Toy and gift retailers have a unique place in the commerce ecosystem.
Unlike other retailers, toy merchants often act as both B2B and B2C vendors. Their business is unique and has to be flexible enough to juggle both large and small orders from both their r9etail and wholesale sides. Returns can also be a problem for toy retailers, so having a comprehensive return process in place is a must.
How Toy Fulfillment Helps Toy Companies
Toy companies need all the help they can get when it comes to product fulfillment.
Whether juggling orders coming in from across the globe or shipping those products out to both domestic and international customers, flexibility is key. Toy fulfillment can provide the kind of fast responses that these companies require in their day-to-day operations.
These are just a few functions that 3rd party logistics companies provide to help toy retailers:
Kitting. Toys are frequently purchased in groups, whether they’re action figures, plush toys or board games. By kitting items that are commonly sold and shipped together, toy fulfillment centers make sure that the pick, pack and ship portion of the process is incredibly accurate and fast.
International Reach. Sending a shipment to China isn’t as simple as sticking a stamp on the box and waiting for the item to reach its destination. In fact, both shipping and receiving international orders requires a deep knowledge of customs regulations for each country involved, shipping manifest tracking systems and understanding of the fulfillment partners available in each country.
Parts of Asia and Africa are especially tricky, but with a well-seasoned toy fulfillment partner your packages will get where they’re going in a timely fashion. Your toy fulfillment partner and their shipping networks can also help your incoming packages clear shipping hurdles that may slow restocking.
Customer Returns. Handling returns can be a hassle, especially when those returns are coming from another retailer who may have accidentally ordered too many units or chose the wrong type of toy for their store. Fortunately, a toy fulfillment center can get these items back into inventory quickly, while responding to the customer’s request for a replacement product or refund.
It’s important that your distribution partners and customers are happy with your company. How you handle problems says more to customers than how quickly you ship or how accurate your orders are. Toy companies regularly require a variety of networks to really optimize their business reach, but they can access all the help they need when they partner with a toy fulfillment company. After all, juggling shipments and managing import and exports is exactly what they’re best at.
