What’s the biggest problem that print on demand companies face? The answer may surprise you. For most print on demand businesses, the single biggest obstacle to success isn’t managing inventory, or even drawing new customers to your website. On a more basic level, the biggest problem tends to be effective time management.
Think about it: If you never have a spare moment, then you’ll never be able to implement plans to grow your business. The good news is that, by properly scaling your print on demand distribution, it’s possible to find the time you need to take your business to the next level.
Here are a few tips for print on demand companies looking to save time by scaling their distribution model.
Tips to Scale E-Commerce Fulfillment and Distribution
1) Plan out your business goals.
This may seem like a basic point, yet it’s something that can be easy to overlook in all the hustle and bustle of running your print on demand business.
Plan out your business goals as projects, which will allow you to have a clearer sense of how much time and money will be required to see them through.
For example, if you plan to redesign your print on demand website, plan out each step in the process. This may cost you some time on the front end, but by enabling more effective project management, it will actually save you time in the long run.
2) Prioritize your projects.
Planning your business goals as projects is just the first step. From there, you’ll also need to prioritize those projects according to what matters most.
That website redesign may be something you’re really eager to do… but if your merch fulfillment system isn’t working effectively, that’s almost surely a more pressing concern.
Ultimately, you should prioritize projects in terms of what delivers the most value to your customers.
3) Streamline your ordering process.
For print on demand companies, the way customers place orders is incredibly important. If you make the process too complicated or time-consuming, people won’t come back to your print on demand apparel store… and in some cases, they may never get around to finishing their order at all.
Keep in mind that a good print on demand ordering system doesn’t have to be fancy or flashy. In fact, the opposite is usually true: You’ll want an ordering system that’s as simple and intuitive as can be, or else you’ll lose customers to your main competitors.
The bottom line: Streamlining your ordering process is foundational for scaling your business.
4) Streamline your merch fulfillment process.
If print on demand companies benefit from a simple ordering process, a simplified merch fulfillment process can be just as impactful.
Generally, the best way to streamline your merch fulfillment process is to outsource/automate it. That’s where a company like Gooten comes in. We’re here to make order fulfillment as reliable and as efficient as possible, empowering you to deliver real value to your customers without spending all your time fulfilling orders.
We’re always happy to chat with print on demand companies about automating their merch fulfillment, so don’t hesitate to reach out directly.
5) Automate, automate, automate.
Along those lines, we’ll make a more general plug for automation. While you can’t enlist robots or AI to handle every last aspect of your business (nor should you try), you can certainly use automation processes whenever possible to help you use your time more efficiently.
One of the first things you should automate is the ordering process. You’ll save a ton of time if you can move as many customers as possible to filling out their invoices digitally.
Learn More About Scaling Your Print on Demand Business
These are just a few steps that print on demand companies can take to scale their businesses, ultimately creating more time for strategy, design, and business growth.
If you’re looking for someone to partner with in merch fulfillment and automation, we’d love to chat. Gooten is a proven leader in this field, and we’re here to help you scale for success. Reach out to the Gooten team whenever you’re ready to talk about automation solutions.
