Posts

Posted on

An Important Note from Our Company President

Read and important note from our company president.

Dear Valued Partner,

As we enter the holiday shopping season it is important for all of us to recognize that the logistics business is under a lot of stress.

• Inbound stock is running behind schedule with many container ships still queued outside of L.A. and other major ports.

• Acquiring quality staffing and packaging supplies remain an issue.

• Last year our carriers sometimes restricted how many packages they would pick up per day.

Even though we are faced with these challenges, be assured we will continue to do our very best to process your incoming stock and outgoing orders in a timely manner.

However, due to the difficulties we face, we ask for your patience… especially if you are running sales that create order spikes.

Although we do not anticipate it, unforeseen spikes in our aggregate order traffic MAY lead to longer processing times and possible shipping delays if carriers enact volume restrictions.

As always we will work hard to process all orders quickly and efficiently.

We wish you all the best for the holidays,


President

Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics – West Coast

Sprocket Express – East Coast

Posted on

Creating Your Own eCommerce Empire Means Expanding Beyond Amazon

eCommerce Tips

As an eCommerce vendor, it may seem like it’s Amazon’s world and we just live in it. But you didn’t become an entrepreneur just to play by someone else’s rules. Use your relationship with Amazon as a springboard to building your own eCommerce empire.

Rented vs. Owned Platforms

Just as with brick-and-mortar businesses, online vendors have the choice of rented or owned storefronts. Rented platforms include Amazon, Facebook, and other third-party options, while owned platforms are created and operated exclusively by the vendor. An owned platform would be your own ecommerce website.

Of course, both types have their pros and cons. Let’s look at the different elements of eCommerce platforms and how they apply to your business.

Range

This one is a no-brainer. Amazon has a built-in user base that’s second to none. New eCommerce retailers can quickly jump-start their business by tapping into Amazon’s ready-made customer base.

But as your business grows, this benefit can become a drawback. With Amazon controlling all communication between you and the buyers, you have no opportunity to nurture the customer relationships that are key to building sales and developing customer loyalty.

Cost

Again, for a start-up, there’s a financial advantage to using Amazon’s platform. You can bypass the expense of designing and maintaining a digital storefront and invest your funds in product, marketing or other areas that may need it.

If time is money, Amazon’s platform also provides savings in labor. There’s no need to divide your energies between operating your storefront and handling other business activities.

Eventually, these savings become offset by the increased fees you pay as your sales go up. Loss of repeat business is an indirect cost, but one that can ultimately add up even more.

Competition

This is one of the bigger disadvantages of Amazon’s size. Their doors are open to just about anyone, so you’ll often find yourself going up against multiple retailers offering similar or even the same products.

vAmazon does have tools to help you promote your products, but they’re not easy. Prime positioning in the Buy Box or Merchant Offers List is awarded by rankings based on pricing, merchant history, customer reviews and other factors. In essence, it’s a catch-22: to gain one of these spots, you must beat the competition you’re trying to overcome in the first place.

When you’re operating from an owned platform, your products have the spotlight all to themselves. When you get visitors to your website or mobile app, you know they’ve come because they’re interested buyers.

Shipping

Once your product has been sold, Fulfillment by Amazon handles the shipping end of the transaction. You send your products to one of Amazon’s fulfillment centers, where orders are shipped out to customers.

A time-saver? Absolutely. But one that comes with a lot of strings attached. For example, merchants sometimes find a discrepancy between the actual cost of shipping an order and the amount reimbursed by Amazon.

In addition, Fulfillment by Amazon has stringent requirements for the procedures used to package and ship products to their centers. Failure to comply can result in penalties ranging from additional charges to refusal of inventory. Plus, Amazon may limit your warehouse space or even change what is available to use in peak seasons.

When you operate on an owned platform, you’re free to work with an independent fulfillment center that offers the flexibility to scale along with your business. You can still work with Amazon, confident in the knowledge that your fulfillment center will comply with Amazon’s rules.

With the unique Fulfillment by Medallion program, we warehouse your Amazon stock and then ship to the Amazon warehouse when you need a stock refill. Allowing you to fulfill orders from your own website AND Amazon stores or the Amazon warehouse from our company’s two locations – L.A. or Boston.

Fulfillment Services to Fit Every Need

Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics started out in our family garage, so we understand what it takes to grow a business. Contact us to learn more about our full-service fulfillment solutions, including our Amazon replenishment warehousing program.

Posted on

Get Ready for Temporary Shipping Rate Adjustments for the 2021 Holiday Season

Medallion Fulfillment the Top US Fulfillment Company

The United States Postal Service filed notice earlier this year with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) regarding a temporary price adjustment for key package products for the 2021 peak holiday season. This temporary rate adjustment is similar to one in 2020 that anticipated heightened peak-season package and shipping demand, which typically results in extra handling costs.

The planned peak-season pricing, which was approved by the Governors of the Postal Service on August 5, would affect prices on commercial and retail domestic competitive parcels – Priority Mail Express (PME), Priority Mail (PM), First-Class Package Service (FCPS), Parcel Select, USPS Retail Ground, and Parcel Return Service. International products would be unaffected.

Pending favorable review by the PRC, the temporary rates would go into effect at 12:00 a.m., Central Time, on October 3, 2021, and remain in place until 12:00 a.m., Central Time, December 26, 2021.

This seasonal adjustment will bring prices for the Postal Service’s commercial and retail customers in line with competitive practices.

From the UPSP about these changes: “Delivering for America,” the Postal Service’s 10-year plan for achieving financial sustainability and service excellence, calls for appropriate pricing initiatives. The Postal Service has some of the lowest mail postage rates in the industrialized world and continues to offer great values in shipping. These temporary rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the agency with the revenue to cover extra costs in anticipation of peak-season volume surges like levels experienced in 2020. The forecasted additional revenue from the time-limited increase will depend on the volume of packages shipped between Oct. 3 and Dec. 26, 2021″ – the period the Postal Service historically considers its holiday peak season.

The planned price changes include:

Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Parcel Select Ground and USPS Retail Ground:

• $0.75 increase for PM and PME Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes.
• $0.25 increase for Zones 1-4, 0-10 lbs.
• $0.75 increase for Zones 5-9, 0-10 lbs.
• $1.50 increase for Zones 1-4, 11-20 lbs.
• $3.00 increase for Zones 5-9, 11-20lbs.
• $2.50 increase for Zones 1-4, 21-70 lbs.
• $5.00 increase for Zones 5-9, 21-70 lbs.

Additional Planned Increases for the United States Postal Service

Product : Parcel Select Destination Delivery Unit (DDU)
Current: Starts at $3.30
Planned Increase: No change

Product: Parcel Select Lightweight (DDU)
Current: Starts at $2.15
Planned Increase: No change

Product: FCPS Commercial
Current: Starts at $3.01
Planned Increase: 30 cents

Product : FCPS Retail
Current: Starts at $4.00
Planned Increase: 30 cents

Product: Parcel Select Lightweight (DSCF and DNDC)
Current: Starts at $2.55
Planned Increase: $1.00

Product: Parcel Select DSCF
Current: Starts at $4.84
Planned Increase: $1.00

Product: Parcel Select DNDC
Current: Starts at $6.85
Planned Increase: $1.00

Product: Parcel Return Service
Current: Starts at $3.21
Planned Increase: $1.00

FedEx Announces Their Holiday Rate Increases For 2021

Kicking in November 1 with a $1.50-per-piece price hike for FedEx’s Ground Economy deliveries, FedEx starts the holiday season off for merchants with a not so merry notice.

The planned increase affects shipping to outbound residential deliveries for small and medium-sized businesses and covers low-weight, low-value, non-urgent deliveries – typical consumer package deliveries.

The November 1 surcharge expires on November 28, but will be then be upped to $3 per package November 29, and will last until December 12 to compensate for the higher volumes of Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases. FedEx rate surcharges will then return to the $1.50 per piece increase from December 13 to January 16.

FedEx also announced a new on-going 60-cents-per-piece charge starting January 17, 2022, for retailers whose shipment volumes qualified for holiday surcharges.

UPS Announces Their Holiday Rate Increases For 2021

UPS has developed a pricing tier for the 2021 holiday shipping season based on merchant shipping volume.

This complicated grid is based on distinct variables such as shipments originating from China Mainland and Hong Kong SAR to the U.S.; shipments originating from Japan to the U.S.; shipments originating from Taiwan to the U.S.; shipments from Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand to the U.S.; shipments from Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, or United Kingdom to the U.S. and North America; and finally exhaustively any international shipment from all origins to all destinations, except shipments subject to the Peak Surcharges set forth in Sections A through E above, until further notice for the Service Levels and Peak Periods set forth below.

The pricing grid is so complex and confusing, that it is more important to review the document to ascertain what your shipping surcharge for the holiday will be. Visit the price grid.

UPS appears to now be structuring its price increase based on the merchant’s February volume in tiers. The tiers are 110% to 200% of February 2020 volume; greater than 200% to 300% of February 2020 volume; greater than 300% to 400% of February 2020 volume, greater than 400% to 500% of February 2020 volume; greater than 500% of February 2020 volume.

Any way, you look at it, shipping for merchants in the holiday season for 2021 will be more complicated due to Covid-19 and more expensive with new shipping volume surcharges.

Tired of Figuring Out the Shipping? Leave it to Medallion to Ship Your Goods

Leverage our expertise and volume pricing to ship your goods this holiday season and concentrate on selling and servicing your customers. Medallion has programs that fit all budgets and needs – large and small. With warehouses on the East and West Coasts, we make shipping easy, fast, and now headache-free.

Contact us at Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics today to get a free rate quote and learn how easy it is to have us handle your fulfillment and shipping needs.

Posted on

How to Choose the Right 3PL Partner for Your Business

Handshake to do business with Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics

The rise of eCommerce and virtual storefronts has made 3PL a popular buzzword. Is a 3PL the solution to your operational challenges? Here’s a look at what a 3PL can and can’t do and how to make the right choice for your business.

What Is a 3PL?

Simply put, a third-party logistics company, commonly referred to as a 3PL, handles a wide range of services that make up the supply chain. This generally includes operational functions before and after the sale, such as warehousing, transportation and order fulfillment.

A business can outsource their entire operational “department” to a 3PL or engage the 3PL only for specific functions. According to a study by research and consulting firm Armstrong & Associates, Inc., as much as 86 percent of domestic Fortune 500 companies use a 3PL for an average of just under three different services.

Why Use a 3PL for Shipping and Fulfillment

• When you turn operations over to a 3PL, it frees you up to focus on sales, which is the lifeblood of your business.

• Money you don’t spend on warehouse space and staff can be invested in other areas of your company. In addition, 3PLs can negotiate much better rates with freight carriers than you can as a small or mid-size independent retailer.

• With same-day and next-day shipping becoming the norm rather than the exception, a 3PL’s expanded distribution network allows you to meet customer delivery expectations.

• While the 3PL handles shipping, you are still the face of the company and so retain control over your brand.

• You can leverage the locations of the 3PL warehouse to your benefit. For example, Medallion has an East Coast and a West Coast location – allowing for fast shipping nationwide when you store merchandise at both locations.

• Hiring a 3PL can be made easy when using the right partner. Even small businesses can benefit from using a 3PL partner such as Medallion Fulfillment – who has a special program for startups.

Tips for Choosing the Right 3PL Partner

1. How will you find the answer if you don’t know what the question is? Define your needs and expectations and how you will measure them. You’re sure to come across a few 3PLs that are perfectly fine providers, but if you’re not on the same page, a partnership is pointless.

2. Do some due diligence regarding potential 3PL providers. How long have they been in business? Are they financially stable? What does their performance over the last few years look like? If you commit to a 3PL and they suddenly go sideways, the whole bottom could drop out of your own business.

3. What is the 3PL’s reputation in the business community? Social media and online review sites make it easier than ever to get “word of mouth” reports on companies from a customer’s perspective. You can also solicit recommendations from your peers who may have experience with various 3PLs.

4. Does the 3PL demonstrate a willingness to address customer service issues? Some providers feel no responsibility to go outside the bounds of their specific duties. When a 3PL works with you to solve problems, that indicates desire to be a true partner.

5. Technology continues to progress at a rapid pace. Is the 3PL keeping up with current advancements, or are they content to hobble along on an outdated platform?

6. Where do you expect your company to be next year? In five or 10 years? Look for a 3PL provider that can scale along with you.

Coast-to-Coast Warehousing and Fulfillment Services

Medallion Fulfillment and Logistics has what it takes to be the right 3PL partner for your needs.

Whether you’re a small startup or a thriving eCommerce vendor, we have a program that fits your needs, including our innovative Amazon replenishment warehousing service.

Contact Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics to learn more our customized fulfillment options.