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Calling the beauty industry lucrative is a bit of an understatement. Forecasts predict it’ll rake in a jaw-dropping $646.20 billion by the end of 2024, marking the eighth straight year of growth. If you've been dreaming of launching your own makeup line, hair care brand, fragrance, or anything else beauty-related, now's the perfect time to jump in. Of course, creating fantastic products is just the beginning. Before your creations can land in the hands of your customers, they need to go through a process of sorting, packing, and shipping - a process called fulfilment. But what exactly does that involve, and how do you get it rolling? The fulfilment experts at I-Fulfilment have all the answers you need. Keep reading to find out what’s covered in fulfilment, the different options available, and how to find the perfect fulfilment partner for your business!
What is fulfilment and why is it important in the beauty industry?
Fulfilment refers to the entire process of getting your products from storage to your customer's doorstep. Here's why a smooth fulfilment operation matters:
- Fast, reliable delivery is a major factor in customer satisfaction, especially for delicate or perishable products like those found in the beauty industry. After all, nobody wants to wait weeks for their new mascara or see their order arrive damaged! A well-oiled fulfilment system results in happy customers who are more likely to buy from you again.
- A seamless fulfilment experience reflects positively on your brand - all the more important in the hyper-competitive beauty industry. On the flipside, fulfilment issues can damage your reputation and lead to negative reviews.
- As your business grows, you’ll need a fulfilment system that can keep up. A scalable solution will allow you to handle increasing order volume without compromising on efficiency.
What are the main fulfilment options for beauty businesses? There are three main approaches to fulfilment for beauty brands:
- In-House Fulfilment: This involves storing, packaging, and shipping your products yourself. It gives you the most control, but it's also the most time-consuming and requires significant investment in storage space, packaging materials, and shipping processes.
- Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA): Leveraging Amazon's vast fulfilment network allows you to store your products in their warehouses and have them pick, pack, and ship orders directly to customers. It's a convenient option, but there are added storage fees and per-order fulfilment costs to consider.
- Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Providers: 3PL providers (like the team at I-Fulfilment!) specialise in warehousing, packaging, and shipping for businesses, particularly within the health, beauty and wellness sector. They offer a wider range of services than FBA and can be customised to your specific needs, making them a good choice for growing and established companies alike.
How to choose the right 3PL partner for your beauty business
If you've decided to streamline your business with 3PL, the next step is to choose the right provider - but with so many options out there, how do you decide? Here are some key factors to consider:
Industry experience
Look for a 3PL that specialises in beauty and personal care products. They'll understand things like how to properly handle fragrances, nail polishes, and other sensitive items, and will also be familiar with retail compliance requirements for major beauty retailers. At I-Fulfilment, we have years of experience fulfilling orders for leading beauty and cosmetics brands. Our team receives specialised training to guarantee we meet all requirements for safely storing and shipping your delicate products. If you make organic products, then we are a great fit for your brand, as we have the facilities to store, handle and manage your products in optimum conditions. And if you want to offer your customer’s seasonal gift sets, gift wrapping services, product re-labelling or subscription boxes, then our reworking services are ideal – we can cater for you bespoke requirements.
Scalability and flexibility
Your sales volumes can fluctuate with new product launches, marketing campaigns, and seasonality. Your 3PL should be able to easily scale their operations up or down to meet your evolving needs without service disruptions. I-Fulfilment's global network of fulfilment centres provide virtually unlimited scalability. We can onboard new SKUs, ramp up for product launches, and handle peak season spikes smoothly, whenever and wherever you need us.
Technology integration
Today's beauty shoppers expect fast, accurate deliveries with full visibility. Make sure your 3PL has a best-in-class warehouse management system (WMS) that can streamline everything that happens in the warehouse, allowing for a smooth and efficient process throughout. I-Fulfilment's ecommerce and WMS system, BladePro, provides complete transparency from receiving your order through to delivery, including real-time order updates, automated operations, and pre-built integrations with shopping baskets such as Shopify and WooCommerce and with all major ecommerce platforms such as Amazon and Ebay. It makes sure that your customers get the products they love, right when they need them. BladePro can also monitor expiry dates and batch codes, so you can be sure your customers receive their orders in pristine condition. And with our shipping module, you can choose your shipping option and stay in control of your deliveries and costs.