Outsourced fulfillment for ecommerce

When Your Ecommerce Operation Grows Faster Than Your Warehouse

Outsourced fulfillment for ecommerce becomes essential once your living room, garage, or modest warehouse begins showing signs of structural protest. Fulfillment is fun until it is not. It begins with a few friendly orders. Then a marketing campaign works a little too well. Before long, stacks of cartons threaten to unionize, tape guns become blunt instruments, and you find yourself negotiating with carrier drivers like you are bartering in a crowded bazaar. Outsourcing becomes a survival strategy long before it becomes a growth strategy.

Search interest around outsourced fulfillment continues to rise because brands realize that running an ecommerce business is very different from running a warehouse. The skills barely overlap. Ecommerce thrives on creativity, product development, and customer connection. Fulfillment thrives on precision, workflow discipline, and absolute consistency. Outsourcing separates those domains so the business can focus on what it does best.

Why In-House Fulfillment Eventually Breaks

As order volume grows, so does the complexity of fulfillment. Multi-SKU kits, fragile items, oversized cartons, seasonal spikes, and unpredictable promotions all burden in-house teams. Storing more inventory requires more space. Space requires more staff. Staff require training and structure. Without strong systems, each expansion makes fulfillment less stable instead of more capable.

Maureen Milligan, Director of Operations and Projects at G10, describes the typical tipping point. She explains that "most of the customers who come to us from another 3PL, their challenges have always been access to their data, order accuracy and efficiency, and meeting the committed requirements." The moment a brand cannot meet its own promises, fulfillment becomes the obstacle instead of the solution.

The False Comfort of Familiar Chaos

Many ecommerce teams resist outsourcing because they believe their internal chaos is manageable, or even preferable, to the uncertainty of switching. But the chaos grows. Mistakes multiply. Carriers complain. Customers leave skeptical reviews. A few busy weeks become a grueling cycle that never resets. Outsourcing breaks that cycle by replacing frantic improvisation with predictable systems.

How Outsourcing Stabilizes Ecommerce Operations

Outsourced fulfillment introduces structure to workflows that have grown organically. Every task gains process discipline: receiving, putaway, replenishment, picking, packing, shipping, and returns. Each step follows a documented path that reduces variability. Predictability becomes the new norm, and leadership finally gains visibility into how the operation behaves.

Connor Perkins, Director of Fulfillment at G10, articulates the principle that makes outsourced fulfillment reliable. "You want everything to be scanned in the warehouse, nothing done on paper." Scanning eliminates guesswork. Guesswork is the enemy of scale.

The Power of Purpose-Built Infrastructure

Outsourced fulfillment centers are designed for high-velocity movement. Their layout, equipment, training, and systems all reflect the needs of ecommerce rather than the constraints of improvised storage. Pick paths are short. Inventory sits where it is useful. Packing stations operate with consistency. Carrier pickups follow precise schedules.

G10 uses ChannelPoint to orchestrate ecommerce workflows with real-time data, direct channel integrations, automated routing logic, and SKU-level intelligence. This gives brands a clean operational backbone without forcing them to build it internally.

Automation as a Force Multiplier

Zebra autonomous robots stabilize pick paths, reduce worker fatigue, and maintain throughput even when volume surges unexpectedly. Holly Woods, Director of Operations at G10, explains their impact. "The Zebra robots are allowing efficiency with pick paths. They are lowering fatigue on employees." Outsourcing puts automation to work immediately, without requiring the brand to purchase or maintain robotics.

Reducing Errors That Damage Customer Trust

Order errors are expensive. Each mispick or mispack triggers a replacement, a return, or a frustrated customer. Outsourced fulfillment reduces those errors by enforcing workflows that treat accuracy as a non-negotiable. Packing verification, scan validation, and routing logic catch mistakes early instead of letting customers discover them.

Returns Management That Protects Margins

Returns can quietly destroy margins when handled inconsistently. Damaged items may slip into sellable inventory. Sellable items may sit too long. Poor classification undermines forecasting and vendor planning. Outsourced fulfillment solves this by giving returns a structured process.

Joel Malmquist, VP of Customer Experience at G10, describes that clarity. "It looks good, we are going to restock this, or it looks damaged, we are going to either dispose of it or put it in a quarantine area." Clean classification strengthens inventory integrity.

Outsourcing as a Growth Multiplier

With fulfillment stabilized, brands redirect focus toward product development, marketing, and customer experience. They scale confidently, knowing the operational engine will not crumble under pressure. That is why outsourcing is not merely a cost decision. It is a growth decision.

Mark Becker, CEO and founder of G10, sums up the philosophy succinctly. "We are going to grow with them." Outsourced fulfillment becomes the infrastructure beneath that growth.

When It Is Time to Hand Fulfillment to a Specialist

If your ecommerce operation feels overwhelmed, inconsistent, or perpetually behind, outsourcing may be the next strategic move. With the right partner, fulfillment becomes predictable rather than reactive, and your team regains the energy to grow the business.

When you are ready to hand the operational burden to a team built for ecommerce scale, G10 can help you transition smoothly and build a fulfillment program that supports your next stage of growth.