DCL Fulfillment Blog

It’s hard not to know about the difficulties of our current economic environment. If we haven’t been personally affected by it in some way, we hear about in the daily media and it’s standard water cooler discussion these days.  All companies are feeling the affects of this recession, but how does this economy influence the current fulfillment industry.

It’s very simple actually. The state of a fulfillment company is actually more reflective of the overall economy than looking at the state of a specific company by itself. You see, if you are looking at one company, you could be looking at a relatively small slice of the entire demographic pie - one market segment, one socioeconomic class, one ethnic group, etc.  In general, fulfillment companies such as DCL can service many customers across a broad spectrum of industries, which is probably a more accurate reflection of the economy as a whole.  Here at DCL, we service approximately 40 customers across the consumer electronics, software and healthcare/medical industries. Some customers are struggling in this environment while others are growing by leaps and bounds. We must manage our business like a portfolio of stocks with one important thing in mind: diversification. You always plan to bring on new customers with winning products in any industry, however, you expect that some customers (for whatever reason) will just not make it.

Today especially, companies are analyzing outsourcing within the context of their strategic direction. With the debt markets tightening, companies that are straddled with any types of debt and fixed costs are having challenges and are seriously considering a variable cost model. More than ever, DCL is uncovering situations where companies have been operating in-house for years and are finally considering outsourcing as a strategic option.