies I could use for this?

2. Should I outsource production of my products or do this myself initially? Like, I know the formulation and ingredients I want to use, so are there companies I can work with that would just make the product for me based on my formula/recipe, then package, label and ship it for me?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but def want to clarify my thinking in this area.

Any help, recommendations or suggestions you can provide would be truly appreciated.
#ecommerce #ecommerce site #order fulfillment #outsource #outsourcing #shipping or fulfillment #site
  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
    Any help, recommendations or suggestions you can provide would be truly appreciated.
    Why do you want to start this specific site? Is it due to promising market research or just something you want?
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    • Profile picture of the author ken1111
      Because I'm passionate about the quality and efficacy of the products. I've def done research on this niche. It's a crowded space, but a big pie. Why do you ask? And do you have any insight on the questions I asked about outsourcing fulfillment, logistics, packaging.
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  • Profile picture of the author onSubie
    Originally Posted by ken1111 View Post

    1. Should I outsource all of the order fulfillment and shipping or should I do this myself initially? Any recommendations on companies I could use for this?
    It depends on your holding and handling facility. Do you have the capacity to warehouse enough stock to fulfil anticipated orders? Do you have resources and capacity to fill and ship those orders?

    If you do not you could outsource to a 3rd party 'pick n pack' service.

    Amazon FBA is a popular solution because it is basically ":ll-in-one" but you could probably save money by setting up your own system if you know what you are doing.

    Compare Amazon costs with other PnP service costs.


    Originally Posted by ken1111 View Post

    2. Should I outsource production of my products or do this myself initially? Like, I know the formulation and ingredients I want to use, so are there companies I can work with that would just make the product for me based on my formula/recipe, then package, label and ship it for me?
    This is something you will need to answer since we know nothing about your manufacturing facilities compared to outside manufacturers.

    I know nothing about manufacturing natural cosmetics, hair and skin care products so I would outsource. If you have facilities and capacity to meet your requirements, then it may be easier and cheaper to do it in-house.


    Any help, recommendations or suggestions you can provide would be truly appreciated.
    These are really questions you need to answer yourself since we know very little about your organization and resources so it is difficult to compare that to a third party company.

    If you said "I'm a middle aged house wife doing this part time while my husband is at work", then I would say outsource everything. I would also suggest Amazon FBA since you probably have very little experience and time to manage the fulfilment part.

    If you said, "I am part owner of a manufacturing facility with warehouses and shipping that I can use a portion of for this business", then I would say compare those costs to the costs of outsourcing. I would also suggest looking at managing your own fulfilment if you have the resources or use a 3rd party PnP service (not Amazon) since your experience will mean this is not too intimidating.

    You have not provided much information to give you any real advice so I'm not sure what suggestions you are looking for.
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    • Profile picture of the author ken1111
      Originally Posted by onSubie View Post

      It depends on your holding and handling facility. Do you have the capacity to warehouse enough stock to fulfil anticipated orders? Do you have resources and capacity to fill and ship those orders?

      If you do not you could outsource to a 3rd party 'pick n pack' service.

      Amazon FBA is a popular solution because it is basically ":ll-in-one" but you could probably save money by setting up your own system if you know what you are doing.

      Compare Amazon costs with other PnP service costs.




      This is something you will need to answer since we know nothing about your manufacturing facilities compared to outside manufacturers.

      I know nothing about manufacturing natural cosmetics, hair and skin care products so I would outsource. If you have facilities and capacity to meet your requirements, then it may be easier and cheaper to do it in-house.


      These are really questions you need to answer yourself since we know very little about your organization and resources so it is difficult to compare that to a third party company.

      If you said "I'm a middle aged house wife doing this part time while my husband is at work", then I would say outsource everything. I would also suggest Amazon FBA since you probably have very little experience and time to manage the fulfilment part.

      If you said, "I am part owner of a manufacturing facility with warehouses and shipping that I can use a portion of for this business", then I would say compare those costs to the costs of outsourcing. I would also suggest looking at managing your own fulfilment if you have the resources or use a 3rd party PnP service (not Amazon) since your experience will mean this is not too intimidating.

      You have not provided much information to give you any real advice so I'm not sure what suggestions you are looking for.
      Thank you. I wanted to be concise, but will happily provide more context.

      I have a job, this would be a nights and weekend endeavor. I have some experience with online marketing and site design, but none in the areas I mentioned.

      My reason for asking is because I can picture myself getting very tied up with printing labels, filling jars with product and shipping.

      Hopefully, this provides you with more context for my situation.

      It seems from what you said that you would recommend I consider using Amazon FBA and not a PnP service? I'm functionally equivalent to that middle aged housewife you mentioned. I would be mixing product in my own kitchen, applying labels myself, shipping from my UPS store, etc.

      Hopefully this provides more context for you to provide me with more guidance?
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    If I were you, I'd open a dropship site for a product that's similar to what you have in mind

    Test the waters first

    Once you have achieved traction, start to slowly blend in your own stuff

    This should also give you the capital to outsource
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    • Profile picture of the author ken1111
      Originally Posted by writeaway View Post

      If I were you, I'd open a dropship site for a product that's similar to what you have in mind

      Test the waters first

      Once you have achieved traction, start to slowly blend in your own stuff

      This should also give you the capital to outsource
      Thank you. When you say 'open a dropship site', what do you mean? How would I do this, learn about this? Do you have any recommended dropship providers I should contact to learn more?

      I would be making product in my own kitchen, doing the labeling and shipping myself.

      How would using or making a dropship site alleviate this - and how do I learn more about how it would work?
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  • Profile picture of the author DWaters
    You should look at Amazon's FBA model not so much as just a fulfillment service but as a market place. Far more consumers go to Amazon to buy products online than any where else. Once you have the product manufacturing taken care of you should have a portion of your inventory there and make sure you stay in stock, initially promote it and get some reviews.

    Also be sure to look into to product / company insurance as this will be necessary for this type of product.
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    • Profile picture of the author ken1111
      Originally Posted by DWaters View Post

      You should look at Amazon's FBA model not so much as just a fulfillment service but as a market place. Far more consumers go to Amazon to buy products online than any where else. Once you have the product manufacturing taken care of you should have a portion of your inventory there and make sure you stay in stock, initially promote it and get some reviews.

      Also be sure to look into to product / company insurance as this will be necessary for this type of product.
      This is great guidance. Thank you so much
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