Category: Fulfillment Warehouse

Posted on

What You Need to Know About E-Commerce Taxes and Regulations

ecommerce taxes and regulations

Running an eCommerce business comes with many responsibilities. Some of the most important include staying on top of taxes and regulations. This helps prevent penalties or other issues that affect your business. The following tips can help you understand these better.

Destination-Based vs. Origin-Based Sales Taxes

Many states use a destination-based approach to sales tax. This means online businesses charge sales tax based on a customer’s location. Other states use an origin-based approach, which means state taxes are based on the business location.

For example, if orders are shipped from a business or fulfillment warehouse in one state, the sales tax for those might be based on the customer’s state under destination-based sales tax sourcing. With origin-based sourcing, the sales tax would be based on the company’s location.

State Tax Rules

It’s important to become familiar with state tax rules, which differ from state to state. Some states don’t tax apps or other digital goods, while others do. Some states have tax exemptions when you sell overseas. Other tax-related issues to be aware of include sales tax holidays and exemptions.

Examples of exemptions include survival items, such as prescriptions or groceries, wholesale exemptions, and non-profit exemptions. Study the specific tax exemptions for different states to see which apply to your eCommerce business.

Sales Tax Permits and Reporting

Some states require business owners to have a permit in order to collect sales taxes in certain jurisdictions. Apply for one if needed before you begin collecting this money. For sales tax reporting, keep deadlines in mind to avoid being hit with penalties.

Partnering with the right fulfillment warehouse allows you to focus on taxes and regulations instead of picking, packing, and shipping orders. Contact Medallion Fulfillment and Logistics today to find out how we can help your eCommerce business.

Posted on

5 Tips for Managing Your Customer Data

Customer Data Plan from a Fulfillment Company

No matter how wonderful your products are, you can’t simply open your eCommerce store and hope for the best. Today’s advanced technology lets you gather data that identifies and targets customers with amazing precision and accuracy. Our fulfillment company experts offer five valuable tips for efficient management of customer data.

1. Collect the right data.

Just as a handyman needs to select the proper tool for the job, you should make sure you’re collecting data that’s specifically useful to your goals. Use your KPIs as a road map to determine which information will help you attain them.

2. Protect your data.

Don’t risk the nightmare of having your data compromised by a hacker. Onsite dedicated servers are the preferred method of storage, but cloud storage has become more secure in recent years.

3. Use data wisely.

So you’ve collected all this data. Now what do you do with it? Review data on a regular basis and incorporate the information into well-defined benchmarks. Using data to create charts and other visual representations makes it easier to recognize patterns and trends.

4. Establish transparency with customers.

Digital shoppers have become increasingly wary of sharing data online. Gain trust by being upfront about policies governing collection, management, and use of data. Take the extra step of reviewing your policies with a lawyer to ensure compliance with any relevant regulations.

5. Allow customers to control their data.

With an estimated 83 percent of organizations experiencing at least one data breach, legislators are responding with changing laws regarding privacy of data. Letting customers control what data they do and don’t share is another way to establish trustworthiness.

Manage Data Safely with Our Fulfillment Company

At Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics, data protection is just as important as managing orders. Contact us to learn more.

Posted on

Warehousing or Fulfillment Service – Understanding Your Needs

Medallion Fulfillment for Third Party Fulfillment Needs.

As the operator of a virtual storefront, your eCommerce business needs storage for your products and a way to fulfill orders. Which will better satisfy your needs: a warehouse or a fulfillment company? Take a closer look at how each one works.

Difference Between Warehouse and Fulfillment Center

• Warehouses are widely used by both eCommerce shops and brick-and-mortar stores. These large facilities provide storage for a company’s inventory until it’s sold. Individual SKUs (stock keeping units) are kept on shelves or in storage bins and containers to facilitate order-picking.

• On the other hand, a fulfillment center is a more comprehensive operation. In addition to storing product, a fulfillment center generally handles the entire process, from inventory management to order filling and shipping. These centers are sometimes referred to as a third-party logistics provider, or 3PL.

Benefits of a Fulfillment Company

• In business, larger volume means better pricing. A fulfillment center manages a number of customers, allowing them to receive more advantageous pricing on supplies and transportation than you could ever obtain on your own.

• Are you finding it difficult to keep up with the ever-increasing number of orders? Is it taking too long for customers to receive their products? Fulfillment centers have streamlined processes that can be scaled to accommodate company growth.

• Order fulfillment involves many moving parts. Managing this side of your business on your own is cumbersome and time-consuming. When you partner with a fulfillment warehouse, it frees you up to spend your time and energy growing your business.

A Fulfillment Company Invested in Your Success

At Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics, your success means our success. We have a variety of services, including start-up and Amazon replenishment warehousing, that can be tailored to fit your individual needs. Contact us today for more information.

Posted on

Expert Tips on Growing Your eCommerce Business with Paid Advertising

Visualization of Paid Advertising Concept for eCommerce and Fulfillment Warehouses

When you’re trying to grow your eCommerce business, advertising your brand is essential. Paid advertising provides a highly effective way to reach a wide audience through social media, websites, search engines, and other online platforms.

Keep in mind that as your business grows, you should consider partnering with a fulfillment warehouse to ensure prompt and efficient order fulfillment. While searching for the right fulfillment partner, follow these tips on making the most of paid advertising.

Explore Different Types of Paid Advertising

You might find that one type works better for you, or you might find success from using multiple types. Becoming familiar with all of your options can help you choose the right ones for reaching your targeted audience. Different types of paid advertising include paid search, paid social, native advertising, podcast advertising, and print ads.

Consider Your Marketing Funnel When Targeting Users

You’ll want to think about the search intent of users. For example, top-of-funnel searches typically include reviews or the best places to buy a product. For these, you’ll need to have the right keywords to target users. Middle-of-funnel searches, such as comparing different brands or products, typically require different keywords.

Boost Organic Posts on Social Media

When using paid advertising on Facebook or other social media platforms, you’ll want to boost existing posts. This allows you to reach a wider audience using video ads, image ads, carousel ads, or other types of ads.

Use Best Practices for Native Ads

These are ads that blend in more on websites compared to display banners. Create landing pages, offer clear messaging, and come up with eye-catching headlines to grab users’ attention.

Partnering with a fulfillment warehouse is a smart step to take while growing your eCommerce business. Contact Medallion Fulfillment and Logistics to learn more about services.

Posted on

Amazon Takes The Throne as the Largest Shipping Company in the USA

Fulfillment Warehouse

Move over, UPS. After overtaking FedEx in 2020 to take over the #2 spot, Amazon turned on the afterburners to pass Big Brown and become the top private parcel carrier in the United States. Our fulfillment warehouse staff takes a look at how this came to pass and what it may mean for the future.

Road to the Top

Only seven years ago, then-FedEx CEO Fred Smith all but laughed at the idea that Amazon could be a serious rival, referring to the idea as “fantastical.” At that point, Amazon was far in the rear-view mirror of industry leaders UPS and FedEx.

Determined to control all aspects of their business, Amazon turned their attention (and funds) toward significantly expanding their logistics network. This process was helped along the way by the pandemic, when the house-bound public increased the already significant amount of their online shopping.

Estimates are that Amazon will post final numbers of 5.9 billion deliveries in 2023, followed by UPS with 5.3 billion and FedEx with just over 5 billion. While Amazon’s number includes only packages they shipped end-to-end, number for the other two include parcels that were turned over to USPS for last-mile delivery.

What’s Next?

  • In order to more efficiently serve specific geographical areas, Amazon has announced the creation of Amazon Hub Delivery, in which the company will pay small businesses to take over last-mile delivery service.
  • Some retailers, motivated by Amazon’s success, are considering ways to handle their own deliveries.
  • FedEx and UPS are pivoting from total volume of deliveries to focus on more profitable parcels.

A Fulfillment Warehouse and Shipping Provider? We Do It All

Thanks to strong relationships with most common carriers, Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics can handle all your shipping needs with the most cost-effective and efficient methods. Contact us to learn more.