A crowdfunding project is deemed finished only when every backer has received their rewards; this is why crowdfunding fulfillment is known as the last and important part of the crowdfunding campaign.Crowdfunding project owners often forget or take this important phase of crowdfunding like a pinch of salt, which shouldn’t be so. Taking crowdfunding fulfillment lightly may lead to an unsuccessful campaign if the backers that supported you throughout the campaign didn’t get any rewards in return. When dealing with crowdfunding fulfillment, effective planning and management are needed. Below are some of the tips in managing crowdfunding fulfillment and shipping for your backers' rewards:

Consider the Reward Fulfillment Solution from The Start

One of the most common mistakes crowd funders make is not considering fulfillment costs, shipping, and other contingencies associated with fulfillment from the start. Many times, the results of this action are not always good, as crowd funders may find themselves in a bad situation when there is very little money, and time left for them to ship rewards to their supporters.

Get the Rewards In

This deals with the process and cost of getting whatever rewards you want to give your backers from the production site, or wherever you’ll ship it from. If you are getting these products or rewards from a manufacturer or supplier, then ensure fees like freight fees, inbound shipping, and production cost are included in your plan.

Storing Products or Rewards

After you must have gotten the products or rewards from the manufacturer, where will you keep them until it’s time to ship? Or probably you are the manufacturer of these rewards, where are you planning on keeping them.Although storing products might not be a biggie, especially if you are giving out a small batch of rewards, as you can easily store at your home. But it might become an issue when it comes to large scale storing. Therefore, whatever the method of storing products, it is best to consider this factor, and include it in your plan.

Packaging

Careful planning is also needed when it comes to packaging your products and getting them ready for shipping. The kind of packaging to be used varies and mostly depends on the kind of products that is being shipped. Items shouldn’t be too tight or too close, especially if there are fragile items.A small space that can contain extras like bubbles or popcorn can also be added to the packaging. Also, when packaging, be sure to include packaging costs such as the packing items cost, label costs, and the labor costs involved in the packaging process.

Know Where You Will Be Shipping to For Your Backers

All your backers might not be from the U.S or the country you are. Sometimes a good percentage of your backers might even be from another country. To manage the fulfillment and shipping for your backers effectively, you should have an idea of the countries you’ll be shipping to. You can know this at the point where the backers are providing their support. Knowing which countries your backers are from will help you in having an idea of the cost of shipping to the various countries, which you would have added to your campaign budget.

Calculate Shipping Costs

To manage a crowdfunding fulfillment campaign, you need to have an idea of your shipping costs. Many factors come into play when determining shipping costs. A few of the factors are transit times, rate, shipping methods, weight some others. Considering all these factors give one a better shot at managing crowdfunding fulfillment and rewards shipping. In light of this, consider estimating your package weight and size, estimate your number of packages and also estimate shipping from & delivery to locations.

Buffering Time

Cost is not always constant. A particular material being sold today at $5 might not be the same price next tomorrow. If it is being sold at $5 during the crowdfunding period, and the price changes when you’re about to start getting the items for the fulfillment, what do you think will happen? Don’t you think this sudden change in price will affect your budget?This is why it’s always good to consider adding a buffering plan to your time budget. Unforeseen circumstances like change in price, change in shipping costs, or sudden scarcity of an item can often cause a delay in delivering your rewards to your backers. Adding a buffer time, and planning upfront will help you in managing the fulfillment and shipping to your backers.

Meeting Up with The Delivery Date

If you’ve considered and added some buffering time to your schedule, you most definitely will meet up with the delivery date. But, the most common fulfillment issue is still meeting up with the delivery date. A delivery date missed is a setback in the trust which the backers have for you.Therefore, to manage your backers' rewards effectively, figure out the most conservative date you think the rewards can get delivered and add one or two months to it. This makes sure you still have time to deliver in case of any unforeseen circumstances. You are just mitigating against risks. Should everything go smoothly, and you can deliver much earlier before time, don’t you think your backers would be happier and surprised at how fast you deliver?There you have it! A good understanding of crowdfunding fulfillment and shipping is key to avoiding costly mistakes. This is why you need the above tips to manage effectively. Effective managing of your crowdfunding fulfillment and shipping for your backers leaves both you and your backers happy after the campaign.Contact us today at Fulfillman if you need a reputable fulfillment services company for your ecommerce business. We are a reliable provider of various services such as Crowdfunding Fulfillment, Warehouse fulfillment, China sourcing, Third Party Logistics, Drop Shipping, and so forth. Our dedicated team will be available to speak with you and discuss the options available to you. An amazing experience awaits you.