What is it you are looking for when you are considering an US based fulfillment center for your international business? First and foremost you will want a cost effective solution that can offer fast delivery times on orders placed and fulfilled within the USA. At the same time, at the end of the day it all comes down to affordable shipping rates and delivery times. Shipping orders one by one to Canada would potentially cost much more per shipping order and would take much more transportation time overall for each order.

But by choosing to do business with a US based fulfillment center, your monthly retail order volume would impact that point at which it make sense to carry extra inventory from a US based fulfillment center and not continue to ship orders out of a US based fulfillment center. Just keep in mind that some fulfillment centers do charge a fee for shipping to Canada. While many of them have options for next day or next week delivery, the cost of transportation between the two countries may be somewhat higher than if the order were shipped overnight. This is especially true if the customer in Canada has a specialty item which must be shipped overnight, or if the item was a specialty item which was difficult to ship from the US due to the size, weight or shape.

Many US based ecommerce companies are located primarily in the US, and so it is important for them to maintain a presence outside of the country in key mediums. If they have international clients, their shipping costs will certainly impact the bottom line. So the ultimate goal for any business is to have as much of its products available in as many of the major markets as possible. And this is precisely where a Toronto based company can make a real difference in your bottom line! By being able to fulfill orders in Canada at the lowest cost, your ecommerce company will continue to build its clientele, while at the same time maintain an effective, competitive advantage over its competition.

The best fulfillment centers aren't located in Canada's most populated city. Instead, the best fulfillment centers are strategically located throughout Canada's major cities. If an ecommerce company needs to ship to Canada's Eastern Seaboard, for example, there are major shipping centers in Hamilton, Burlington, Sudbury, Toronto, and Ottawa. Even though these are not the absolute cheapest places to ship products to Canada, the shipping rates are often much lower than those charged by the United States based warehouses. And because you're dealing with a company which is operated from Canada, the rates will often reflect this. It is definitely worth the additional expense to have your products shipped to Canada's Eastern Seaboard.

Another reason why a company needs to locate its warehouse in the right area is because the proximity of a major Canadian city to a fulfillment center can greatly improve the speed with which your products arrive at your door step. These fulfillment services can ship quickly, sometimes in less than one day. The speed of delivery is especially important to organizations with a tight window of opportunity or those operating on a small budget. The lower delivery times allow your product to be on your store shelves before your competitors do.

When it comes to an ecommerce business, speed is vitally important. Many customers are eager to purchase something when they can simply do so from the comfort of their homes, which makes having your products on-hand just as important as having them delivered. Having your products on hand before your competitors can allow you to capture a larger portion of the market before your competitors do, which means a larger portion of your customers will buy from you as well.

Along with speed, another factor which is vital to an ecommerce business is ease of checkout. If your customer doesn't like the way the order is processed, they may not complete the sale. Fulfillment centers offer systems such as bar codes which enable you to track all of your customers and their orders. This enables you to offer your customers more options, such as no shipping charges, minimal minimum order amounts, and quick turnarounds. By offering your customers these choices, you are ensuring that they always have the item they need in stock, and you are increasing your chance of making a sale.

Many of us are hesitant to use fulfillment services for our online stores. The biggest deterrent is usually cost. Fulfillment centers can be surprisingly expensive for us, but they have several benefits. With their help, you can offer an easy-to-use website which generates income, gives you more time to focus on the products you have chosen, and allows you to quickly capture your share of the market. While we cannot guarantee that using a US based fulfillment service will improve your ecommerce business, using them may be the best option for your particular needs.