The Definitive Guide on eCommerce Outsourcing

Recently, there has been a significant rise in the eCommerce industry. It is expected that in 2023, global ecommerce sales will account for 20.8% of overall retail sales. As these numbers sound promising, a number of small and large businesses are trying their luck in the eCommerce industry.
While many businesses are able to achieve their sales targets, some fail miserably. This is mostly because businesses do not have the dedicated talent needed to excel in this field. In such cases, outsourcing becomes the ultimate solution to keep the eCommerce business running effectively.
If you are unsure about outsourcing, here is a definitive guide that will explain how outsourcing can help your eCommerce business.

What is eCommerce outsourcing?
Outsourcing is a common business practice used all around the world. With the help of outsourcing, small, medium and large businesses can hire a third-party firm or an agent to perform services on behalf of the company. Generally, businesses outsource their work either because they do not have the required talent available in the region or to reduce their overhead charges. Some of the common tasks that are outsourced by businesses include customer support, inventory management, accounting, bookkeeping, marketing, human resource management and manufacturing.

Benefits of outsourcing
Outsourcing can have multiple benefits for both new and old eCommerce businesses. Some of the common benefits are listed below:

• Cost-effectiveness
Cost-effectiveness is one of the main advantages of outsourcing. For example, different countries have different labour costs. If it is higher in your country, then you can outsource your work to people from other countries where the labour costs are comparatively lower. Similarly, you might save taxes by hiring qualified staff from another country. Outsourcing also gives you the opportunity to expand your services to different geographical markets and use technologies or talent not available in your region.


• Improves focus
Outsourcing multiple tasks can reduce your load to a great extent. It will give you time to focus on other important tasks and create strategies to improve sales in your eCommerce business. For example, if you are unable to handle some internal processes, try to outsource them to someone who specialises in the job. This will also improve the efficiency of the work and reduces chances of errors.


• Gives flexibility
Outsourcing gives businesses the flexibility to scale up or scale down their operations as and when required. When you outsource your work, you will not have to invest into office space or other resources needed to accommodate the different requirements of permanent employees. This means you can increase or decrease the work load based on your requirements.


• Improves efficiency
Outsourcing tedious or time-consuming tasks can help you increase your efficiency. By outsourcing, you can utilise the equipment or expertise of the third-party vendor. It also allows knowledge sharing and is ideal for increasing the speed and efficiency of multiple different processes.

Step-by-step process for eCommerce outsourcing:
Now that you have understood the role and benefits of outsourcing for eCommerce businesses, follow the below steps to start outsourcing:

1. Determine if outsourcing is ideal for your eCommerce business
2. Identify the tasks that need to be outsourced
3. Decide on the number of freelancers or vendors needed
4. Describe your tasks and responsibilities
5. Create effective outsourcing strategies