Subscription boxes are a big business. For entrepreneurs and business owners, the attraction is obvious – they offer recurring revenue from a fast-growing market segment. This is why the subscription business – and subscription boxes in particular – has grown exponentially in recent years. But, the amount of business start-ups hides a less appealing secret – many subscription boxes fail within the first year.

What is a subscription box?

Subscription boxes are recurring physical deliveries of multiple niche products. You can get a subscription box containing almost anything you’re interested in, from international snacks to pet supplies and everything in between.

Why do many subscription boxes fail?

The truth is, fulfilment is a big business. While the stable revenue and relatively low start up costs are very appealing to business owners, the amount of work that goes into ordering, storing, assembling, storing and shipping is huge. And, as a subscription business grows, inventory management, shipping logistics and fulfilment strategies only become more complex.

How could using a 3PL provider help a subscription box provider to succeed?

If you’re a small start-up then you may wish to work in-house to begin with to keep costs down but, as your business grows, it’s a wise idea to consider outsourcing some of the work to a logistics or fulfilment company.

A third-party logistics provider can handle almost every aspect of your business. All you need to do is have the idea and the way to market it!

Can a 3PL company take care of kitting?

Kitting is essential for subscription box providers. Defined as the act of compiling multiple products into a single “kit”, a 3PL provider like Red River Freight can take care of the whole process for you. We can:

Receive shipments of individual items that will go into the “kit”.

Receive, store, and assemble the boxes that the items will be placed into. 

Pack the individual items into boxes.

Label and ship the boxes out to the customer.

Manage surplus product inventory.

Utilizing a 3PL provider for kitting, streamlines the entire process of building the kits, lowers shipping costs, and allows orders to be fulfilled more quickly.

Ready to get started?

Whatever products make up your subscription box, you’ll face the same challenges when it comes to logistics, kitting and shipping. At Red River Freight, you can scale up or scale down your operations to suit demand so you’ll never run out of space and you’ll never be spending more than you need. Don’t struggle with the logistics of running your subscription box – get in touch with Red River Freight today!