Starting an e-commerce business is, in itself, an achievement. You had a great idea, you put it into practice and you got customers enthused and excited about buying your products – that’s no mean feat. But, if you’re looking to take the next step in growing your business then you’ll likely know that it’s not quite as simple as it sounds. Here, we outline three challenges that small e-commerce businesses face when looking to expand and how a third party logistics provider could help.

1. Managing space and storage

Your business is growing and the orders are coming in at a faster rate than you can ship them out. You know you need more space to store your goods but can you rely on the continued growth required to finance the expansion of your premises? Knowing when to expand is tough. You can take the risk and hope for a positive outcome or you could work with an external partner who can provide storage solutions bespoke to you.

At Red River Freight we offer a heated internal storage facility (ideal for subscription packages, perishable goods etc.) or a huge external storage facility (perfect for machinery, vehicles etc.). You choose the amount of space you rent and save money on hiring exclusive premises.

2. Struggling to meet customer demand

As your product or service grows in popularity, there will likely come a time when customer demand outstrips your capacity to fulfil orders. Initially, this will be an exhilarating time but if you attempt to carry on with business as usual, you’ll soon find that all of those exciting new customers are leaving as quickly as they arrived. If your business is small then you may simply not have sufficient personnel to pack up and ship your products to your new customers. But are you ready to hire new staff (and do you have room for them)?

This is where calling upon a third party logistics provider can be invaluable. At Red River Freight, we have a highly organized warehouse team who are specialists at picking and packing your orders. We work with numerous subscription services and can receive an order, kit, pack and post them out to your new customers. All you have to do is forward the orders to us.

3. Your delivery falls short of your customers’ expectations

The biggest e-commerce businesses have no problems with the “next day delivery as standard”. Many of them actually make a loss on their delivery process but the huge volume of orders based on this quick turnaround time more than makes up for it. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for new start ups and small e-commerce businesses. Shipping is a huge overhead and next day delivery is almost impossible. But, there is a way to provide super-fast delivery without the big-business price tag.

At Red River Freight, we work with UPS, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service, and we have orders picked up by each of these carriers Monday-Friday. This allows us to get your product out same or next-day to provide your customers with the fastest delivery time possible.

We also provide tracking information to your customers as soon as their shipment is packed, so they know exactly where it is in real time and when to expect delivery and finally, can take care of any returns or refunds too.

Want to find out more about how Red River Freight can help you overcome the challenges of small business growth? Get in touch with us today: