In this article, we\u2019re going to cover everything you need to know about how to outsource your ecommerce business tasks and which areas are best to hand off to a qualified third-party professional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is ecommerce outsourcing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ecommerce outsourcing is when an ecommerce business pays a third-party vendor to manage various aspects of the business. Many ecommerce businesses outsource tasks to increase bandwidth, move more quickly, or get expertise in an area they lack resources. As many businesses look to be more efficient and keep costs low, more are turning to ecommerce outsourcing given the many benefits outsourcing provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deloitte reports<\/a> global spending on outsourcing could reach upwards of $731 billion in 2023. And a 2022 survey<\/a> found that over one-third of businesses are actually increasing the amount of work they outsource. Nearly half of businesses were already in the process of outsourcing or looking to improve their outsourcing strategy at the time the survey was taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Editor\u2019s note<\/strong>: Outsourcing isn\u2019t to be confused with automation. Automation is when you use tools to automatically fire off specific actions, according to established variables or prerequisites.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Outsourcing is less of a \u201cset it and forget it\u201d deal. Instead, it requires more trust due to a hand-off of certain business functions to an external resource to handle independently. Just like with hiring the right employees, the vendors you choose will have a direct impact on what you\u2019re able to accomplish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, outsourcing isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all strategy, there are different types of outsourcing each of which may be best suited for your specific needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are the types of outsourcing you\u2019ll need to be aware of to make the best decision for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local outsourcing is when you work with vendors at a local level. For example, you could hire an advertising agency in your town to help drive traffic to your ecommerce business, an especially strategic move if you\u2019re targeting people who live in the area. You could also hire a local social media firm to help assist in getting the word out about your products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearshore outsourcing is when you work with a vendor located in your greater surrounding area. For example, if you\u2019re in the United States and work with an outsourcing vendor in Canada, that would fall under the nearshore outsourcing umbrella.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Offshore outsourcing is when you work with a vendor located in a different country, typically overseas\u2014hence the term \u201coffshore.\u201d As business becomes more globally connected, offshore outsourcing is becoming increasingly common. According to data shared by Microsourcing, some of the most common offshore outsourcing tasks include IT, finance, and payroll, with many businesses using offshore outsourcing to assist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Businesses turn to outsourcing for many reasons. For some, it\u2019s a purely cost decision. For others, being able to outsource an important component of business can help a business scale. As a business owner, knowing certain tasks are completed like clock-work can help keep you focused on your biggest-win opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the major benefits of ecommerce outsourcing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Deloitte<\/a>, 88% of businesses said they were able to save money by outsourcing. Outsourcing can help you control costs by allowing you to strategically invest in the services you need, rather than having to spend money on hiring new full-time employees as well as additional equipment, software, and tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many businesses find themselves in the place of needing help, but not quite ready to make an additional in-house hire. Because outsourcing vendors handle all the logistics of the given tasks, you can get quality expertise at a fraction of the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of spending time on tedious and time-consuming tasks, ecommerce outsourcing allows you to focus on your strengths. For example, if you\u2019re good at marketing, but it takes two hours to create and edit a product image to use on social media, you could use our clipping path photo editing service<\/a> to take the cut-outs completely off your plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can then use those extra hours to drive awareness to your business, a much better use of your time. Growing a business is difficult, outsourcing can help you stay on track and avoid burnout<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps the biggest and most obvious benefit of ecommerce outsourcing is how it allows you to grow your business quickly. According to a survey conducted by Clutch<\/a>, over 90% of small businesses have plans to use outsourcing in 2022 to help them grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can focus on the revenue-generating aspects of your business rather than being bogged down by the necessary\u2014but not big picture\u2014needs of your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The benefits of outsourcing are clear, but what should you outsource? Let\u2019s take a look at some of the specific tasks you can outsource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo editing is one of those tasks that can be incredibly time-consuming but also essential to virtually any product-based business. The last thing you want is to use low-quality and poorly edited images, which ultimately reflects the quality of your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your images aren\u2019t high-quality, will your products be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Editing photos can take<\/a> anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour per shot. This time adds up, especially if you\u2019re not a photo editing expert. Photo editing can often take away valuable hours that can be used to focus on the essential\u2014which is why it often makes so much sense to outsource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the photo editing tasks you can consider outsourcing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We handle your tedious and time-consuming edits so you can focus on more important tasks or your advanced edits done in-house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo editing isn\u2019t the only photo-related task you should consider outsourcing. Using ecommerce outsourcing for product photography can save you even more time and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Product photography<\/a> is essential to your ecommerce business because your product photos are how your potential customers get to know about your product\u2014product images replace that in-store product experience. In fact, one Weebly survey<\/a> found that more than three-quarters of people find quality product images to be \u201cvery influential\u201d to their purchase decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n White background product photos are perfect for outsourcing. If you plan on using white backgrounds for your product photos, it\u2019s not as simple as just taking a product photo and removing the background. For the highest quality images, you have to customize the lighting for every shot and angle if you want to get your photos right. Let the product photography experts handle it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Silk dress brand VAUGHAN<\/a> outsources simple photo retouching jobs<\/a>. It was a no-brainer, as the brand didn\u2019t need to waste money on an in-house graphic designer when a basic knowledge of Photoshop will do the trick. VAUGHAN outsources tasks like background removal and change<\/a> so it can sell on Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want the highest quality product photos, it almost always makes sense to hire outside professional photographers<\/a> to help you with your shoot. Here are some places to start your search for expert product photographers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketers are feeling more spread thin than ever. According to Semrush<\/a>, nearly 64% of marketers said they wish they had more time and resources to focus on their core tasks in marketing. Ecommerce outsourcing can not only help support your marketing team, but it can help keep costs low by not having to hire additional full-time employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few of the things you can outsource within marketing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Motif Concept Store<\/a>, an apparel brand for women, uses outsourcing to help with both its product photography and social media marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When outsourcing marketing and social media tasks, consider vendors who have experience in multiple social media platforms as well as experience with community management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Website maintenance is a never-ending process. Using a vendor specializing in web development can be invaluable in helping keep your site secure, technically optimized, and help take basic web development tasks off your plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few things you can outsource to a web development firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be sure to check out review sites like Clutch<\/a>, GoodFirms<\/a>, and G2<\/a> which each have detailed reviews of hundreds of web development and IT vendors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s great about outsourcing your manufacturing is you can focus more on brainstorming new product ideas and then letting your vendor take care of the rest. \u201cWe put the entire operation on our 3PL partner and now I don\u2019t even think about it. It ended up costing less than paying for everything we need to keep doing self fulfillment,\u201d says Allen Walton, founder of surveillance gear company, SpyGuy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outsourcing vendors that specialize in manufacturing have the systems, tools, and resources to help you create your products at scale. Manufacturing and fulfillment vendors can help with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are some truly incredible virtual assistant companies that operate all over the world that can help take those mundane tasks off your todo list. Using virtual assistants you can have them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pro tip<\/strong>: When choosing a VA vendor, remember to account for timezones, so you know exactly what to expect for your outsourcing workflow.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n VAs are often available at an affordable rate. Wise Advise virtual assistants<\/a>, for example, have VA services available for just $25\/hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As your company grows, don\u2019t let the increase of admin tasks bog you down. Outsourcing some of the operational aspects of your business can help you focus on your core strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some related tasks you can outsource:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If finances and accounting isn\u2019t your strong suit, you should definitely consider outsourcing this critical part of your business. Even if you enjoy accounting, it may not be the best use of your time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping track of your sales, customers, and metrics can get pretty chaotic, pretty quick. An outside vendor can help you with your accounting to ensure you have an accurate and up to date picture of your finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vendors here can be especially helpful in saving you money on taxes and other other accounting best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we\u2019ve covered all the things you can outsource, here are some extra tips to help you get the most from your outsourcing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Know from the start what you\u2019re hoping to accomplish through outsourcing. Having a clear goal in mind will help ensure you\u2019re getting the best bang for your buck. If you can\u2019t clearly articulate your outsourcing goals, chances are an outsourcing vendor won\u2019t be able to either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you looking to improve your customer service? Are you wanting to optimize your manufacturing and product development process?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being able to communicate your challenges and goals clearly with your potential vendor will help set you up for long term success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Open and strong communication with your vendors is a must. Setting communication guidelines and expectations up front is critical for getting the most out of your working relationship. Get in the habit of over communicating across the board to ensure you and your vendors are on the same page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You should also negotiate with your vendors before signing anything. Make sure the terms are something both you and the vendor are happy with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, while working with your vendor (and even before you start) get everything in writing. Not only can this help you legally in a worst case scenario, it can also help keep everyone aligned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Businesses are complex and always evolving. Sometimes you may only want an outsourcing partner for a short time. Other times, it makes sense to find a partner long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Choose a vendor that is flexible to your needs, both now in the future. For example, if you\u2019re outsourcing manufacturing, can they handle a 10x increase in volume as you expect in Q4? Can your vendor assist in other areas of your business as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Path we have 300+ designers and has been in business for nearly 15 years so you know we\u2019ll be here for a while. Whatever your photo editing needs<\/a>, there\u2019s a good chance we can handle it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While there\u2019s no shortage of tasks you can outsource, photo editing is the perfect place to start and it can truly be one of the best investments you ever make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your talent and creative energy are best spent doing what you love\u2014not fiddling in Photoshop for hours. With Path, you can have professionally edited photos in under 6 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Types of ecommerce outsourcing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Local ecommerce outsourcing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Benefits of local outsourcing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Nearshore ecommerce outsourcing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Benefits of nearshore outsourcing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Offshore ecommerce outsourcing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Benefits of offshore outsourcing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Why should you outsource? 3 major benefits of ecommerce outsourcing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Outsourcing can save you money<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\n2. Ecommerce outsourcing allows you to focus on your strengths<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Outsourcing helps you scale your business more quickly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Which tasks to outsource in your ecommerce business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Photo editing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Product photography<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Marketing and social media<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Model](\"https:\/\/cdn.pathedits.com\/Images\/posts\/ecommerce-outsourcing-how-outsource-work\/motif-concept-store-beachwear-banner.png\")
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Web development and IT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Manufacturing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Virtual assistance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Business operations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Accounting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3 tips for successful ecommerce outsourcing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Get clear on your goals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Communication is everything<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Choose a flexible outsourcing partner<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Looking to outsource your photo editing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n