In-House Fulfillment Setup

Thinking of setting up in-house fulfillment for your new business?

First of all: Congratulations! This is an exciting moment in your entrepreneurial journey, and it deserves to be celebrated.

Secondly: You’ve landed in the right place on the internet. We cover what you need to know about order fulfillment and everything you need to fulfill orders in-house. We even put together a handy checklist to make sure you’ve got all the must-have tools to manage in-house fulfillment efficiently.

Order fulfillment flow

Let’s start with a quick review of how orders are fulfilled — from getting your products in before an order is placed, to getting them out to customers after they place an order.

Stress-free fulfillment is only one click away!

Everything you need to fulfill orders in-house

As a leader in the fulfillment industry, ShipMonk has created hyper-efficient processes and technology for fulfillment — you can read more about our warehouse automation here. But if your company is relatively new and your sales volume is low, fulfilling orders in-house might be the best option when starting out. You don’t need a ton of expensive tools to pack and ship orders from your own home, office, or warehouse. In fact, there are only 8 things you need to get started. Check out our list below.

Must-have tools

1. Tape & tape gun

Tape guns are an inexpensive and easy way to speed up the process of packing orders.

2. Boxes

Boxes should be large enough to comfortably fit the products inside – but not too big or you may run into dimensional weight issues costing you unnecessary money.

3. Packing cushioning

Protect your shipments with a filler material such as packing peanuts, bubble wrap, foam, specialty paper, or crinkle cut paper.

4. Storage bins

Keep everything organized in bins, so your products are easy to find and move.

5. Klever safety cutter

Reduce the chance of injury to workers – and damage to merchandise – by opting for a Klever Kutter instead of a box knife.

6. Hand trucks or dollies

Don’t hurt your back! Use a hand truck or dolly to quickly and easily move containers between workstations.

7. Tape measure & scale

Quickly and accurately calculate postage for shipping. Pro tip: Don’t estimate weight, or your carrier will invoice you for shipping surcharges to account for the difference.

8. Packing table

A clean, dedicated space with all of your packing needs within arm’s length is crucial for efficiency.

Nice-to-have tools

9. Laser printer

As your business grows, consider dedicated hardware to print shipping and postage labels.

10. Barcodes

Take organization to the next level with barcodes, so you can identify separate SKUs to pick & pack orders more quickly – and with more accuracy!

11. Tape machine

If you’re sealing lots of boxes with stickers, you may eventually want to invest in a gum tape dispenser to save valuable time.

Download a copy of our checklist

Is your brand a good fit for in-house fulfillment?

  • Do you ship fewer than 100 orders per month?
  • Is your average order value $25?
  • Are your products custom made to order?
 
If you answered YES to at least two of the above, your brand might be an ideal candidate for in-house fulfillment.

Want to chat about your business with a fulfillment expert?

Set up your free consultation today!

We help thousands of brands

See why leading brands trust ShipMonk

Recognized by leaders.
Loved by customers.

Stress-free fulfillment is only one click away!