A fulfillment center is a third-party service provider that processes and ships products that customers have purchased. They exist to get online orders to customers in a timely fashion and relieve ecommerce companies of managing this crucial-yet-challenging process. The main function of a fulfillment center is to manage the sellers inventory, store the inventory, ship orders directly to customers and/or retailers, and assist sellers in managing the entire vital, yet often difficult fulfillment operation.

When using a fulfillment center, a seller must first store their product inventory with the fulfillment provider. Then, when an order is received through the sellers website, they notify the center, which in turn locates the item ordered, prepares it for shipping, and works with a shipping provider to have it delivered to the customer. Fulfillment centers can ship orders faster than most ecommerce sellers can on their own, and they usually provide excellent logistics services that are more efficient and accurate.

Fulfillment centers offer several benefits to ecommerce businesses, including:

• Lower staffing costs: Sellers do not need to hire and manage their own staff to handle orders, which in turn reduces concerns about paychecks and other payroll taxes.
• Larger product selection: Fulfillment centers make it more feasible for sellers to offer a larger selection of products than they could manage if they had to maintain inventories themselves.
• Scalable operations: Fulfillment centers are usually capable of processing dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of orders per day, helping sellers keep shipping flowing consistently.
• More time for other work: Using a fulfillment center can free up time for sellers to focus on other aspects of their business, such as sales and customer service.

In summary, a fulfillment center is a third-party service provider that processes and ships products that customers have purchased. They offer several benefits to ecommerce businesses, including lower staffing costs, larger product selection, scalable operations, and more time for other work.