Every step of an ecommerce brand’s journey is important. And it’s an unending journey ideally—the business growing, expanding, and thriving to new heights as years go by. But as the saying notes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, meaning that the start of any journey is as pivotal as it gets. Here at ShipMonk, we understand that, and because of it we assign every ecommerce brand a 3PL onboarding expert to help guide merchants through this critical time.

Today, we’re going behind the scenes with one of ShipMonk’s premier onboarding associates, Bryce Clark. Discover the process and timelines of 3PL onboarding, get advice, learn what to expect, and get prepared to launch your business the ShipMonk way.   

Q: What should new ShipMonk clients expect during the onboarding process? 

A: To start with, we go through all the onboarding milestones they’ll achieve on their journey to launch. Our associates cover everything that goes into running a business. 

• Creating products in our system
• Setting up billing 
• Receiving inventory  
• Configuring SKUs
• Navigating our 3PL platform
• Integrating their store
• And everything in between

These are some of our major milestones that get hit on the onboarding journey. For each of these, and all other steps during this process, our main goal is to set up an ecommerce merchant for success and provide a positive experience because that sets the tone to have a successful and positive 3PL-to-brand relationship in the future, especially in customer support matters that may come up.

Q: What is the timeframe for the 3PL onboarding process? 

A: If I had to give a general quote on timeframe, I would say anywhere between 30 – 90 days. That mainly depends on the merchant. We want merchants to be ready to send inventory in 30 days, but as mentioned there are many milestones that need to be hit in the 3PL onboarding process before then. 

A big area that can hold up how quickly things move along is inventory. Sometimes there can be delays with getting inventory from the manufacturer. After inventory is received, it varies how soon a merchant is ready to launch. Some ecommerce brands send their inventory pretty early on in the process, but aren’t ready to go live and start selling because they’re still in setup mode, or configuring their data, or are prepping a marketing push. It really depends. Optimally, I would say within a few weeks of receiving inventory an account should be ready to go live and start fulfilling orders. It’s really not that common that an ecommerce brand would just want to wait and have inventory hang out for a few months. Most brands are excited to start selling.

Q: How is it different working with smaller vs. larger ecommerce brands?

A: ShipMonk is happy to be partners with brands of all sizes, and we adapt accordingly. For example, accounts that are just starting out in ecommerce sales with lower monthly order volumes typically need a lot of attention. We know they often don’t have a lot of previous 3PL experience or have been fulfilling in house or even just founded their company recently. They may need more hand-holding, and we’re glad to provide that. 

That being said, while the range of order volumes may differ across these types of smaller accounts, we are dedicated to providing equal support whenever, and however our clients need it. And we also customize based on where brands are coming from. For example, a brand searching for its first 3PL will have different requirements and needs than one coming from a 4PL or transferring inventory from another 3PL that wasn’t previously meeting their needs. We know the expectation with those accounts is to move faster because this type of ecommerce brand usually wants to launch closer to that 30-day mark, so our onboarding associates plan and move fast accordingly. 

Q: How do ecommerce merchants communicate with you during the 3PL onboarding process?

A: We provide any kind of support that is needed, adapting to the learning style and preference of the merchant AND doing whatever it takes to get the job done. For instance, we may utilize support calls, emails, and video meetings as regular communication.

Q: How often do ShipMonk onboarding associates communicate with merchants?

A: Some merchants are comfortable with exchanging tons of emails on a weekly basis; others would rather just have one in-depth call a week. It really depends on the client’s preference for how and when they communicate, which is typically directly related to how quickly they’re able to accomplish their to-dos and complete the steps and milestones of the onboarding process. 

I’ve even had some clients that I speak to four to five times per week. Again, it depends on how quickly they’re willing and able to advance through the onboarding process. The more communication from the client, the faster our onboarding team can proceed.

For merchants who request a slower pace, we can certainly provide breathing room between checking off steps on the journey. But if you want to get everything done as fast as possible and require speaking with us every day, even a couple times a day, we’re here.

“Overall, we’re big on thorough answers and getting back to people in a timely manner. It all comes back to our company motto, which we say often, that ShipMonk is about helping ecommerce brands Stress Less and Grow More.” 

Q: How does ShipMonk assign merchants to onboarding associates? 

A: There are various factors to consider when it comes to assigning an ecommerce brand to a 3PL onboarding associate. Our Onboarding Manager, Sushila Melcher, considers associate workload as one factor. We’re all able to balance different accounts at once, but depending on size and complexity, some brands require more than others and some brands move faster than others. New ecommerce brands to the ShipMonk fold are assigned with that in mind, ensuring associates can give each brand the attention it deserves. 

We also have designated onboarding associates for specific business profiles for that reason. Some of us are experts in working with accounts just starting their business journeys; whereas other associates know all about helping ecommerce brands transition from one fulfillment center to another. I would also say that time zone is an important factor. Considering the constant communication between the onboarding associate and merchant, to minimize turnaround time between tasks, questions, and steps, the associate and merchant would ideally be in similar time zones, or as close as possible.

Q: Are onboarding associates still there for clients even after the onboarding phase is over?

A: Until recently, once onboarding was complete and an ecommerce brand was live (finished all required Onboarding steps we transitioned the accounts to the general ShipMonk Customer Experience team for further support.

However, right at the beginning when a brand starts having orders fulfilled we are aware that there can be more questions that pop up and sometimes things need to be ironed out. For this reason, we don’t consider an ecommerce brand officially done onboarding until an order has successfully completed an entire cycle (picked, packed, shipped, and delivered to an end customer). We stick with our merchants through that initial phase to ensure everything is running smoothly. 

After that, depending on the complexity of the account, our onboarding experts will help merchants transition to ShipMonk’s support teams, consisting of both Account Managers and Happiness Engineers who will be there for your questions, concerns, and all other matters in the future.

We understand that the hand-off can be challenging for some merchants because they’ve gotten used to talking to one person (their onboarding associate). Nevertheless, our Happiness Engineers are better suited to handle inquiries after onboarding is completed. If a former onboarding client of mine reaches out once they have been transitioned to the main support team, I’ll still answer and try to help them if I can, but I try to keep the boundary. For one, if the account was ready to launch and transition then the merchant is a ShipMonk expert in a lot of ways by then. They’ve gotten answers to all their questions and feel comfortable launching operations. Additionally, at that point in the client journey, our Happiness Engineers are more qualified to help you with the evolving matters of your business.  

So I would say to a client that may feel apprehensive about the transition that even though it’s a new team, it’ll be fine and it’s for the best because we want your questions to be handled by experts in each role within our business. I’m your onboarding expert and now it’s time to work with experts in the next phase of your fulfillment journey.

Q: What are some of the more difficult areas of onboarding an ecommerce brand to a 3PL that you’ve encountered?

A: I would say there are four trickier areas you tend to deal with in onboarding.

1.) Ensuring merchants follow our receiving guidelines. We have super in-depth guidelines that some people struggle with because a lot of times the manufacturer, or supplier, or their former 3PL prepares the shipment so the merchant doesn’t have the hands-on ability to decide how it’s packaged or sent. Communicating and making sure those manufacturers grasp how to adapt to our standards can have a big learning curve because there are intricate details there. 

For example, I’ve had a client unable to separate SKUs with inner cartons and have to send them in bags. ShipMonk is willing to receive inventory if you don’t follow the guidelines, as in this case, but it may take the team longer to process and ship your inventory, and the receiving will be categorized as a special project, billed at a different rate. As time and cost are two things all ecommerce brands want to keep down when it comes to order fulfillment, following our receiving guidelines is key.

2.) Companies with HAZMAT products take more time to launch, as they have a more complicated process for shipping, there are important restrictions to pay attention to, and you need to communicate with developers on the back end to ensure SKUs are set as HAZMAT and HAZMAT shipping restrictions are applied.  

3.) Ecommerce brands that will be selling internationally right from the start can be trickier to set up because of all the different shipping and inventory matters at play.

4.) Helping merchants expand into multiple warehouses at once is more challenging because every fulfillment center you work with has its own tax ID info, receiving and shipping hours, layout, etc. And if you open warehouses in different countries (for example, a US and an EU facility), clients have to sign separate contracts.

Q: What would you say to an ecommerce brand considering storing inventory in multiple warehouses?

A: Starting with one warehouse/fulfillment center is what’s encouraged. Unless you are a company that presently has a ton of sales coming from very different parts of the country, then we recommend getting the hang of things with one of our privately owned and operated fulfillment centers, and then go from there. I’ve onboarded somewhere between 50 – 60 clients since joining ShipMonk and very few have launched with multiple fulfillment centers at once. Most brands understand the importance of mastering the process and getting to that launch point, which can be delayed if you are trying to launch from multiple fulfillment centers at the same time. 

Q: What brought you to be a part of ShipMonk’s pivotal onboarding team?

A: As a whole, what I’m passionate about is helping people and I’ve always been inclined to teaching roles as a result. Prior to ShipMonk, one of my previous jobs was working as a learning assistant to athletes, helping them make sense of and balance their different coursework and homework load. That experience translates to this role immensely. I love working with and getting to know the different clients I’m assigned. It makes me happy to get to know what these merchants are about, what drives them, and help them get where they want to go.

Q: What are some of your guiding mantras as a trusted ShipMonk 3PL onboarding expert?

A: I definitely think that the occasional video call or personalized one-on-one phone call makes a difference vs. just communicating through email. Even if it’s just a quick 30 minutes to explain things, it’s worth it because we’re trying to train them to be experts in running their business. It’s like that old adage “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. In the same sense, once you show a client how to do something then they can do it for themselves moving forward. That gets them closer to a launch point where they can feel self-sufficient and clear about all aspects of their operation.

Also, I already mentioned our ShipMonk company motto of “Stress Less and Grow More”. I’m not kidding when I say that we really live by that on our team. It’s a big part of how we work; we want to make things as simple as possible for the people launching with us, and as a result we try to make information available in a lot of different ways. For example, we have assorted lengths of webinars that we encourage people to attend.

In addition to that, I’d say another mantra that guides me is the idea of making the onboarding process a positive one right from the beginning, and every step of the way after that.

“We want to preserve relationships and grow them with good energy. If the client is in a positive state of mind, it’s easier to explain things, overcome hurdles, and get to that launch point.”

Q: Lastly, what advice would you give to any ecommerce brand starting its 3PL onboarding journey?

A: First off, I recommend attending our in-depth webinars. These two-hour classes teach merchants everything they need to know at that stage in the process. Any time I present a webinar I can tell how much people get out of it. I always get feedback from my clients about how things really clicked for them after that—complex areas turning simple. And throughout the webinar people can post questions in the chat to clarify things. It’s a great way to get the gears turning, prompt new understanding for other people who are also in the webinar, and talk in detail about more difficult areas that maybe aren’t as easy to comprehend through email. 

Second, plain and simple, if you follow the guidelines as best as you can then we’ll be in the best place to set you up for success!