As technological advancements continue to transform the e-commerce landscape, businesses are engaged in fierce competition for customer attention and loyalty, driving a need for constant adaptation and innovation. Fast and efficient order fulfillment is crucial for driving customer loyalty and sales. A study by Dotcom Distribution found that 87% of online shoppers consider shipping speed when deciding whether to shop with an e-commerce brand again. However, many businesses lack efficient order fulfillment strategies. That’s where The Fulfillment Lab (TFL) comes in.
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Tampa, Florida, The Fulfillment Lab is a leading third-party logistics (3PL) and e-commerce fulfillment company that offers comprehensive services to help businesses manage their supply chain and streamline their order fulfillment processes. The company provides various services, including warehousing, order fulfillment, inventory management and shipping solutions leveraging its state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technologies and team of experienced professionals.
The company also offers customized solutions tailored to each client’s unique needs. Its commitment to customer service and efficient operations has earned them a reputation as a trusted partner for businesses of all sizes. TFL’s technology-driven approach and expertise ensure that clients can focus on growing their businesses while leaving the logistics to the experts. Benzinga spotlights TFL, explaining how its services can help you fast-track order fulfillment and turbocharge your e-commerce businesses.
- Robust and agile proprietary software — Global Fulfillment Software (GFS), to expedite and streamline order fulfillment
- Dynamic integration with over 40 e-commerce platforms, including Etsy, Shopify, eBay, Amazon and BigCommerce
- Real-time inventory tracking using its proprietary management software
- In-house design and printing services for personalized marketing campaigns with client orders
- Custom packaging and shipping materials
- Excellent global or international presence
- Efficient customer services across diverse channels
- Available in only two locations in the U.S.
- Lack of transparent pricing (no upfront estimates)
- Unavailability of climate-controlled facilities
The Fulfillment Lab Ratings at a Glance
The Fulfillment Lab (TFL) offers businesses a way to stand out in the highly competitive e-commerce market by providing personalized and unique customer experiences through its products and services. This feature helps to build brand recognition, foster customer loyalty and differentiate TFL from its competitors. Here’s what the company offers.
Proprietary Software
TFL fronts a robust and agile proprietary software called the Global Fulfillment Software (GFS™) that allows clients and businesses to manage their fulfillment needs from one centralized platform. With GFS, you can easily integrate your e-commerce platform and set up your fulfillment logistics in just a few minutes. From there, you can manage inventory, track orders and customize packages. Its last-minute edit capabilities and customer service options mean you can seamlessly tailor the fulfillment experience to meet your customers' unique needs. GFS is the bedrock of TFL order fulfillment services. It makes for lightning-speed execution, vital in the fast-paced and highly competitive e-commerce ecosystem. This factor makes it an excellent addition to your existing online store.
International Shipping and Warehousing for E-commerce Businesses
The U.S. is a top market for selling all types of goods and services. However, 95% of consumers and 75% of the world's purchasing power reside outside the U.S., making it essential for e-commerce businesses to look beyond the domestic market to tap into the vast potential of international markets and drive revenue growth while remaining competitive. International shipping is rife with challenges, including customs clearance delays, increased shipping costs, regulatory compliance issues and inventory management and tracking difficulties. Without a sound global fulfillment strategy, efforts in order fulfillment may not be successful, resulting in losing customers, sales and revenue.
TFL leverages its innovative software, human resources and global fulfillment warehouse facilities to deliver cost-efficient international order fulfillment while maintaining compliance with regional rules and regulations, including taxes and customs. TFL has 12 fulfillment warehouse facilities worldwide, plus two in the U.S. With GFS, you get transparent and real-time tracking visibility for all shipments across the globe, along with an easy-to-read dashboard accessible to you and your customers.
Shopping Cart Integration
To deliver the best customer experience and stay ahead of competitors, your online store needs to be capable of scaling up quickly and at a mass volume. Customizing orders for better customer experiences with limited service offerings and identical orders may seem easy. However, it becomes complex when you have to cater to varying customer demands. The Fulfillment Lab's GFS allows integration with over 40 e-commerce platforms, including popular ones like Shopify, eBay and Etsy. You can seamlessly integrate your e-commerce platform, add fulfillment center locations, customize orders and add on-demand products in minutes and without hassles. Managing your order fulfillment in one central location allows your e-commerce business to scale up quickly and interactively. However, if all you want is to ship your order, the company will pick, pack and ship it for you like other platforms.
Fulfillment Marketing
TFL offers fulfillment marketing as one of its core services geared towards helping clients retain and create loyal customers, maximize sales opportunities and boost revenue. Fulfillment marketing is a strategy that combines fast shipping, transparency and customization while maintaining scalability. By leveraging insights collected via marketing data, TFL helps businesses create a unique and personalized order fulfillment experience using its proprietary software.
For instance, TFL's customized packaging, inserts, coupons and labels can create brand recognition and leave a lasting impression on the client's customers. A more engaging and personalized user experience can lead to repeat customers and loyal brand advocates. TFL's fulfillment marketing also allows businesses to leverage data insights to improve their order fulfillment process and delight customers.
Customized Packaging
While speed and accuracy are essential in order fulfillment, personalization makes a lot of difference, especially regarding customer retention, which is vital to remain profitable and competitive. Customized packaging is a core aspect of TFL's broader fulfillment marketing that aims to create a unique customer experience using business data. Businesses can create their own customized fulfillment experience with custom coupons, inserts and filler paper using TFL's web-based fulfillment software.
Additionally, they can customize packaging based on other considerations like birthdays, location, gender and typical purchases, creating different marketing segments. Data analytics can be used to deliver superior order fulfillment and customer experience by creating customized fulfillment experiences for each unique customer profile. By upgrading and refining packaging using TFL's proprietary technology, businesses can maximize their return on investment and keep their products fresh and exciting for customers.
Kitting Services
TFL's kitting services streamline shipping by delivering packages from different vendors to the same location and further create a personalized experience for your customers by using unique standard operating procedures (SOPs) that enable them to combine multiple Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) for different customer profiles, products, and more. Businesses can easily track kitted products through their portal and always maintain a bird's eye view of their order. The onboarding process takes only 30 minutes and uses an integration wizard.
Discovery365 and On-Demand Services
TFL offers Discovery365, an insurance product that covers your inventory and business during natural disasters, work labor stoppages, software issues or other unforeseen emergencies. The cost for this service is less than $1 per day. Also, if you want to start a health supplement or fitness business, TFL can help you crush it thanks to its partnership with Sloan Health. The company will help you deliver new products with minimal initial expenses, allowing for more financial resources to be allocated toward other essential services. It is the primary on-demand service offered by TFL.
Other Resources
On the website, you can find informative articles or blog posts on the resource page. These provide valuable insights into successfully running or managing e-commerce businesses, shipping and warehousing. Benzinga rates TFL 5 out of 5 on product offerings.
TFL offers phone support in countries like the U.K., U.S., Canada, Hong Kong and Panama. You can find the specific phone number for your country on its website. Alternatively, you can make inquiries via email, the live chat option or fill out the online ticketing on the website. Zoom, Slack and Skype are other alternative options. It all depends on the client's preference.
When customers work with The Fulfillment Lab, they are assigned to a dedicated “pod” that gives the customer a singular point of contact, who will always be a US-based Fulfillment Lab employee. This makes it much easier for customers to reach out directly when they have concerns.
TFL is highly focused on human interaction to resolve complaints. The company maintains an active presence on major social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, where you can contact them.
Finally, keep in mind that this is not The Fulfillment Center, a competitor with considerably lower customer support ratings. Benzinga has found that The Fulfillment Lab does a quality job supporting its customers and rates TFL 4 out of 5 on customer service.
TFL safeguards user data using industry-standard best practices. All user information is stored in AWS, which uses the latest and enhanced encryption protocols to protect data in online environments. Personally identifiable information is not used for reasons other than product and service improvements and marketing. You have the right to all information rectification, restriction, erasure, transferability of data, objection and revocation. You can contact the company via email or phone to opt out of receiving new or updated service offerings or newsletters. Benzinga rates TFL 5 out of 5 based on security.
The cost for shipping the first item is $1.25, and each additional item costs $0.40. If a business has more than five sales per day, there are no monthly minimum fees for using the fulfillment services. TFL offers free primary fulfillment fees to businesses that sell physical goods and have a direct-to-consumer (D2C) target goal of more than 20 shipments per day. This offer is valid for the first 500 shipments or the first 30 days, whichever comes first. TFL lacks adequate fee transparency as prices are customized based on client needs from the initial call. Benzinga rates TFL 3.5 out of 5 on pricing.
TFL makes for excellent ease of usage thanks to its innovative and user-friendly proprietary software, which enables integration with major e-commerce platforms streamlining order fulfillment management via a centralized point. This feature makes for high efficiency and fast order fulfillment that satisfies clients and target customers. The integration process takes only 15-20 minutes and can be done entirely online with the help of documentation. After the integration, clients can set up a welcome call with team leaders to discuss the process further. Discovery365 can also be added to the company's existing fulfillment services, providing an additional layer of protection to businesses' inventory and operations.
The integration process for Discovery365 is also fast and easy. Thanks to TFL's multiple facilities, businesses can access the services even during peak seasons. The company champions personalized and timely support through various communication channels such as phone, email, Skype, Slack and Zoom to ensure clients can reach out in their preferred manner. Once connected, clients are assigned to a dedicated team, and a single point of contact is appointed as the team leader to ensure efficient communication and timely issue resolution. Benzinga rates TFL 5 out of 5 user experience.
The Fulfillment Lab vs. Competitors
TFL has a few similar competitors, like Amazon FBA and ShipNetwork. FBA and TFL offer similar services like kitting, subscription boxes and custom branding. However, FBA is more geared towards businesses selling on Amazon, while TFL provides more flexibility and customization options. ShipNetwork focuses mainly on order fulfillment within the U.S., where its warehousing facilities are located, so it may not be ideal for international shipping. Besides its many customization options, TFL's Discovery365 services that protect inventory from natural disasters and other unforeseen emergencies and integration with over 40 e-commerce platforms set it apart from these platforms. FBA integrates with Amazon Prime, while ShipNetwork integrates with very few e-commerce platforms.
The Fulfillment Lab offers a comprehensive shipping and management solution for diverse businesses, handling orders, shipments, returns and customer service inquiries from a single source, which makes order fulfillment efficient. The company streamlines access to global marketplaces via cost-effective shipping, delivery or order fulfillment, leveraging its cutting-edge technology, which ensures accurate tracking, secure payments and fast delivery times. It also offers Discovery365, an additional layer of protection for businesses' inventory and operations. The company has built a reputation as a trusted partner for businesses of all sizes. However, despite its robust platform and numerous communication channels, reviews across platforms are few and unimpressive. Furthermore, the company lacks price transparency. Benzinga rates TFL 4 out of 5 overall.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of Fulfillment Lab?
The CEO of TFL is Rick Nelson.
What are the benefits of in-house fulfillment?
In-house fulfillment provides businesses with more control over their order fulfillment process. It allows for faster processing and shipping times. Additionally, it can lead to cost savings and improved customer satisfaction because of increased quality control.