Written by: Lynn Cadet
Edited by: Lillian Castro
TL; DR: The eCommerce industry has grown exponentially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. With more competition than ever, online businesses must do all they can to stay ahead and distinguish themselves from the crowd. Printful helps eCommerce teams scale by taking on their fulfillment and operational product management duties. All eCommerce store owners have to do is connect their store and send designs, and Printful will handle the rest. We spoke with Dans Rozentāls, Customer Success Team Lead at Printful, about Printful’s global network of fulfillment centers, its reliability and flexibility, and how eCommerce has changed in recent years.
1982 was an interesting year. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” the bestselling album of all time, was released, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” became the highest-grossing film of the decade, and somehow Time magazine named the computer the Person of the Year. Yep, an inanimate object got the coveted award for the first time.
But the personal computer winning the Person of the Year award wasn’t just some outlandish feat. It showed how the internet and computers were beginning to reshape the world. That same year, eCommerce also reached a huge milestone. The first eCommerce company, Boston Computer Exchange, launched as an online marketplace for selling used computers.
The ‘90s saw the humble beginnings of today’s eCommerce giants, including Amazon, PayPal, Alibaba, and eBay. In the decades since, eCommerce has evolved and become a solution for everyone, thanks to valuable technologies and B2B services. The team at Printful knows a thing or two about that.
“Product sourcing, inventory management, fulfillment, and packaging are maintenance tasks. If you focus on maintenance, you can’t focus on all the things that make a difference and make your business stand out from the crowd. We take that burden off,” said Dans Rozentāls, Customer Success Team Lead at Printful.
Printful handles all the technical aspects and manual work, so businesses can focus on the higher-value tasks, such as strategy, customer relationships, and branding ideas. Printful is the ultimate partner and is free to use. Businesses only have to connect their store, create product designs, and pay for items they sell.
How eCommerce Has Changed in Recent Years
Serving customers since 2013, the Printful team has seen the evolution of the eCommerce landscape in real time. Dans told us some of the greatest shifts came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when reliance on eCommerce stores and solutions grew exponentially. Since then, the market’s growth has cooled a bit, with consumers moving to a more hybrid approach.
“2024 and moving forward, it will be more of a hybrid model. From the eCommerce and supplier side, you have to be everywhere where you have to do things well online but at the same time have a physical location for people to test things out,” said Dans.
Dans also said creating online stores has become easier after the pandemic. With new technologies, such as AI and enhanced web builders, users no longer need a technical background or tons of resources to launch an eCommerce presence. Businesses now have an abundance of capabilities at their fingertips.
“You don’t need to worry about your design skills because you can go to one of the AI models and get designs. The same goes for product descriptions. ChatGPT can help you write all the product descriptions,” said Dans.
But with every upside, there is a downside. Because eCommerce has fewer barriers to entry, competition has increased, and gaining consumer trust has become more critical. This is why a solution like Printful is so handy. It helps businesses build trust and stand out by producing and delivering quality products every time.
Consistent and Reliable Quality With Every Order
Printful helps ordinary business owners create and scale online storefronts with its B2B offerings. Its custom Print-On-Demand (POD) and dropshipping services allow businesses to stay on top of orders and provide the same, consistent delivery to all their customers, no matter where they are.
Although Printful offers other services, fulfillment is the largest part of what they do. This is why the team has invested in 15 in-house facilities across Europe and North America. Owning its fulfillment centers has allowed Printful to stand out and provide more reliable services.
“Most of our customers sell globally. Having the same machinery and technology across the board allows their customers in Europe to get the same product at the same time and with the same quality as their customers in the US or Australia,” said Dans.
Its global network of facilities enables Printful to provide fast fulfillment every time. And users don’t have to do any extra work. When a business gets an order, it automatically enters Printful’s system and is sent to one of its facilities for fulfillment.
Work With a Personalized and Flexible Supplier
Printful shoulders operational burdens for eCommerce teams, so they can focus on creating designs, marketing, and managing their teams.
“Most new store owners we work with are single-person teams or two to three friends coming together and making something happen. But running the business can be difficult because those small teams have to be specialists in everything,” said Dans.
The Printful team sees itself as a partner, not just a supplier. Dans said Printful’s customer success teams guide businesses and offer assistance to help them scale better and make more educated decisions.
“We act as business consultants because working with a wide variety of customers has given us a bird’s eye view of what’s happening in the industry. So we are that shoulder that you can rely on during your business ventures,” said Dans.
Printful Innovates to Help Owners Stay on Their Game
Printful has continued to evolve to help its customers excel in an ever-changing eCommerce landscape. Its product catalog has become more diverse, shipping processes have enhanced, and it continues to provide stellar customer support. Printful does all this so users can have more flexibility and options going forward.
“Having our own fulfillment locations, investing in machinery, building out new facilities, figuring out new production and decoration methods for printing — all of these things have allowed our customers to be unique and flexible. They can follow trends as they come instead of preparing for things ahead,” said Dans.
Choosing Printful as a global supply chain force enables businesses to deliver on demand and gives them peace of mind that products will reach their customers on time. Unlike many other fulfillment providers, Printful can respond to thousands of orders within promised timelines because its fulfillment setup and capacity give it that capability.
“Look at TikTok, Instagram, and social media in general. If you can’t jump on a trend right now, it will be dead in 90 days. So we give businesses the flexibility to meet those trends. Whatever you give us, we can fulfill,” said Dans.
