What should you look for when choosing a fulfilment partner?

On paper, fulfilment partners do roughly the same thing: manage inventory, process orders, ship, and handle returns. The difference is in the details, and you only notice those after working together for half a year. These five questions help bring the most important things to light.

Does the partner fit your products?

Product type is more important than volume. Small items require a different layout than bulky ones. Organic products require SKAL certification. Food, cosmetics, and medical products require the registration of batch numbers and expiration dates. Products with hazard labels, such as perfume or nail polish, require specific arrangements with the carrier.

Ask specifically whether batch and expiration date registration is used and whether the certifications required for your range are in place. Cenfil is SKAL-certified and registers batch and expiration data.

How is the pricing structured?

Don't just ask for the price per package, but ask about the structure. Is it charged per order, per order line, or both? Does it include pick and pack? Standard packaging material? What does a return cost? What are the costs for incoming goods, storage, and setup?

Also ask about minimum order quantities. At Cenfil, charges are calculated separately per order and per order line, within a tier that matches your shipment volume: the higher the tier, the lower the price per package. Pick and pack and standard packaging materials are included, there are no startup costs, and there is a minimum invoice amount of 350 euros excluding VAT per four weeks.

What can you see for yourself?

A partner who only communicates with you via email makes you dependent on them. Ask if you can check inventory in real time, see for yourself when an order has been processed, and find out what happens if a shipment gets held up by the carrier.

At Cenfil, you get your own account in Picqer, where you can track your inventory and orders in real time. In addition, there is a Cenfil dashboard where you can check the status of each order across all carriers and, if necessary, contact a carrier directly through Cenfil.

What happens during growth and peak periods?

The question is not whether they can handle your current volume, but what happens if you double in size or run a campaign. Is there room to grow along with you? Can extra staff be added? At Cenfil, storage space grows with you as long as it aligns with the number of shipments, and capacity can be scaled up in consultation.

What is in writing?

Be sure to request the terms and conditions before signing, and pay attention to the notice period, any minimum contract term, liability, and what happens if you leave. At Cenfil, there is no minimum contract term, but there is a notice period of six calendar months. Any other terms agreed upon will be included in the agreement.

Finally, ask for a test order before going live. That's the cheapest time to find out if something isn't right.