Getting a stable income, sitting under a palm tree or lying on the couch, is an eternal dream for many people, including entrepreneurs. In this article, we will look at one of the ways how to make this dream a reality.
This method is called “outsourcing an online store”. To implement it, you will need an online store and the first customers, the income from which will go to pay for the services of an outsourcing company. Everything else will be done for you.
What is online store outsourcing?
The English word “outsourcing” literally translates as attracting external resources to complete a task. If we are talking about outsourcing for online stores, then the contractor can be entrusted with everything - from calling customers to bookkeeping and settling tax issues. If your time is worth more than outsourcing services, then it would be better to spend it on marketing, finding new suppliers and other business development tasks.
Outsourcing companies will take over the entire order processing routine or only a part of it. Some firms provide comprehensive services, while others only outsource delivery for online stores or process applications.
But is everything really so rosy? Let's look at how outsourcing for an online store works in practice from start to finish. And then we calculate how much it will cost.
How outsourcing for online stores works: five steps to a turnkey order
Step 1. Accepting an order from a client
When a client places an order, he gets to the call center of an outsourcing company. An operator with a well-trained voice and well-thought-out sales scripts calls your client to confirm the order and, if necessary, does it (upselling related products or offering to buy a more expensive product, respectively).
For example, an order for a women's coat was received. The operator can offer the buyer to buy a scarf or handbag for the coat (cross-sell) or choose a model 20% more expensive, but from the new collection (up-sell).
By agreement, call-center employees call customers to remind them of the need to pick up the goods from the pickup point. Sometimes they take incoming calls from customers, advise them on the assortment and other issues.
When the order is confirmed and the managers are convinced that all the goods are in stock, it is transferred for execution.
Step 2. Picking and packing
There are two scenarios here. It all depends on where your product is stored - in a warehouse with an online store outsourcing company or with a supplier. In the first case, the necessary goods are immediately marked and packaged in a parcel. In the second, they must first be picked up from the warehouse, and only then transferred to the delivery department.
Outsourcing companies rarely take the goods from the supplier, because this is associated with a number of problems: the supplier will not have the goods, despite confirmation, the supplier will mix up the order, give the defective goods, the courier will get stuck in traffic and will not have time to bring the order to the delivery service.
If the processes are not handled by you, but by contractors, then they are unlikely to be able to quickly correct the consequences of such troubles. The client will not receive the order on time, this will affect your reputation and profit.
Step 3 Delivery
Delivery outsourcing is not much different from the work of a regular courier service. Several options are offered: delivery by courier to the client (in Moscow or in other major cities), delivery to the point of self-delivery and sending by Russian Post. We recommend using all three, and the client will choose the most convenient for him.
Courier delivery
Usually, outsourcing companies for online stores have their own delivery or they enter into direct contracts with trusted courier services. Orders in Moscow are delivered the next day or the same day. Parcels to the regions go from 2-3 days.
The operator transfers the address and phone number of the client to the courier, the courier calls and coordinates the time of arrival.
Delivery to the pickup point
The pickup point can be from a courier service or from an outsourcing company. If this type of delivery is selected, the call center operator will inform the customer when the goods can be picked up. If the goods are not picked up within a certain time, the operator reminds the client that the goods are waiting for him.
Delivery by Russian Post
This option is convenient if you need to deliver an order to a distant region where delivery services do not work or their services are very expensive. Any delivery outsourcing company for an online store offers a streamlined process of sending parcels to the Russian Post, correctly draws up the accompanying documents, gives the client a tracking number for the parcel, and, if necessary, calls with a reminder to pick up the order.
Step 4. Cash service
The client can pay for the order in different ways - from cash on delivery to electronic money and bank cards. You do not need to connect a dozen payment systems to the site and deal with each - the outsourcer will take over the acceptance of payments, and send you money in a convenient way.
The outsourcer sends the money received from clients, as a rule, according to the schedule, and not upon receipt, for example, twice a month. Outsourcers can deduct their commissions from this money. This is convenient because you don't have to pay if there were no orders.
How much does it cost to outsource an online store
Today there are more than thirty outsourcing companies in Russia, prices and terms of service are different for everyone. Read more about what contractors are and how to choose them. Someone works according to tariffs, for example, 5000 rubles for processing 10 orders. Someone - takes money in fact for the services rendered.
You will not know the exact prices until you decide on the choice of a contractor and announce your conditions to him. But approximately the prices for one order look like this:
Order processing in the call center - 100 rubles.
Upselling - 10-50% of the upselling amount, usually about 50 rubles.
Warehouse rental - 50 rubles. for a unit of goods.
Complete set and packaging - 150 rubles.
Delivery - 250 rubles for delivery by courier (price at an online store outsourcing company in Moscow).
In total, you will pay 600 rubles for processing one order. The figure is very approximate. Everything affects it - from the specifics of your product to the remoteness of the buyer.
Outsourcing for an online store - measure seven times, cut once
You can understand whether outsourcing is beneficial for you if you know the specifics of your business: what is the margin of goods, how much would you pay for your warehouse and your delivery, for your sales manager and courier.
Experienced entrepreneurs do not advise beginners to outsource business processes just because outsourcers have more experience in logistics and accounting. First you need to try to process and deliver orders yourself. And only then, having learned the nuances and the approximate cost of processing one order on your own, you can think about outsourcing orders.
Do you want to earn income from retail sales through an online store with less effort? Shift your worries to Algorithm. Our company provides full outsourcing for online stores in the field of order processing. We will deliver the shipments to your customers on time, control the payment, issue a check and transfer the received funds to your account. We work in Moscow and regions of Russia.
What do we offer?
Outsourcing is the involvement of third-party resources to perform a specific task. In relation to the store, outsourcing means that you can shift the entire routine to resolve any issues to a contractor (outside service). We provide cost-effective comprehensive full outsourcing services for the store, concerning the work of transportation and order processing.
The list of outsourcing services that we offer:
- receiving and storing goods in a warehouse;
- picking and packing orders;
- delivery;
- receiving payment from customers;
- work with returns.
By contacting us, you can order outsourcing for your online store in Moscow or the region, but only after the conclusion of the contract. We cooperate with individual entrepreneurs and legal entities engaged in retail sales.
How does the outsourcing service work?
1. Receipt, processing and storage of goods in a warehouse
You transfer the goods ordered at retail in the online store to our warehouse on your own or our employees pick them up.
With constant cooperation, you will not have to re-order courier services every time: the employee will arrive at the place according to the schedule and take them to the storage center.
Goods are stored in a protected area in ventilated and warm rooms. Our company is fully responsible for their safety.
2. Completion and packaging
Each shipment in the warehouse is carefully packed by our center. To complete orders, you send the specification.
3. Delivery work
RKO
Commission for cash settlement services in Moscow and St. Petersburg 0.5%
Responsible storage
The cost of safekeeping in the warehouse of our courier service 50 /m3 per day.Order set
The cost of a set of orders from the storage warehouse of our courier company 25 per article. More than four SKUs in an order are billed as four SKUs. Several headings of one article are charged as for one article.Order picking
The cost of calling a courier to receive shipmentswithin the Moscow Ring Road:- by passenger car up to 10 orders 200, more than 10 for free.
- commercial vehicle 500
And let's talk about the dream of almost any businessman: to sit and, while drinking a cocktail, watch how orders are ticking and processed in your business with the help of outsourcing an online store. Myth or reality?
The idea of outsourcing itself is not so bad. Its essence is that you transfer the main business processes to a company that is for you:
- Receive a call or confirm a completed order;
- Check availability with the supplier or in its own warehouse;
- Forms an order;
- Will send it to the buyer;
- Will accept money and send it to you on the account;
- It will also provide responsible storage of your goods and full reporting.
Sounds pretty good, right?
Now I propose to analyze each of the elements separately, compare prices, and at the end of the article you will find a lovingly compiled list of the main outsourcing companies for online stores.
What can be outsourced in an online store?
In general, you can give everything in general.
If 4 years ago it was from the category of fantasy, now there are a number of companies that are ready to take on absolutely all the tasks of managing the processes of online stores.
And in this article, the emphasis is on companies that offer comprehensive outsourcing. There are also companies that can be responsible for each type of task separately: call center, etc., but today I will not consider them, since I am interested in an integrated approach.
The outsourcing company takes care of almost all current tasks:
- Call processing;
- Collection of goods from the supplier;
- Storage and picking of orders;
- Delivery and logistics;
- Cash service.
In other words, your task- Attract a buyer. Outsourcer task– process the order, deliver the goods, receive the money and transfer it to your current account.
Therefore, the only thing you will need to do on your own: marketing. Namely, maintaining the site itself and other similar tasks, some of which can also be delegated.
Schematically, work with outsourcers looks like this:
Now let's take a closer look and, for ease of perception, imagine that you have just received an order and the outsourcer starts working on it.
Stage number 1. Order Processing
All conversations with customers are conducted strictly according to conversation scripts that you agree with the outsourcer in advance. A conversation script is a flowchart that shows how the operator should act during a conversation.
The simplest example looks like this: 
After the order is received, the call center receives information about the ordered goods, their cost, full name and delivery address. The operator must:
- Confirm the order
- Verify data
- Agree order price
- Date of delivery or receipt at the point
- And, preferably, do an upsale ()
After the final confirmation, the order information is transferred to the order picking department.
Average cost of services:
- Confirmation of the received order. Average cost: 90 rubles.
- The so-called upsale, when the operator attempts to “upsell” goods from the store’s assortment in order to increase the average bill. Average cost: 2-10% of the cost of the pre-sold or a fixed 50 rubles.
- Call with a request to pick up the order at the pickup point. The task of the operator is to remind about the order at the pickup point or the parcel at the Russian Post office. Average cost: 40 rubles.
- Handling incoming calls. Answering customer questions about the product, advising on delivery, payment, and more. In this situation, it is quite difficult to write specific scripts. Average cost: 10 rubles/minute of an incoming call.
Pros :
All conversations are conducted by a hired operator for both incoming and outgoing calls.
You can continue to work at a hired job () while developing an online store. In vain you laugh, I have worked more than once with wealthy people who have highly paid jobs and want to invest their free finances somewhere.
Conversations in most cases are conducted according to a pre-agreed script.
Minuses :
Since the operator runs several stores at once, it is not always possible to talk equally well about children's clothing and crossbows.
The operator works according to a script, so you should not expect flexibility in terms of decisions from them. “Your own” operators can always be trained specifically for your specifics.
Working in a call center involves a lot of stress and responsibility, so the risk of a human factor and errors is higher than with “own” operators.
So, our order is confirmed and we proceed to order picking.
Stage number 2. Order picking
At the stage of order picking, preparations are underway for transfer to delivery ().
There are two possible scenarios for the development of events:
- All goods are stored in the warehouse of the outsourcer for online stores;
- You must first pick up the order from the supplier(s) and consolidate ()
If all goods are stored in the warehouse of the outsourcer:
Everything is clear, I have nothing to add.
If you need to collect from the supplier.
In general, very few outsourcers offer the fence from suppliers, since this process immediately gives rise to a large number of problems.
For example:
- The order was approved, but not in stock;
- The order was agreed upon, the supplier confirmed it, but it turned out that the goods were still out of stock;
- The order was agreed upon, the supplier confirmed it, and on the spot it turned out that the goods were defective.
Well, if only one department would be involved in this, but there is a call center, a warehouse, logistics and a manager at the same time, tearing his hair out from constant failures. Fact:(
Therefore, it is easier for outsourcers for online stores to work only with those who keep their own warehouse and not contact those who need a fence from a supplier.
- Order picking. Cost: 100 rub.
- Additional packaging () of goods for, for example, fragile items. There is no average cost, it is necessary to specify individually.
- Put a “gift” from the online store (letter, envelope, etc.). There is no average cost, it is necessary to specify individually.
- Warehouse rent. Average cost: 1500 rub./m3 per month
- Purchase from suppliers. My attempts to calculate the average cost failed, so I will give the price tag of one of the services: 600 rubles for redemption by a foot courier and 1200 for redemption by a courier by car. It is understood that the goods will be redeemed not for one order, but for several at once.
Pros :
You do not need to be engaged in a complete set of orders, their preparation for shipment, labeling and other tasks. Everything will be done for you.
You do not need to turn your apartment/office into a warehouse.
If necessary, the outsourcer will also take care of all communication with suppliers.
Minuses :
I don't see any particular cons.
Stage number 3. Logistics
When the order is completed, the delivery department is included in the work and the order is delivered to the buyer according to the selected delivery method.
The process here differs little from the process of any courier service.
Express delivery.
The operator agreed in advance the delivery time by the courier, the buyer expects delivery, waits and pays.
Delivery to the point of issue of orders.
The operator agreed in advance the delivery time to the pickup point, the buyer is waiting for a message that the order can be picked up.
If the order has not been picked up within X days, you can set up an automatic rule to remind the buyer about the unredeemed order ().
Delivery by Russian Post.
The operator agreed on the approximate delivery time with the client, and after the parcel arrives at the department, an SMS message is usually sent with an offer to pick up the parcel. By analogy with the previous paragraph, you can also coordinate a call to the buyer with a delivery reminder.
The average cost of services at this stage:
- Delivery by courier according to the tariffs of courier services. MSK-MSK about 230 rubles. MSK-SPb about 270 rubles.
- Delivery to the pickup point at the rates of courier services. MSK-MSK about 120 rubles. MSK-SPb about 150 rubles.
- Delivery by Russian mail according to the tariffs of Russian mail + 2-4% of the cost for processing mail orders.
- Reminder to the buyer about non-collection. The average cost is about 45 rubles.
- It is also possible to arrange outsourcing of cash services, which will allow couriers and pickup points to accept payments from buyers. The average cost is about 2% of the order value.
Pros :
The absence of difficulties with cash services, as the money is accepted by the outsourcer and then withdrawn to your current account. Cashier is not needed ()
Opportunity to work "in one window" for all types of popular delivery services (courier, pickup, mail)
Minuses :
Percentage for cash service. Although it is difficult to call it a minus, because you have to pay for convenience.
Calculate the cost and compare
Now let's calculate how much outsourcing will cost for your online store when processing one order.
- Order processing by a call center: 90 rubles.
- Upsale (successful): 40 rub.
- Order set: 100 rub.
- Warehouse rental (in terms of order): 30 rub. (this is very rude)
- Delivery to the client (for example MSK-MSK): 230 rubles.
Total, if you take an order for 3000r. (cost price 2000r.) + upsale for 500r. (cost price 200) + delivery 300 rubles, then we get 3800 rubles, which we take from the client.
3800 - 2000 (order cost) - 200 (upsale cost) - 90 rubles. (processing) - 40 rubles. (upsale) - 100 rubles. (complete set) - 30 rub. (rent) - 230 rub. (delivery) - 76 rubles. (cash service, 2%)= 1034r. in the remainder.
Compare with the situation when you have your own warehouse and you answer the calls yourself.
3800 - 2000 (order cost) - 200 (upsale cost) - ~ 250 rub. (order pickup by courier) - 230 rubles. (delivery) - 76 rubles. (cash service, 2%)= 1044r. in the remainder.
The calculations, I repeat, are very rough, but they show the general picture.
For your convenience, I have prepared a table in which you can substitute your data and calculate what will be more profitable for you.
It looks like this: 
This table will be useful to you in the first place when you independently calculate which scheme is better to work with. Try it!
Comparison of outsourcing services for online stores
I have also prepared for you a comparative list of services among which you can choose yours.
It lists the following services:
- Ritm-z.ru
- allobegy.ru
- reworker.ru
- b2cpl.ru
- usedend.ru
- shopper.yourbees.ru
- rocket-ship.ru
- dvad.biz
- russianpostservice.com
The data is current as of December 2016.
.
If you don’t really want to download, you can see it as a picture (such a table simply won’t fit into the article): 
I use some of the services above, and I recommend paying special attention to reworker, ritm-z and yourbees.
Conclusion
The conclusion will be short: first start on your own and as soon as you decide on the average bill, the cost of goods and the approximate profit, then read whether outsourcing for online stores suits you or not.
Any calculations before the launch of the store are practically meaningless, I tell you straight.
Online store outsourcing is a solution for receiving and processing orders, storing and picking orders and delivering parcels. The choice of outsourcing service allows the owners of an online store to save on the maintenance of staff in the office and concentrate on promoting and developing the business.
Upon reaching certain volumes, any online store is forced to increase the staff for high-quality customer service or choose another option - to entrust all or part of the operational processes to a specialized outsourcing company.
B2CPL provides a full range of outsourcing services for online stores:
Courier delivery in Russia
If you receive orders from different regions of Russia, then we offer all delivery options in 70 regions of Russia: courier delivery, self-pickup from order pickup points. Average delivery time in Russia is from 2 to 5 days.
Delivery in Moscow and St. Petersburg is carried out the next day after the parcels arrive at our sorting center (in Moscow until 23.00, in St. Petersburg until 19.30). The 24/7 operation of the sorting center allows us to quickly process orders and fulfill our next day delivery obligations.
Points of issue of orders
Many customers prefer to pick up their order from self-delivery points.
Our pickup points are located in 70 regions of Russia. The parcel is stored at the pickup point free of charge
within 14 days.
If you are expanding the delivery area for the regions and want to work with the Russian Post, we offer convenient integration through our IT system, which will allow you to save time on solving organizational issues with the Russian Post. Parcels sent by Russian Post, as well as parcels for courier delivery or pickup at a pickup point, are tracked on. Plus, we offer a service; mail recipient notifications; shipments by our Call Center, which allows us to reduce; postage returns of 2% or more.
You do not have to buy a cash register and pay for its maintenance. We ourselves knock out cashier's checks and transfer them to your current account cash received from customers throughout the geography of delivery. All you need is to conclude an agency contract with us for cash services.
You can store the entire range of your goods in our equipped warehouse. In this case, we ourselves complete the order for delivery, you just need to track in Personal account leftovers and timely replenishment of the warehouse. All product information is stored electronically in the Personal Account.
You no longer need to hire employees to receive and process orders, we will organize a virtual office for you. Our managers themselves will accept and place an order, specify a convenient time and place of delivery, record the goods and provide the necessary reporting. At your request, our operators will be able to conduct telephone surveys, promotions, etc.
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