Whether you sell subscriptions to bath products, dog toys, or light-up socks, managing a subscription box service takes work. If you’re a small operation, you likely put the boxes together yourself, enlisting friends or employees to help package everything for your loyal customers.
But your business has been growing (which is great!) and you’re having difficulty keeping up with the increased demand. You may wonder if the cost of working with a third-party logistics company is worth it in the long run, and if hiring out storage, packaging, and shipping to someone else may cause more headaches.
Here are 3 great ways a 3PL can make your subscription box more profitable, not less:
You Don’t Have to Worry about Receiving & Storage
The way things are now, you or someone you authorize has to be available to receive any shipments of the individual products that make up your subscription box, and each shipment must be checked for accuracy. This can take hours out of your day, especially as the number of products you receive increases. And once the products are in your hands, you have to find a way to store them before you prepare the individual subscription boxes, meaning either your living or office space is crammed full of boxes or you have to pay for separate storage space.
When you use a 3PL company, you don’t have to worry about any of those tasks. The staff of the 3PL receives all your individual products, checking each shipment to be sure what was ordered is exactly what was received. The 3PL then deals directly with the manufacturer or distributor in case of a problem, only getting you involved if absolutely necessary. After all shipments have been received, your 3PL stores them in dedicated warehouse space, using sophisticated software to ensure that your products are always easy to find on the shelves.
Your Staffing Costs Decrease
When you’re handling everything on your own, all staffing costs come out of your profits. That means if you have a month where sales increase and you need to increase staff to meet demand, the cost of those extra people is coming out of your overall profits. And, any training, insurance, and other benefit costs paid to employees who pack boxes are paid directly by you, making for complicated bookkeeping.
In hiring a 3PL, those warehousing, packing, and shipping staff costs are handled by the 3PL and built into your overall contract cost. You’re sharing workers with multiple other companies, so the cost of hiring an individual employee is much less than if you were hiring directly. Additionally, you don’t have to worry if someone calls in sick or quits; we handle all the staffing changes and you never know the difference.
Your Service Can Expand to Serve More Customers
As your subscription box service gains more customers, that means increased storage costs, increased time to package and ship, and increased staffing needs. When handling all these issues on your own, it can be difficult to scale as quickly as demand requires. That leaves you and your staff working long hours, cutting into your profits and causing burnout.
Because a 3PL has a well-established infrastructure – warehouse space, staff, and equipment – it is far easier for your business to grow right when you need it to. If you need more warehouse space one month, your 3PL just adapts to meet this need. And if you need more people to help pack and ship the boxes to your customers, the logistics company shifts around its employees as necessary to get your products out to customers on time.
Affordable Subscription Box Management Solutions on the East Coast
Since 1984, Cannon Hill Logistics has provided affordable, customizable third-party logistics solutions to a variety of businesses from our facility on the East Coast. Whether you need someone to receive and store your products, pack and ship your subscription boxes, or handle customer orders and inquiries, our dedicated, friendly team can build a solution for you. Contact us today to become a partner in your business growth!