The Internet is a godsend for an entrepreneur looking for passive or at least semi-passive income. Costs of maintaining a website are relatively low, especially when compared to maintaining a brick and mortar storefront. And with the Internet, the whole world can be sold to, not just one corner of it. Sit back, relax, and collect the checks. This is the life.

Sounds wonderful, and can be. But in order for an Internet business to run smoothly with minimal real work from the entrepreneur, order fulfillment systems must be top notch.

Order Fulfillment, Tailor-Made
When deciding upon an order fulfillment house, its necessary to drill down into detail before signing, rather than taking a wait and see approach. Think and talk about such issues as contract length, set-up fees, storage fees, and order minimums. And by all means, ask questions.

Is the order fulfillment company going to store the product? Receive the orders directly from the website? Bill the customer? Take the payment? Is the fulfillment house ready to grow as fast as Internet businesses sometimes do? What if sales arent great at first? Can order minimums be adjusted accordingly? Is it better to pay per piece shipped, or a flat fee monthly?

In all situations, custom-made is the style when it comes to order fulfillment.

Order Fulfillment Is About Customer Fulfillment
Because Internet businesses do not relate face-to-face with customers, the arrival of the purchased package is often the one and only chance the business gets to turn a first-time customer into a long-time customer. That is a big deal.

Whats more, on the Internet, unhappy customers can express their displeasure to disastrous effect. They may post negative comments on various customer review sites, or even start a blog explicitly devoted to bashing a company they dont like.

Conversely, these same outlets can be used to spread a positive message as well. But without competent order fulfillment, there will be no positivity to spread.

Accountability
Whose fault is it when something gets screwed up, as something always will at some point? More importantly, whose responsibility is it to fix the problem?

For example, if the business has to refund a customer order, does the order fulfillment house participate in that pain? Some fulfillment companies will take on that risk, some wont. Regardless, consider setting up some means by which the order fulfillment house is held accountable for its work.

Again, these are some of the questions to ask ahead of time, before the order fulfillment house and the Internet business are too intertwined for the customer to distinguish the two.

Passive Income Is Fulfilling When Fulfillment Works Well
There is nothing sweeter than getting money for nothing (or almost nothing). Selling over the Internet offers a unique opportunity to reach that Promised Land. But its impossible to get there without taking the correct first steps to set up a smoothly running operation.

Internet sales operations that underestimate the importance of quality order fulfillment are making a grave mistake.

Source
Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association