The Truth Behind Why We Specialise In SMEs
Rebecca and her daughter, Charlotte.
A question we often get asked is ‘Why (on earth) do you specialise in SMEs?’ A valid concern of anybody who is in the know when it comes to logistics. SMEs, or small to medium enterprises, come with problems that you simply don’t encounter when working with larger, more established companies.
SMEs have lower order volumes, meaning there is less ‘reward’ for the fulfilment partner. They also struggle to accurately predict order volume due to a lack of trading history, meaning the fulfilment partner can’t prepare accordingly. In short; new and growing businesses come with a whole load of inconsistency and question marks.
The Head Scratcher
The businesses that often need the logistical help the most are the small to medium, growing businesses. These businesses often have a handful of extremely dedicated team members, working to their limits to make the new business as successful as possible. A scenario we see time and time again is a small business that has taken off, the sales are flowing in, but the staff are stretched across every department. They need more space and more hands on deck but they can’t afford to tackle the intimidating overheads that come with a warehouse and a full operation upscale. Unfortunately so many third party fulfilment partners slap these growing businesses with costs, restrictions and contracts which makes outsourcing (when they need it most) a no-go for most SMEs.
Our First Hand Experience of Ecommerce
Rebecca (left) and sister, Emmie (right).
We know first hand how incredibly hard it is to build a business from the ground up. We created CK Fulfilment off the back of our own experiences with our e-commerce business, Silver Mushroom. We had been growing Silver Mushroom for almost a decade. We had a small unit with two picker-packers, Rebecca, the owner, running the day to day (and everything in between) and her sister Emmie doing the marketing and stock collecting. The team worked incredibly hard and the business was growing steadily, and then Covid-19 hit.
Overnight, something Rebecca had always dreamt about came true. The companies sales increased by a ground breaking 1000%! The truth of this sudden burst in traffic to the little Silver Mushroom website, quickly began to rear its ugly head and Rebecca soon realised she simply couldn’t cope. She rented new premises, hired 20 new team members to help pick and pack the orders and 6 new office members to tackle the phones and customer services. The once neatly packed Silver Mushroom orders began to look a little lack lustre. Everything was rushed, items were mis-picked, parcels were sent to the wrong recipients and the once steady operation began to snowball downhill. Even with the extra resource, the foundations that had propped up a small enterprise were no match for the size of operation the company had very suddenly become.
The Tipping Point
Our situation was an anomaly, largely caused by the pandemic, however we do believe Silver Mushroom would have reached this ‘tipping point’ in the next 3-5 years regardless. Most SMEs are all faced with the difficult choice at one point or another to either buckle-up and keep their operation in house or to outsource to a third party fulfilment partner.
By outsourcing, small businesses can forget the 5-6 figure lease for a new warehouse, a wage bill the length of your arm and costs upon costs for everything under the sun. They can spend their time on the strategic growth of their business, with the peace of mind that their operation is running smoothly and efficiently, all whilst working from their laptop wherever they choose.
What Makes Us Different?
The Ck Fulfilment Core Team
Unlike many third-party fulfilment partners, we welcome SMEs to CK Fulfilment along with all of the ups and downs that come with them. We believe in helping the businesses who need it most and we sympathise with the dilemmas they face whilst growing and evolving. The sad truth is that many other fulfilment partners force SMEs into contracts they can’t financially sustain, and into agreements that leave their pockets empty and their shelves bare.
We know how daunting third-party fulfilment can be, and we completely understand that you still need to be as close to your business and your stock as possible. You need to know what your costs will be as you grow and that the work will be carried out to your exacting specifications. This is why, at CK Fulfilment, we not only offer complete transparency on our pricing and terms, but also encourage you to work closely with our experienced staff to make sure we understand your product, your customers and your business.
We offer a no-contract solution for SMEs with no fixed terms or hidden costs. What you see is what you get. We won’t penalise clients for the inevitable inconsistent volumes they will experience whilst growing. We encourage all clients to try new things and focus on growing their business. We welcome all SMEs to come and chat with our specialist team, we’d love to discuss your business needs and how we can work together. At CK Fulfilment, we want to grow with your company, whether that is from day one or year 10. Our doors are always open.
If you are a business owner finding themselves at the ‘tipping point’ or simply just starting out then we’d love to chat to you in person, over a cup of coffee or two. If you are ready to take the next step for your business, drop us a line via the enquiry form below or give us a call on 01772 356673 and we can begin building a bespoke plan to help you grow and surpass your business goals.