In this age of e-commerce, fulfillment technology plays a huge role in supplying merchandise to both businesses and consumers. For fulfillment centers, technology is essential to every function, from the receipt of an order to its final delivery to the purchaser. It plays an equally important role in serving vendors to keep customers satisfied and loyal to their brand. That a provider utilizes the best technology available is critical for providing top-notch service.

Warehouse Management Systems
A warehouse management system (WMS) is the heart of the technology that makes a fulfillment center function. WMSs integrate software and physical processes to control every aspect of operations, ensuring efficient workflow. These systems encompass inventory management, picking, and auditing. A successful WMS is vital to handling high volumes of merchandise.

A WMS provides center management with visibility into inventory at any given place and time, allowing continuous monitoring and quality control of operations. A fulfillment center's WMS enables it to be both more flexible and responsive. The WMS also decreases errors and improves service.

Integrating with other platforms
While a WMS will improve functioning within a center, it is equally essential for a center to reach out to e-commerce platforms seamlessly. Acutrack integrates with almost any shopping cart a consumer might choose, as well as all major e-commerce platforms, enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs) and customer management relationship (CRM) programs. The company also works with Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Jett, and all major online marketplaces.

Customers want to know
Technology that provides transparency is central in fulfillment transactions. It permits clients to view their inventory and determine their order and shipping status online, ensuring increased confidence in the progress of their sales.

Electronic data exchange (EDI)
For a fulfillment center to function effectively, it is essential that data are transferred faultlessly between organizations. Because EDI accomplishes this process, the retail world has adopted EDI for transacting purchase orders and shipment related notifications.

Businesses employing EDI reduce costs and errors and increase their processing speeds. At Acutrack, EDI is indispensable for handling business to business (B2B) transactions.

Acutrack leads the way
Since its founding in 1992, Acutrack has adopted cutting edge technologies to serve our clients. Contact us to find out how our advancements make fulfillment work for you and your customers.

Acutrack has found it imperative to ensure that its customers be seen in a positive light. We employ our technology-driven fulfillment to elevate both your brand and the experience of your customers with accurate and efficient service.

Getting it right
You only get one chance to make a first impression, and you need it to win the approval of your purchasers. Sub-par third-party logistics companies (3PLs) can alienate consumers from your brand and your business. Errors in fulfilling your orders can result in your goods becoming damaged. Mislabeled goods can arrive at the wrong destination, or they become lost during the shipping process. Less than appealing packaging can discourage reorders. Consumers that experience the results of any of these failings are unlikely to order again or refer their friends to your products. They may even post a bad review, discouraging possible future business.

A meeting of the minds
You want a fulfillment company that can think the way you do. If you offer a unique product, your fulfillment partner should understand how to package and ship it in a manner that will earn the appreciation of your customer base. A fulfillment company that shares your values and vision as to how your product should be handled and how best to serve your market is essential.

Experience counts
Shipping involves many different elements, from choosing the right packaging and transportation partners to obtaining the lowest rates by capitalizing on zone pricing. Your customers will receive your merchandise both more rapidly and more economically when you work with the professionals at Acutrack who understand every aspect of the process.

Working hand in hand 
Acutrack believes in active partnerships. We bring a consultative approach to our business to build long-term relationships with our clients through the twin driving forces of technology and creativity. We are dedicated to open and honest communication to promote an ethical environment of trust and respect.

Contact us to discover a superior level of fulfillment service for you and your customers.

The members of the European Union are among 160 nations that use value added taxation (VAT). The United States employs a very different system: the sales tax. Both VAT and sales tax have their advantages and complications.

Steps or localities?
A VAT is assessed at every step of the supply chain of a product, representing the "value" added by each link. For example, when a manufacturer converts plastic into a disc, value is added above and beyond the cost of the plastic. When that disc is then etched as a DVD, the process adds value again.

The increase in price from the wholesaler of the video to a retailer adds further value. For each of these transactions, a standardized tax percentage is remitted to a government agency. Sales tax is paid at one level when a customer orders the disc online or selects it from the stock of a brick-and-mortar outlet.

On the surface, this system would seem more straightforward, but the determination of the tax has myriad complexities, depending on the precise location of the consumer to whom a disc is shipped, or the store that sells it.

How are sales taxes determined?
Sales taxes are anything but standardized. States, counties, cities, and towns can all decide how much they will charge. Over 12,000 entities are involved, and boundaries are constantly changing. All but five of the 50 states - Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Montana - have statewide sales taxes.

Even among these, Alaska and Montana allow local governments to assess them. Distinguishing between adjacent areas with different rates can be so confusing that online sellers must use GPS rather than ZIP codes to decide what they must legally collect. Homes and businesses sharing the same post office may fall under differing laws.

What happens if an online seller doesn't collect sales tax?
Both domestic and international sellers are required to register in each state where they owe taxes and states audit businesses to confirm that they are receiving all the sales tax revenues they consider due. If a company does not remit what the state believes it owes, the government may charge its penalties and interest. In 2014, California, the home of a ninth of the U.S. population, hired over 100 professionals to ensure that it received its taxes. Audits can cost as much as $100,000, a sum that could put many online sellers out of business.

How bizarre is the bazaar?
Some states have rules that appear to have no logical basis. If a seller offers trading cards to go with a book or video, it should be aware that Alabama charges 10 cents on any deck of 54 cards or less. The vendor must also pay an annual tax.

In Tennessee, local taxes are paid on top of a base state percentage and rise with increased sales. Thus, a successful business may pay a higher rate than a competitor with a lower gross.

What is a nexus and is it good news?
Amid the massive confusion an online retailer can face coping with United States' sales taxes, there appears to be a beacon in the dark. Vendors are only compelled to charge sales tax if they maintain a nexus, or presence, within the jurisdiction to which they are shipping. Unfortunately, there is a lack of agreement among states as to what constitutes a nexus. It can, but need not be, a physical presence such as a warehouse, office or franchise. A nexus can be any connection, including participating in a meeting, trade show or expo in the state.

Recently, in an attempt to avoid losing tax revenues, many states have enacted "Amazon laws" which designate online relationships such as affiliations and web advertising as the establishment of a nexus. Having goods pass through a fulfillment center in a state will also create a nexus. Sellers need to carefully consider any possible way in which they may trigger a nexus, and the drain it will cause on their bottom lines. Any vendor with a nexus will need to collect and remit the taxes and submit reports required by local regulations.

Among the records, a seller needs to preserve to fulfill sales tax regulations are invoices, purchase orders, tax-exemption certificates, and freight bills. The software can track many of these, but most companies will still require stout filing cabinets. The administrative burden of monitoring every nexus can be daunting.

What if a company doesn't have the resources to cope with computing sales taxes?
If a vendor doesn't have the time, energy, money or facilities to handle sales taxes, it can choose not to sell in the United States but will potentially miss out on substantial potential sales. It can also produce, store and ship all of its goods from abroad, establishing no connections within U.S. borders. Exclusively offshore sales and fulfillment options can also seriously hamper business growth opportunities.

Another strategy for online vendors is to join forces with a third party possessing the size and computing power to handle all transactions, including charging the appropriate sales taxes. This gambit also has its pitfalls. Online sellers must understand that if they have nexus in a state, they must collect tax on all sales in that state whether they ship them themselves or through a third party.

Massive operations such as Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) use and possess many warehousing and distribution facilities throughout the United States, producing, except for warehouses in the state of Virginia, a nexus at each location. Amazons' network of online activities may create additional nexuses. A relationship with FBA means that many more customers will be paying sales taxes. A conservative approach for a company utilizing FBA would be to register for sales tax in all the states where Amazon has a fulfillment center to avoid getting caught out.

When the cost of taxes is added to shipping charges, a potential purchaser may decide that it makes more sense to buy elsewhere or not at all. An additional challenge occurs when without notifying the seller, Amazon may not always send items from the same FBA fulfillment center. This uncertainty introduces uncertainty into the setting price points that make a company's products an attractive buy. Large fulfillment centers may also be incapable of providing the custom packaging that will build familiarity with sellers' products and enhance their brands.

Selling through an e-commerce platform that integrates with a smaller fulfillment house offering customized service can deliver savings for both a vendor and its customers. Advanced software on the platform can accurately calculate taxes, and there are fewer physical presences to create a nexus.

Can you find the right fulfillment provider?
Consider Acutrack. We are a leading-edge fulfillment company that works with major e-commerce platforms. Acutrack is sized to present a limited nexus profile and provide personalized services. Our facilities are strategically located to ship efficiently and economically throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Contact us to discover how we can help blaze your path through the sales tax maze.

While many organizations spend thousands of dollars with Facebook or Google to build the "perfect" landing page, many viewers leave the site without signing up. The most vital part of an effective landing page is the lead-capture or conversion form, with which you can transform your visitors into buyers.

How do you convince a casual browser to commit to action? Studies have shown that offering something tangible can increase your landing page sign-up rate by 40 percent. To persuade potential customers to part with their names, email addresses and other information, they must believe that they are receiving something valuable in return.

While some sellers may offer downloadable digital content such as an e-book or PDF to increase conversion rates, many purchasers prefer something they can touch and feel. A "thumb" or USB drive is an excellent choice to satisfy these customers.

Advantages of USB Drives

USB drives can contain software, training manuals, educational texts, how-to hints, photographs and a host of other types of files. They can store content too large to be quickly downloadable. You can also readily share a USB drive with friends, family and colleagues.

For an author or other content supplier, USB drives provide an additional revenue stream. Imprinted with your name or logo, they contribute to establishing your brand. Thumb drives are easy to slip into a pocket, purse or briefcase, and you can keep them conveniently at hand on a key chain. They are also compatible with most personal computers and laptops.

An Acutrack USB Drive is Secure

With Acutrack fulfillment, your content will be secure. We write protect and copy protect your USB drive to prevent data loss. We use the highest quality materials and components. When we load your data, the content is locked to avoid accidental erasure.

In addition to our ability to customize both sides of your USB with whatever artwork you specify, Acutrack can provide custom packaging. We also offer you the opportunity to enclose a printed card. Contact us today to find out how we can help you make sales from your landing page take off.

CD/DVD/Blu-ray manufacture-on-demand is a powerful solution to offer you digital content as a physical backup. It helps you to generate additional revenue and most importantly customer satisfaction

Ability to Operate Without Internet

A CD, DVD or Blu-ray is independent of the internet. Users can play it anywhere, whenever they wish, and their only requirement is an appropriate device. Your customers can easily stop, start or slow down play to review instructions or more thoroughly absorb vital details.

A purchaser may also share it with friends and family or keep it as part of a collection. While digital distribution is critical for any business success, it has its shortcomings. Customers miss the tactile fulfillment that comes with a tangible product. A digital product offers no branding opportunity. Since a digital download involves a single transaction, it provides no option to up-sell other products and services.

Enhanced Advertising

The label on a disc or in a jewel case can also increase your impact on your customers. Studies have shown that reader’s process printed content differently than what appears on their screens. They scan it more slowly and recall more of what they see. Your ad will make a lasting impression that can lead to more sales.

Give Your Customers a Bonus

Your CD, DVD or Blu-ray can incorporate content unavailable on your website. Viewers will feel they've received more value for their dollar and be more inclined to purchase other products. Offer your customer a bundle package - both digital versions as well as a physical copy. Digital texts give customers instant gratification, but a physical copy comes with bonus material such as director's commentary, behind the scenes video or free stickers or posters.

Discs When You Need Them

Acutrack pioneered media manufacture-on-demand (MOD). Our model helps eliminate the upfront costs you may encounter with mass production. You will always be able to deliver your titles without the need to maintain an inventory.

We ship orders posted to your e-commerce platform directly to your purchasers in real time, and initiate tracking. Our process is seamless and automated. When you can't predict sales of items in your media catalog, Acutrack provides the perfect solution to ensure buyer satisfaction while promoting a loyal following.