Storage hotel

What is a warehouse?

A warehouse (also called a fulfillment center or 3PL provider) is a company that offers storage space and logistics services to webshops and other businesses. You send your goods to the fulfillment center and they store them, pack orders and ship them to your customers on your behalf.

Warehousing is particularly relevant for webshop owners who have outgrown the basement or garage, but aren't yet big enough to justify their own staffed warehouse.

What does a self-storage facility offer?

Most storage facilities offer a combination of the following services:

• Storage: Your goods are stored safely and properly in a professional storage environment. Typically on pallets, shelves or in boxes depending on product type.
• Pick & pack: When an order is received, the warehouse picks the goods, packs them and prepares them for shipping.
• Shipping: Orders are handed over to the shipping company (PostNord, GLS, DAO etc.) with tracking information.
• Returns management: Returned goods are received, quality checked and put back into stock.
• Integration: Most self-storage providers offer API integration with webshop platforms so that orders are automatically transferred.

Benefits of using a warehouse

• Focus on core business: No need for daily packing and shipping, you can spend your time on marketing, product development and customer service.
• Professional logistics: Warehouses have experience in efficient packing and fast shipping. Your customers get a better delivery experience.
• Scalability: You can handle seasonality and growth without hiring extra staff or renting larger premises.
• No fixed costs: You typically pay per order and per unit of space, so costs follow your revenue.

Disadvantages of self-storage

• Costs: Warehousing costs more per order than packing yourself. For stores with few orders, it can be relatively expensive.
• Less control: You lose direct control over the packing process. Packing errors and delays are harder to manage remotely.
• Personal touch: It can be difficult to add personalized handwritten notes, custom packaging or other brand-building details.
• Bonding: Switching warehouses requires physically moving all your goods, which can be cumbersome and expensive.

What does a self-storage facility cost?

The pricing model for storage facilities varies, but typically consists of:

• Storage: Typically per pallet space per month (from approx. 150-400 DKK/pallet/month) or per cubic meter.
• Pick & pack: Typically 10-25 DKK per order plus a small amount per extra line item.
• Shipping: Either a recalculated freight price or a total price including freight.
• Receiving: A fee for receiving and registering new items in the warehouse.

Warehousing and Shoporama

Shoporama can be integrated with warehouses via the REST API. Orders can be automatically transferred to the warehouse system and stock status can be updated automatically via CSV import or API calls. Shoporama also supports multiple stock locations so you can keep track of stock across multiple locations.

When does a warehouse make sense?

A warehouse is typically relevant when:

• You ship more than 20-50 orders per day and spend too much time packing
• You want to scale your business but don't want to invest in your own storage facility
• You run your online store as a side business and don't have time for daily logistics
• You sell seasonal products where the need for storage capacity varies

However, for smaller online shops with few daily orders, it may still be better to pack yourself - at least until the volume justifies the cost.