Crowdfunding campaigns are great way to generate interest and capital for bringing a new product to the market. However, what many crowdfunding project owners tend to overlook is how they are going to get that new product, or rewards for contributing, to their backers. More importantly, they have neglected to include the costs for shipping and fulfillment.
What Needs to Be Considered with Fulfillment Costs
There are four general costs to consider when building fulfillment costs into your overall funding plan:
- The cost of getting the products. If you’re not producing the product by yourself, you’ll need to account for the cost of shipping it from your supplier to the location you’ll be shipping from.
- Storage costs. Unless you are stashing products and rewards in your garage, you’ll need to rent a short-term or long-term storage space.
- Preparing the product or reward for shipping. You’ll need to package products for shipment and this means packaging supplies, such as custom-printed boxes, envelopes, tape, pack materials and of course, the labor to pick, pack and label packages.
- Potential shipping costs. Shipping your products or contributor rewards can be costly. You need to determine your potential shipping costs and add that into your plan.
How a Professional Crowdfunding Fulfillment Company Can Help
You could choose to try to handle fulfillment of your crowdfunding project on your own, but choosing a professional crowdfunding fulfillment company like American Western Distribution can save you both time and money. With AWS’s inventory control systems, you are kept informed of what your inventory is 24/7 through a web-based tool. AWS has the experience to work with you to develop your budget and control your fulfillment costs so that you can spend more time focusing on your campaign and marketing efforts.
