Searching for a 3PL partner to scale your DTC operation?

DTC customers don’t just want fast, cost-effective, and convenient delivery, they expect it. These customers want multiple delivery options from an economy and premium option through to collection from lockers and convenience stores as well as same-day dispatch and the unboxing itself to be an experience. If they are going to be persuaded to order directly from your brand and not a third party they already trust, the delivery experience has to be as convenient if not above and beyond what they would get elsewhere.

78% would choose a competitor if the speed of delivery was too slow.

Consumers are not just ordering direct from a brands website but also marketplaces and social media channels. Diversifying your D2C sales channels can help make sure your meeting your customers where ever they are shopping, and that means you a fulfilment partner with  integrations with each channel to pull through the order information for picking, and pass tracking information back to the channel.

To satisfy the customer’s need for convenience and low-cost shipping methods, the D2C fulfilment partner also need to be able to offer different delivery services, including multiple couriers which will also require some technical set-up.

DTC orders often include just one single unit or one of multiple different items so stock needs to be stored in a way that it is easy to access individual units as quickly as possible. The stock will also turn over more slowly as the orders have fewer items, therefore it may be prudent to store smaller volumes with a DTC fulfilment partner. Distance between SKUs will also have a direct impact on the efficiency of the operation as there may be multiple picks per order with a much lower order value making every minute count.

DTC orders often have specific requirements enforced by the sales channel or the type of customer for marketing purposes. Branded packaging, kitting, bundling or specific couriers may all be required to meet the demands of the platform, build trust and
encourage repeat purchases. These will vary between clients and change over time. Due to the demands of the customer, additional processes may also be required to ensure on-time dispatch of priority orders even during peak times, these include longer operating hours with cut-offs for same-day dispatch.

DTC fulfilment specialists are all looking to expand their offerings beyond picking and packing and specialise their services to particular industries to meet requirements for batch control, returns, or storage, as well as adding additional services such as outsourced customer service, branded packaging, personalisation, on-demand printing, email marketing and last-mile delivery services.