Fulfillment Center: What Is It, Why It’s Important, & How Does It Compare to Warehousing
履行中心：它是什么、为何重要以及与仓储的比较

What do you want to learn?
你想学什么？

The terms warehouse and fulfillment center (or distribution center) are often used interchangeably but can have very different connotations. Both are large buildings that hold inventory for businesses that sell goods; however, the use cases and services provided are often quite different. Let’s break down each option, so you have a better idea of what the best ecommerce shipping solution is for your business.
仓库和履约中心（或配送中心）这两个术语经常被互换使用，但其内涵却大相径庭。两者都是为销售商品的企业存放存货的大型建筑，但使用情况和提供的服务往往截然不同。让我们来分析一下每种选择，以便您更好地了解什么是最适合您企业的电子商务运输解决方案。

What does a warehousing solution do?
仓储解决方案有什么作用？

When we talk about a warehousing solution, we’re referring to a company that stores products for an extended period of time. A warehouse is a large storage center or industrial space designed to house inventory in bulk. You will see equipment like forklifts and containers, with shelves stacked high and stocked with large quantities of products.
当我们谈论仓储解决方案时，我们指的是一家长期储存产品的公司。仓库是一个大型存储中心或工业空间，专门用于存放大宗存货。你会看到叉车和集装箱等设备，货架上堆放着大量产品。

There are warehousing providers that are geared toward wholesale fulfillment and businesses that primarily do wholesale orB2B ecommerce orders in huge quantities. Some large retailers will have their own warehouse(s) in which to store excess inventory, while others rent space in a warehouse in conjunction with other ecommerce businesses.
有一些仓储供应商专门面向批发履行和主要从事大量批发或 B2B 电子商务订单的企业。一些大型零售商拥有自己的仓库来储存多余的库存，而另一些零售商则与其他电子商务企业一起租用仓库空间。

Leasing warehouse space is typically more cost-effective than buying for mid-sized and small businesses, though pricing depends on the lease terms available. It’s also worth noting that many logistics warehouse tenants can expect to see a 10% rate hike starting in 2021, due to a high demand for warehouse expansion and construction.
对于中小型企业来说，租赁仓库空间通常比购买仓库空间更具成本效益，但价格取决于可用的租赁期限。值得注意的是，由于仓库扩建和建设需求旺盛，许多物流仓库的租户预计从 2021 年开始，租金将上涨 10%。

Some small ecommerce sellers may choose to rent more cost-effective space, like local lockers or inventory storage units if they don’t have space at home. That way, they keep some inventory on hand and retrieve more when they’re running low.
如果家里没有空间，一些小型电子商务卖家可能会选择租用更具成本效益的空间，如本地储物柜或库存存储单元。这样，他们可以保留一些库存，在库存不足时再取回更多。

What is a fulfillment center?
什么是履约中心？

A fulfillment center is a part of the supply chain and serves as the hub for all logistics processes needed to get a product from the seller to the customer. It handles the entire order fulfillment process, ranging from order picking and processing to packaging and shipping. A third-party logistics (3PL) provider, such as ShipBob, uses the fulfillment center to receive, process, and fulfill customer orders for ecommerce retailers that are looking to streamline their operations. A fulfillment center exists to get online orders to customers in a timely fashion and relieve ecommerce companies of managing this crucial-yet-challenging process.
履行中心是供应链的一部分，是将产品从卖方送到客户手中所需的所有物流流程的枢纽。它处理整个订单履行流程，从订单分拣和处理到包装和运输。第三方物流 (3PL) 提供商，如 ShipBob，利用履行中心接收、处理和履行客户订单，为希望简化运营的电子商务零售商服务。履行中心的存在是为了及时将在线订单送到客户手中，并减轻电子商务公司管理这一关键但又充满挑战的流程的负担。

How do fulfillment centers work?
履约中心如何运作？

Fulfillment center operations consist of the work that helps get online orders to your doorstep — also referred to as the order fulfillment process. An ecommerce business’s inventory is stored strategically in a 3PL’s fulfillment center in preparation for fulfilling customer orders. After a shopper completes a purchase on an ecommerce store, inventory is picked and boxes are packed, then labeled for shipment.
履行中心的运营包括将在线订单送到您家门口的工作--也称为订单履行流程。电子商务企业的库存被战略性地储存在第三方物流公司的履行中心，为履行客户订单做准备。购物者在电子商务商店完成购买后，库存将被拣选，包装成箱，然后贴上标签以便装运。

Fulfillment centers can process both business-to-business (B2B) orders — typically a high volume of product that is sent to a big-box retailer — as well as business-to-consumer (B2C) orders, which are shipped directly to an individual consumer’s home.
履约中心既可以处理企业对企业（B2B）订单（通常是发送给大卖场零售商的大量产品），也可以处理企业对消费者（B2C）订单（直接运送到消费者家中）。

When a seller outsources ecommerce fulfillment, the 3PL is completing the fulfillment process on the store owner’s behalf. This includes everything from inventory management to negotiating rates with shipping carriers.
当卖家外包电子商务履行时，3PL 代表店主完成履行过程。这包括从库存管理到与运输公司谈判费率等所有环节。

Outsourcing order fulfillment processes to a 3PL  can make it easier to manage inventory, improve customer service, and save the seller lots of time to focus on more strategic tasks.
将订单履行流程外包给第三方物流公司可以使库存管理更容易，改善客户服务，并为卖方节省大量时间，使其能够专注于更具战略性的任务。

What is a fulfillment warehouse?
什么是履约仓库？

A fulfillment warehouse is often interchanged with the term “fulfillment center”. A stand-alone warehouse differs drastically from this. A warehouse is usually a place where inventory is just stored, while a fulfillment warehouse has many other jobs besides storage.
履行仓库经常与 "履行中心 "一词混用。独立仓库与之大不相同。仓库通常只是存放存货的地方，而履约仓库除了存放存货外，还有许多其他工作。

The average American shipping warehouse is larger than 25,000 square feet. About 35% of warehouses are smaller than the average shipping warehouse, while 50% or so of the current warehouses are 50,001 square feet or larger.
美国航运仓库的平均面积超过 25,000 平方英尺。大约 35% 的仓库小于平均运输仓库的面积，而目前 50% 左右的仓库面积为 50,001 平方英尺或更大。

What are the differences between warehousing and fulfillment centers?
仓储和履行中心有哪些区别？

Let’s look at a few of the nuances of these two buildings that hold inventory.
让我们来看看这两座库存建筑的一些细微差别。

Long-term vs. short-term storage
长期存储与短期存储

While there is a warehousing component to a 3PL’s fulfillment center — storing a merchant’s inventory in its designated locations — the main goal of a fulfillment center is to turn inventory over quickly.
虽然第三方物流公司的履约中心也有仓储部分，即在指定地点存储商家的存货，但履约中心的主要目标是快速周转存货。

Ideally, inventory should not sit in a fulfillment center for more than a month, or the merchant may be stuck paying high warehousing fees. However, sellers should proactively send more inventory to their fulfillment centers to make sure there is always enough product on hand prior to shipment. After all, being productive, proactive, and creative is one of the most important skills for all salespeople these days.
理想情况下，库存在履约中心的时间不应超过一个月，否则商家可能要支付高昂的仓储费。不过，卖家应主动向履行中心发送更多库存，以确保在发货前手头始终有足够的产品。毕竟，富有成效、积极主动和创造性是当今所有销售人员最重要的技能之一。

The role of a warehouse or an on-demand warehousing solution is to store products, whereas the role of a fulfillment center is to efficiently meet customer expectations around shipping. This is made possible when retailers store inventory in fulfillment centers located near their customers, to reduce shipping costs, time in transit, and shipping zones.
仓库或按需仓储解决方案的作用是存储产品，而履行中心的作用则是有效地满足客户对运输的期望。如果零售商将库存存储在靠近客户的履行中心，以降低运输成本、减少运输时间和运输区域，就能实现这一目标。

Operations 业务

Unlike warehouses that are more static or inactive, a fulfillment center has continuous movement and is a much more complex operation. A 3PL provides a variety of order fulfillment services in a fulfillment center, including:
与较为静态或不活跃的仓库不同，履行中心具有持续的流动性，是一种更为复杂的运作方式。第三方物流公司在履行中心提供各种订单履行服务，包括

• Receiving Inventory 接收库存
• Generating pick lists and picking products
  生成分拣清单和分拣产品
• Kitting and assembling items
  装配和组装物品
• Packing boxes 包装箱
• Labeling shipments 给货运贴标签
• Shipping orders 发货订单
• Managing returns 管理回报

As far as what’s happening operationally in a warehouse, the main action occurs when inventory is added or transferred out. There are not many additional services offered.
至于仓库的运作，主要是在库存增加或转出时进行。额外的服务并不多。

Big box companies operate on a similar level — Amazon warehouses and Amazon fulfillment centers treat them more as sortation centers and delivery stations. Packages move on the conveyor belt while workers sort small and large orders and prepare them for shipping with Amazon Delivery or a third-party company like USPS.
亚马逊仓库和亚马逊配送中心更像是分拣中心和配送站。包裹在传送带上移动，工人们分拣大小订单，为亚马逊配送或 USPS 等第三方公司的运输做好准备。

Frequency of pickups by shipping carriers
运输公司的提货频率

A fulfillment company can have relationships with many different shipping carriers. Since a fulfillment center operates to fulfill direct-to-consumer orders as soon as they are placed, they need shipping carriers to pick up shipments at least daily. This ensures orders will be delivered to consumers in time as promised.
履约公司可以与许多不同的运输公司建立合作关系。由于履约中心的业务是在直接面向消费者的订单下达后立即执行，因此至少每天都需要承运商来取货。这样可以确保订单按承诺及时送到消费者手中。

Depending on the exact services a fulfillment company offers, shipping carriers may need to pick up customer orders for any guaranteed same-day or next-day shipping options chosen by customers at certain times each day. Other carriers and services will have regularly scheduled pickups, for both domestic and international shipments.
根据货运代理公司提供的具体服务，承运商可能需要在每天的特定时间为客户选择的任何当日或次日保证发货选项提取客户订单。其他承运商和服务公司则会为国内和国际货运定期安排取货。

Retail fulfillment companies will have cutoff times for orders to be placed by. For example, customer orders placed by noon local time will be processed in the fulfillment center and shipped out the same-day.
零售履约公司会规定下订单的截止时间。例如，客户在当地时间中午之前下的订单将在履行中心处理，并在当天发货。

Conversely, a warehouse will typically need scheduled, less frequent pickups, since it is more cost-effective to ship freight and have boxes wrapped together on a pallet instead of generating individual shipping labels.
相反，仓库通常需要定期取货，取货频率较低，因为装运货物时，将箱子包装在一起放在托盘上，而不是生成单独的装运标签，这样更符合成本效益。

Freight companies try to pool inventory from various pickup locations for PTL and LTL freight shipments, which can cause a delay in pickup/delivery time, so merchants should allow for a longer turnaround time from prep to pickup.
货运公司会将不同取货地点的库存集中起来进行 PTL 和 LTL 货运，这可能会导致取货/交货时间延迟，因此商家应预留较长的从准备到取货的周转时间。

Benefits of using a fulfillment center
使用履约中心的好处

What are the top advantages to online sellers that use fulfillment companies?
使用履约公司的网络卖家有哪些最大优势？

Eliminate storing inventory and packing boxes
无需储存库存和包装箱

Unless you’re a brick-and-mortar retailer, managing a physical space may not be ideal. It’s no surprise that many ecommerce businesses want to avoid the hassle of storing inventory or dealing with ecommerce warehousing.
除非你是实体零售商，否则管理实体空间可能并不理想。许多电子商务企业希望避免存储库存或处理电子商务仓储的麻烦，这并不奇怪。

Furthermore, if you don’t want to pack boxes and run to the post office every day, a fulfillment center is a great alternative. The number one sign that it’s time to use a fulfillment center is no longer being able to keep up with your increasing order volume. Fulfillment providers, whether they specialize in wholesale fulfillment or retail fulfillment, help you spend less time worrying about packing supplies and post office lines and give you more time back to grow your business.
此外，如果您不想每天打包和跑邮局，履约中心也是一个不错的选择。是时候使用履约中心的首要标志是，您的订单量已无法满足日益增长的需求。无论是专门从事批发履约还是零售履约的履约服务提供商，都能帮助您减少为包装用品和邮局线路操心的时间，让您有更多时间发展业务。

Focus on the big picture
着眼全局

While packing boxes and shipping customer orders are critical to meeting consumer expectations, they are generally tasks that can be easily outsourced. Entrepreneurs and ecommerce store managers have an endless to-do list, so they must stay laser-focused on the tasks that only they can do and those that will help them scale and make money.
虽然装箱和运送客户订单对于满足消费者的期望至关重要，但这些任务一般都很容易外包。创业者和电子商务商店经理的待办事项无穷无尽，因此他们必须专注于只有自己才能完成的任务，以及那些能帮助他们扩大规模和盈利的任务。

Taking the time spent on order fulfillment and instead focus on marketing, customer service, and product management can help ecommerce businesses be more strategic and less operational. There will never be enough time in the day, but using a professional fulfillment center can help sellers be more proactive in other areas of the business.
把时间花在订单执行上，转而专注于市场营销、客户服务和产品管理，可以帮助电子商务企业更有战略眼光，减少运营成本。每天的时间永远不够用，但使用专业的履行中心可以帮助卖家在其他业务领域更加积极主动。

“Working with ShipBob has allowed us to focus on the important parts of running our business and lets someone else take care of the shipping.”
"与 ShipBob 合作，让我们能够专注于经营业务的重要部分，并让其他人负责运输"。

Brett Miller, CEO, BRIK 布雷特-米勒，BRIK 首席执行官

Leave it to the experts
交给专家

Inbound and outbound logistics can be challenging, and a fulfillment center is a complex machine with many moving pieces that must simultaneously work together. From order processing and inventory management to preparations for peak shopping seasons, fulfillment companies are domain experts and have seen it all.
入站物流和出站物流都很具有挑战性，而履约中心则是一台复杂的机器，有许多活动部件必须同时协同工作。从订单处理和库存管理到购物旺季的准备工作，履约公司都是领域专家，见多识广。

A single fulfillment center handles operations for countless ecommerce businesses and ships millions of orders out regularly. Because of this, their volume and experience make them a strategic partner.
一个履行中心就能处理无数电子商务企业的业务，并定期发送数百万个订单。正因为如此，他们的数量和经验使其成为战略合作伙伴。

Fulfillment companies can also drive greater efficiencies in everything from the low shipping rates they negotiate with carriers to the number, size, and locations of their fulfillment centers — all to be utilized by the ecommerce businesses they work with.
履约公司还可以提高效率，从与承运商协商的低运费，到履约中心的数量、规模和地点，所有这些都将为与之合作的电子商务企业所用。

“When you’re dealing with logistics, you want everything to flow, and ShipBob has been able to help out with pretty much every shipping issue we’ve come across. Knowing that your shipping department is taken care of is one less thing you have to worry about, and it allows you to focus on growing your business.”
"当你处理物流问题时，你希望一切顺利，而 ShipBob 能够帮助我们解决我们遇到的几乎所有运输问题。知道您的运输部门得到了照顾，您就可以少操心一件事，这样您就可以专注于发展业务了。

Toby Davis, Assistant Director of Operations, Azurro Group
托比-戴维斯，Azurro 集团助理运营总监

Automate warehousing and fulfillment
自动化仓储和执行

Modern fulfillment companies keep technology at the center of their fulfillment services. This means that every step of the fulfillment process is automatically documented in real-time for ecommerce businesses to know the status of their inventory and each order in the fulfillment center without having to be there.
现代履约公司将技术作为履约服务的核心。这意味着，履行过程的每一步都会自动实时记录下来，使电子商务企业无需亲临现场，就能了解其库存和履行中心每个订单的状态。

This is possible when fulfillment solutions have built-in integrations with ecommerce platforms and marketplaces. This connection enables each customer order to be automatically sent to fulfillment center to get picked, packed, and shipped out. Once shipped, tracking info is pushed back to the ecommerce store and shared with the customer.
如果履约解决方案内置了与电子商务平台和市场的集成，就可以做到这一点。通过这种连接，每个客户的订单都能自动发送到执行中心进行分拣、包装和发货。发货后，跟踪信息将被推送回电子商务商店并与客户共享。

3 examples of companies using fulfillment centers
3 个使用履约中心的公司案例

Many ecommerce businesses make the choice to work with a fulfillment company after self-fulling orders themselves. Read a few stories below.
许多电子商务企业在自己完成订单后，会选择与履行公司合作。请阅读以下几个故事。

1. BAKblade 1.BAKblade

ShipBob customer Matt Dryfhout, the President and Founder of BAKblade, shared his ecommerce business’s story of moving to a fulfillment center: The BAKblade team wanted a fulfillment company with straightforward pricing that would also give them more control over their brand. Fulfilling orders through ShipBob’s fulfillment centers means that there are no longer any logistical headaches due to ecommerce fulfillment, allowing the BAKblade team to focus instead on selling great products to move their business forward.
ShipBob 的客户 Matt Dryfhout 是 BAKblade 的总裁兼创始人，他分享了自己的电子商务企业搬迁到履约中心的故事：BAKblade 团队希望有一家价格合理的履约公司，同时还能让他们对自己的品牌有更多的控制权。通过 ShipBob 的履约中心履行订单意味着不再有电子商务履约带来的任何物流问题，BAKblade 团队可以专注于销售优秀的产品，推动业务发展。

The positive customer feedback and quick deliveries of customer orders paired with the cost savings associated with using several fulfillment centers across the country have helped this business scale without having to manage their own warehouse and also run their own warehouse audits. BAKblade enjoys visibility into what has shipped, real-time inventory counts across fulfillment centers, and distribution metrics and inventory reports to understand their business performance.
客户的积极反馈和客户订单的快速交付，加上使用全国各地多个履行中心所节省的成本，帮助这家企业扩大了规模，而无需管理自己的仓库，也无需进行仓库审计。BAKblade 可以查看已发货的货物、各履行中心的实时库存计数以及配送指标和库存报告，以了解其业务绩效。

2. Nature’s Ultra 2.自然超能

Nature’s Ultra started to experience a surge in orders last year. Andrew Hardy, COO, wanted to get help on the front-end to ensure a long-term relationship with a fulfillment center that had a lot of room for scalability. They quickly came to find how massive and difficult fulfillment was, which required their focus and prevented them from focusing on our core products.
去年，Nature's Ultra 的订单量开始激增。首席运营官安德鲁-哈迪（Andrew Hardy）希望在前端获得帮助，以确保与一个有很大扩展空间的履约中心建立长期合作关系。他们很快就发现履行工作是多么庞大和困难，这需要他们集中精力，使他们无法专注于我们的核心产品。

They chose ShipBob because off its Amazon-like delivery capabilities and use ShipBob’s fulfillment centers in Dallas, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “ShipBob helps us to maximize our shipping and ultimately our growth potential. 100% of our orders are going out via 2-day shipping.” It’s helped them grow from $70,000 in sales in 2018 to over $7 million in sales in 2019.
他们选择 ShipBob 是因为其类似亚马逊的交付能力，并使用 ShipBob 位于德克萨斯州达拉斯、伊利诺伊州芝加哥和宾夕法尼亚州伯利恒的履行中心。"ShipBob 帮助我们最大限度地提高运输效率，最终实现增长潜力最大化。我们 100％ 的订单都是通过 2 天发货。这帮助他们从 2018 年的 7 万美元销售额增长到 2019 年的 700 多万美元销售额。

3. Rainbow OPTX 3.彩虹 OPTX

Noel Churchill, Founder of Rainbow OPTX, was storing inventory and shipping orders out of his garage. He bought racks and organized all of the products, but the space was at maximum capacity. He knew he had to make a transition in order to scale. He could lease a warehouse somewhere and grow into the new space, but with how seasonal his business is, he would have to hire people to scale up over the summer and let them go in the fall, which didn’t appeal to him.
Rainbow OPTX 创始人诺埃尔-丘吉尔（Noel Churchill）一直在自家车库里储存库存和运送订单。他购买了货架，整理了所有产品，但空间已达到最大容量。他知道自己必须转型才能扩大规模。他可以在某个地方租一个仓库，然后在新的空间里发展，但由于他的业务具有季节性，他必须在夏天雇人扩大规模，到了秋天再让他们离开，这对他没有吸引力。

He partnered with ShipBob and felt freedom, with new time to read through customer feedback, make sure customers are happy, and work on his brand direction. Working with a third-party fulfillment center never felt like operations were out of his hands. “ShipBob takes really good care of their customers. Their software is always improving and the fulfillment services are always advancing,” Noel said. With ShipBob’s 2-Day Express Shipping Program, they’ve even seen a 24% increase in AOV.
与 ShipBob 合作后，他感受到了自由，有了新的时间来阅读客户反馈，确保客户满意，并制定品牌方向。与第三方履约中心合作，他从未感觉到运营不受自己控制。"ShipBob 对客户的照顾非常周到。他们的软件一直在改进，履行服务也一直在进步，"诺埃尔说。借助 ShipBob 的 2 天快递送货计划，他们的 AOV 甚至增加了 24%。

Streamline fulfillment with ShipBob’s WMS
利用 ShipBob 的 WMS 系统简化履约流程

Need help managing fulfillment, but don’t want to outsource it? ShipBob has a best-in-class warehouse management system (WMS) that brands can use in their own warehouse to improve inventory management, reduce errors, and scale in-house operations with ease.
需要帮助管理履行，但又不想外包？ShipBob 拥有同类最佳的仓库管理系统 (WMS)，品牌可在自己的仓库中使用该系统改善库存管理、减少错误并轻松扩展内部运营。

Brands can even adopt a hybrid fulfillment model, employing ShipBob’s WMS technology in their own warehouses while simultaneously leveraging ShipBob’s fulfillment services in any of ShipBob’s fulfillment centers across the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia to improve cross-border shipping, reduce costs, and speed up deliveries.
品牌甚至可以采用混合履行模式，在自己的仓库中采用 ShipBob 的 WMS 技术，同时在美国、加拿大、欧洲和澳大利亚的任何 ShipBob 履行中心利用 ShipBob 的履行服务，以改善跨境运输、降低成本并加快交付。

Fulfillment center FAQs 履约中心常见问题

Get answers to some of your burning questions about fulfillment centers!
为您解答有关履约中心的一些常见问题！

Do fulfillment centers handle inventory management?
履约中心是否负责库存管理？

Yes! Fulfillment centers receive inventory, sort and shelf products in their respective bin, shelf, or pallet locations, and keep track of units on-hand. The goal of warehousing inventory in a fulfillment center is to turn over stock quickly and ship orders out as efficiently as possible.
是的！履约中心接收库存，将产品分类并上架到各自的货仓、货架或托盘位置，并跟踪库存单位。在履行中心存储库存的目的是快速周转库存，尽可能高效地发送订单。

Most fulfillment centers will provide technology to help ecommerce businesses manage their inventory from afar, including inventory tracking tools that help you know when to proactively reorder product to prevent stockouts.
大多数履约中心都会提供技术，帮助电子商务企业远程管理库存，包括库存跟踪工具，帮助企业了解何时应主动重新订购产品，防止缺货。

How many square feet do I need?
我需要多少平方英尺？

If you choose to self-fulfill your customer orders, the total square footage you need to manage your inventory will depend on several factors.One is the amount of unique SKUs you have. For example, if you sell shirts on your ecommerce store, each size and color will need its own storage location.
如果您选择自行履行客户订单，管理库存所需的总面积将取决于几个因素。例如，如果您在电子商务商店上销售衬衫，那么每种尺寸和颜色都需要有自己的存储位置。

Two is your order volume. If you are only shipping 150 orders a month, you may be able to keep your inventory in your basement, garage, etc. But if you are shipping several thousand customer orders a month, you will need the space to scale your fulfillment operation and store excess inventory. You will always want enough extra inventory on hand to prevent stockouts.
二是您的订单量。如果您每月只出货 150 份订单，您可以将库存存放在地下室、车库等地方。但是，如果您每月要发送几千份客户订单，您就需要足够的空间来扩大履行业务的规模，并储存多余的库存。您总是希望手头有足够的多余库存，以防断货。

Finally, you will need to understand your growth plans to ensure you don’t move into or lease a space that you will immediately outgrow.
最后，您需要了解您的发展计划，以确保您不会搬入或租用一个马上就会被淘汰的空间。

Thanks to ecommerce, warehouse space is becoming more difficult to find these days. And it can be expensive to rent or purchase warehouse space in the locations where your customers reside, such as shipping to major cities. If you work with a fulfillment company, each fulfillment center will likely have hundreds of thousands of square feet shared among ecommerce businesses.
由于电子商务的发展，如今仓库空间变得越来越难找。而且，在客户居住地租用或购买仓库空间（如向大城市发货）的成本可能会很高。如果您与履约公司合作，每个履约中心都可能有数十万平方英尺的空间供电子商务企业共享。

Can a fulfillment center do one- or two-day delivery?
配送中心能否实现单日或双日送达？

Yes, many fulfillment centers offer expedited delivery options, including same-day and two-day shipping. The exact services will depend on the geographic location of the fulfillment center, the technology and operations in place, and the carriers used.Read the Guide to Offering Affordable 2-Day Shipping to learn more.
是的，许多履约中心都提供加急送货服务，包括当日达和两日达。具体服务取决于履行中心的地理位置、现有技术和运营情况以及所使用的承运商。请阅读《提供经济实惠的两日送达服务指南》了解更多信息。

How does order processing work?
订单处理是如何进行的？

An order is processed after a customer makes a purchase on your ecommerce store. The ecommerce platform that powers the store will send the order details to the technology used at the fulfillment center.This alerts fulfillment center staff to retrieve the ordered products, pack them into a box, label the package, and get the order shipped.
客户在您的电子商务商店购物后，订单即得到处理。为商店提供支持的电子商务平台会将订单详细信息发送给履行中心使用的技术。这将提醒履行中心的员工取回订购的产品，将其装入包装箱，贴上标签，然后发货。

From there, tracking information can be pushed back to the ecommerce platform and shared with the customer so they know where their order is every step of the way.
从那里，跟踪信息可以被推送回电子商务平台并与客户共享，这样他们就能知道订单的每一步进展情况。

What is a good price for fulfillment solutions?
履约解决方案的合理价格是多少？

When self-fulfilling customer orders, you will be responsible for procuring and paying for your warehouse space and equipment, staff salaries, warehouse management system, workers’ comp and liability insurance, boxes and packing supplies, postage, and more. Given the many direct and indirect logistics costs, the exact cost is often underestimated.
自行履行客户订单时，您将负责采购和支付仓库空间和设备、员工工资、仓库管理系统、工人保险和责任保险、包装箱和包装用品、邮资等费用。由于直接和间接的物流成本很多，因此具体成本往往被低估。

The cost of outsourcing fulfillment will vary among fulfillment companies, but typically your fees will include receiving your inventory, warehousing or storing items, and shipping products. Depending on the fulfillment provider, there may also be individual fees for each task, such as warehouse picking, packing, among other line items.
外包履行的成本因履行公司而异，但一般来说，您的费用将包括接收库存、仓储或储存物品以及运输产品。根据不同的履约服务提供商，每项任务还可能有不同的费用，如仓库拣选、包装以及其他细列项目。

“Even when evaluating other 3PLs, ShipBob was by far the easiest, most reasonably priced option. Other 3PLs gave me confusing pricing with many per-item fees, which were hard to grasp and calculate ultimate costs. Thinking big picture, it was an incremental cost for me to ultimately sell a lot more. My business has tripled and I got my life back.”
"即使在评估其他 3PL 时，ShipBob 也是迄今为止最简单、价格最合理的选择。其他 3PL 给我的定价很混乱，有很多按件收费的项目，很难把握和计算最终成本。从大局考虑，这对我来说只是增加了成本，最终却能多卖出很多货。我的业务增长了两倍，我找回了自己的生活"。

Anastasia Allison, founder of Kula Cloth
库拉布艺创始人阿纳斯塔西娅-艾莉森

Outsourcing fulfillment services may end up being more expensive than self-fulfillment, but it often is done to save time. Since each fulfillment company prices their services slightly differently, you will need to examine the entire fulfillment cost, taking every possible fee into consideration.
外包履行服务的成本可能会高于自行履行，但这样做通常是为了节省时间。由于每家履约公司的服务价格略有不同，因此您需要对整个履约成本进行审查，将每项可能的费用都考虑在内。

What kind of customer service should I expect?
我需要什么样的客户服务？

While fulfillment companies strive for perfection, fulfillment services and shipping are prone to errors. With shipping carriers, your customers will experience damaged, lost, or stolen packages at some point. While inevitable, it’s how you, with support from your fulfillment company, will help your customer through this process that will ultimately influence their experience.
虽然履约公司力求完美，但履约服务和运输很容易出错。在运输过程中，您的客户可能会遇到包裹损坏、丢失或被盗的情况。虽然这是不可避免的，但您如何在履行公司的支持下帮助客户完成这一过程，将最终影响他们的体验。

“From day one, we’ve appreciated the hands-on time ShipBob spent with us. Our Account Manager has worked hard to understand our needs and offered more flexibility than other 3PLs. They have used their expertise to give us business-specific solutions that have really made a difference. ShipBob is really committed to their customers and keeping themselves accountable.”
"从第一天开始，我们就非常感谢 ShipBob 与我们一起亲力亲为。我们的客户经理努力了解我们的需求，并提供了比其他第三方物流公司更多的灵活性。他们利用自己的专业知识为我们提供了针对具体业务的解决方案，这些解决方案确实起到了很大的作用。ShipBob 真正做到了对客户负责。

Pablo Gabatto, Business Operations Manager at Ample Foods
Pablo Gabatto，丰盛食品公司业务运营经理

Fulfillment companies should empower you to run your ecommerce business with the right tools and guidance. Depending on your order volume, you may have a dedicated account manager. Otherwise, expect a team to support your business and answer any questions you have.
履约公司应为您提供正确的工具和指导，帮助您经营电子商务业务。根据您的订单量，您可能会有一位专门的客户经理。否则，您就需要一个团队来支持您的业务并回答您的任何问题。

The service you receive may also depend on whether the fulfillment company staffs their own fulfillment center(s) or works with outside staff.
您所获得的服务可能还取决于履约公司是拥有自己的履约中心员工，还是与外部员工合作。

Regardless, you should expect transparency and visibility into any fulfillment company’s performance.
无论如何，您都应该期望任何一家履约公司的业绩都具有透明度和可见性。

Conclusion 结论

Managing your inventory efficiently and cost-effectively is critical for any ecommerce business. Though ‘warehouse’ and ‘fulfillment center’ are often used interchangeably, the need for simple warehouse space to store inventory is different than the need for complete fulfillment logistics services.
高效、经济地管理库存对任何电子商务企业来说都至关重要。虽然 "仓库 "和 "履约中心 "经常被互换使用，但对简单的仓库空间来存储库存的需求与对完整的履约物流服务的需求是不同的。

Such differences come down to the type of company you work with: A warehousing company that can help store large quantities of inventory over a long period of time, or a fulfillment company that can quickly ship orders out to your customers from their fulfillment center(s).
这种差异取决于与您合作的公司类型：仓储公司可以帮助长期储存大量库存，而履约公司则可以从其履约中心向客户快速发送订单。

Learn more about fulfillment centers
了解有关履约中心的更多信息

If you’re in need of a fulfillment center in any of the largest US cities, check out ShipBob. We are a fulfillment company that picks, packs, and ships customer orders for ecommerce businesses. Our technology integrates directly with the leading ecommerce platforms to automatically send orders from your online store to our fulfillment centers. To learn more about ShipBob, request a pricing quote and speak with a fulfillment expert at the link below.
如果您需要在美国任何大城市建立履约中心，请访问 ShipBob。我们是一家为电子商务企业挑选、包装和运送客户订单的履行公司。我们的技术直接与领先的电子商务平台集成，自动将您的网店订单发送到我们的履行中心。要了解有关 ShipBob 的更多信息，请通过下面的链接索取报价并与履约专家交谈。