Running an eCommerce business involves wearing a lot of hats – product development, marketing, customer service, and for many business owners, order fulfilment too. At first, managing everything in-house might seem logical and cost-effective. After all, packing a few orders each day from your garage or small office doesn’t feel like a huge burden. But as your business grows, so do the complexities, and costs, of doing it all yourself.
The Hidden Costs of In-House Fulfilment
Many SMEs focus solely on direct costs like packaging materials or courier charges, but there are several less obvious expenses that can quietly eat into your profits.
1. Time as a Cost
Your time (and your team’s time) is valuable. Every minute spent picking, packing and labelling orders is time not spent on marketing, product sourcing, customer engagement, or business development. As order volumes increase, fulfilment often becomes a full-time job in itself—pulling you away from the tasks that actually grow your business.
2. Labour and Staffing
When you handle everything internally, fulfilling a higher number of orders means hiring more staff. That comes with extra costs: salaries, training, holiday cover, and management. Not to mention the added complexity of overseeing operations and ensuring quality control.
3. Storage and Space
Managing inventory at scale requires adequate storage. As stock levels grow, so do your warehousing needs—whether that means renting additional units, purchasing shelving, or investing in climate control for sensitive products. These overheads add up quickly and fluctuate with the seasons.
4. Packaging and Equipment
From packing stations and scales to printers, tape guns and void-fill materials, in-house fulfilment requires investment in tools and consumables. And unless you’re buying in bulk, your per-unit packaging costs are likely higher than what a professional fulfilment centre can achieve.
5. Delivery Delays and Mistakes
Without a streamlined system, mistakes become more common—wrong items, mislabelled parcels, missed delivery windows. These errors damage your brand reputation, increase return rates, and create extra customer service work—all of which comes at a cost.
The Case for Outsourcing Fulfilment
Partnering with a fulfilment specialist like RMI Services allows you to eliminate many of the headaches listed above. We provide fully managed pick and pack services, warehousing, real-time stock visibility, and fast, reliable despatch, all tailored to the needs of growing UK-based eCommerce businesses.
You gain access to:
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Scalable solutions (you only pay for the space and services you need)
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Reduced overheads (no need for your own warehouse or packing team)
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Lower packaging costs (we source materials at volume rates)
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Improved order accuracy and delivery speed
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Time to focus on strategy, growth, and customer relationships
Crucially, outsourcing also helps future-proof your operations. Whether you’re launching a new product, managing a seasonal spike, or expanding into new markets, your fulfilment partner can flex with you, without the stress of hiring or reorganising your internal team.
While outsourcing fulfilment is often framed as a way to “save time,” the benefits go far beyond that. By handing over logistics to a trusted partner, you can reduce costs, minimise errors, improve customer satisfaction, and free yourself to focus on the bigger picture.
At RMI Services, we help SMEs across the UK streamline their operations and compete confidently with larger retailers. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure whether it’s time to make the leap, we’re here to talk it through with no pressure.
Ready to stop doing it all yourself? Get in touch with RMI Services today and discover how affordable, efficient fulfilment could unlock your next stage of growth.
