At Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 , we only accept a small number of the companies that contact us as clients. We’re not snobs. We just know our strengths and we’re hyper focused on working with companies whose needs align with the value we provide.
As a result, Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 often refers leads to one of our competitors when we know their needs are better aligned with a competitor’s offerings. Sometimes our competitors send leads our way as well. There’s no financial incentive here, just good business and a common desire to help businesses find the best fulfillment service for their specific needs. To help you choose between our services and another top fulfillment company, we’ve created a side-by-side comparison of Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 vs. ShipBob.
You can read the comparison of Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 vs. ShipBob and several other fulfillment services in our best fulfillment service companies review .
What Do You Want from Your 蜂鸟电竞数据 Company?
If you are outsourcing your fulfillment to a third-party logistics company for the first time, you might think all fulfillment companies are alike. This couldn’t be further from the truth. If you wanted to buy an economical car, you wouldn’t go to a Jaguar dealership. And if you want a sports car, you’re probably not shopping for a Hyundai.
To understand what kind of fulfillment company you need, first get clear on what you expect. What level of service do you need? Do you want to offer free shipping? Do you want your orders to ship the same day they are placed?
Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 has created a 蜂鸟电竞数据 Service Questionnaire to help you clarify what your business needs from a 3PL service company. We know we are the right fit for some eCommerce businesses and not others. We want to help you find the perfect 3PL for your business.
Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 vs. ShipBob Average Parcel Weight
Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 specializes in shipping primarily larger, heavier parcels for our clients . Most of our clients are shipping parcels with an average weight of 10 pounds or more, with several shipping items between 30-70 pounds. This niche focus dictates everything from the tailored layout of our fulfillment centers, to the packing materials and boxes we stock, and the size of our picking carts, all to work well with bulky, heavier products.
ShipBob on the other hand specializes in packing and shipping products that weigh 30 pounds or less . ShipBob will also work with you if your products are heavier than 30 pounds. The majority of eCommerce packages weigh under 10 pounds, so ShipBob handles a wider range of products than many fulfillment warehouses.
Minimum Monthly Order Volumes
A monthly order minimum is the minimum volume of orders your business needs to ship per month for a fulfillment company to consider your business. Of course, monthly numbers are subject to seasonal and market fluctuations. To figure out whether you meet the order volume minimum, look at the average number of orders your company shipped for the past several months.
Order volume minimums are another way to decide which fulfillment company is right for you. If your business is just starting out or your order volume is low, there are fulfillment companies that specialize in working with smaller companies and startups.
ShipBob generally looks for a minimum of 200 orders shipped per month. At Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 , we tend to look for higher order volumes to best support our partners, but we do make exceptions when someone is a great fit for us. If you don’t have a historically high volume, reach out and we’re happy to discuss potential accommodations. If you’re considering Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 vs. ShipBob, this is an area where both eCommerce fulfillment companies operate with similar parameters.
Order-to-SKU Requirements
SKU breadth is a measure of the number of different products you sell. The more SKUs you offer, the wider your SKU breadth. A high number of SKUs can take up more shelf space in your 3PL service company’s warehouse. If you sell a high volume of all or most of your SKUs, this is not a problem. However, if you sell small volumes of a lot of different SKUs, you might fall outside the SKU breadth requirements.
ShipBob works with clients that have an order-to-SKU ratio of 5:1 or more . This means that, for every SKU on the shelf, you ship at least five orders. For example, if you have 100 SKUs, you’d need to ship 500 orders a month to hit the SKU-to-order ratio of 5:1. For a fuller explanation of SKU breadth, see our original best fulfillment company article.
Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 doesn’t have a formal minimum SKU-to-order requirement.
Warehouse Locations and Number of Warehouses
One of the factors to consider when you’re choosing a fulfillment company is the number and locations of warehouses . The more warehouses your products ship from, the faster your orders will arrive to more customers. On the other hand, there is often a greater inventory and logistics cost to dividing your inventory among too many warehouses. You’ll have the cost of freight to ship to the different warehouses. There is also the expense of carrying more inventory to keep each location fully stocked. In addition, you’ll need to stay on top of inventory management to make sure your products are in the optimal warehouse location.
The number of warehouses will depend on the size of your business and the types of delivery your customers demand. If you ship a lot of orders and need to get most of them to customers in one day, you might want a fulfillment company with a lot of warehouses.
A broader warehouse network can also bring down your shipping costs. That may make it easier to offer free shipping. However, if you don’t want to tie up capital in inventory, fewer warehouses with strategic locations may work better for you.
Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 vs. ShipBob: Warehouse Locations
Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 has two fulfillment warehouses that can deliver to 97% of US households in two days or less.
ShipBob has five warehouse locations that offer excellent coverage of both coasts and the center of the country.
Choosing Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 vs. ShipBob
We hope this has given you information to help you choose a third-party logistics company. Of course, there are many other factors that will help you choose between Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 vs. ShipBob.
When you are trying to decide between Red Stag 蜂鸟电竞数据 vs. ShipBob, you might want to give each of us a call to find out more. Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions. Your fulfillment center is, in many ways, your business partner. It’s vital that you are compatible.
