What to expect from your crowdfunding fulfillment provider
An experienced crowdfunding fulfillment provider can turn a difficult process into a seamless one. Read on for the top three things the right crowdfunding 3PL (like i Logistics USA!) should offer to ensure hassle-free reward fulfillment.
1. Transparency
Trust is a huge part of crowdfunding. Your backers trust that your product is going to be awesome. They also trust that they’ll receive the backer rewards promised to them on time. That trust should extend to the relationship between you and your fulfillment provider.
Many traditional 3PLs require that campaign creators send all rewards to the 3PL before a set time each day. With some, that’s the extent of the conversation. If you’re not receiving clear communication from your 3PL, how will you successfully communicate with your backers? Working with a retail fulfillment provider that offers real-time updates means you can pass shipping dates and tracking numbers on to your backers. No guesswork necessary.
For example, here at i Logistics USA, you can let us know your estimated inventory arrival and we’ll give you a set ship date. We’ll also share real-time tracking info for each shipment that can automatically be shared with your backers.
2. Geographic footprint
It might seem that working with a 3PL with one centralized warehouse location might make the most sense for fulfilling backer rewards. However, working with a fulfillment provider with warehousing operations in several strategic metro locations can be even better.
i Logistics USA network of fulfillment centers allows you to split inventory in major cities throughout the US. The i Logistics USA dashboard can analyze your backers’ shipping addresses to distribute your inventory in a way that enables faster, less expensive delivery — a win-win for you and your backers.
3. Technology
Last but not least, working with a technology-first 3PL is vital for any e-commerce operation, and crowdfunding is no exception. A tech-first 3PL is a technology company that has developed streamlined shipping and fulfillment solutions for e-commerce businesses.
Tech-first 3PLs leverage data and automation to drive down costs, speed up shipping times, and give you valuable insights into your inventory, products, sales, and customers. These 3PLs bring siloed information — such as sales, inventory, and shipping data — together to offer an automated, data-driven view of the entire fulfillment process.
From a crowdfunding perspective, you’ll want to work with a 3PL that can easily import backer data, track inventory and shipping status, and manage orders. i Logistics USA software offers these features and much more — all from one dashboard.
But don’t take our word for it — request a pricing quote to connect with one of our dedicated fulfillment specialists.
With all of the excitement of launching a crowdfunding campaign, it can be tempting to procrastinate planning for fulfillment until it’s time to ship — or even forget it entirely. One of the biggest mistakes first-time crowdfunders make is not thinking through packing and shipping their rewards from the very start of their campaign.
At i Logistics USA, we’ve worked with crowdfunding campaigns big and small and want to share what we’ve learned about crowdfunding fulfillment for backer rewards.
