Order Fulfillment Company FAQ | Cahoot Ecommerce Fulfillment

How It Works

How does Cahoot work?

You join hundreds of highly-rated merchants and third party logistics warehouses collaborating to fulfill ecommerce orders. Merchants can work with Cahoot in two ways, (1) peer-to-peer fulfillment and (2) outsourced order fulfillment. In peer-to-peer fulfillment you’ll distribute your inventory to other sellers’ warehouses across the country. In exchange for other sellers storing and shipping your goods, you may choose to do the same for orders in the network. Therefore, you offset any storage and order fulfillment costs. Now you can offer 1-day or 2-day free shipping and have the network ship your goods cheaper and faster.

Alternatively, with outsourced fulfillment you can place inventory across Cahoot’s vast network of warehouses and have us fulfill your orders. This is an excellent option for merchants to offer 1-day and 2-day delivery nationwide without operating their own warehouses.

How do you achieve such low order fulfillment costs?

In the peer-to-peer fulfillment model, the members of Cahoot’s ecommerce order fulfillment services network work together “for each other,” the cost of fulfilling your orders can be paid in-kind with you fulfilling orders for the network. Because of the peer-to-peer exchange, you don’t need to pay extra fees to third-party logistics (3PL) companies or build your own order fulfillment warehouses across the country. Now you can offer 2-day or even 1-day free shipping without worrying about your bottom line!
Merchants who use Cahoot for outsourced order fulfillment enjoy some of these benefits because Cahoot passes savings back to you. However, to achieve the lowest possible fulfillment costs, ask us about how you can join the peer-to-peer fulfillment model!

Can I use the Cahoot network for Seller Fulfilled Prime orders?

Yes, Cahoot’s order fulfillment services network is fully integrated with Amazon Buy Shipping services to comply with Amazon’s Terms of Service. Many of our customers found success in boosting their sales by enabling Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) areas they couldn’t service before.

Will this create unequal work among fulfillment partners?

No, we understand that order fulfillment excellence requires careful planning of resources and labor. That’s why we make sure partners only ship as many packages as their desired capacity. Optionally, if you’d like to fulfill more packages and create an additional source of revenue, please contact us.

What are Cahoot-certified warehouses?

Every order fulfillment warehouse within our network is Cahoot-certified, meaning each has gone through a rigorous vetting process and inspection for excellent storage practices and picking-and-packing standards. This ensures all of your orders are fulfilled accurately and on time, every time. Because only high-performing order fulfillment warehouses can be part of the network.

Can I arrange shipping directly from my suppliers to a Cahoot network warehouse?

Yes, you can arrange your inbound shipments directly to Cahoot network warehouses as long as you follow the prep guidelines. If you would like assistance with this, please feel free to contact us.

Insurance

What do I do if a shipment has been lost or damaged?

Typically, national carriers like UPS and FedEx include shipping insurance on packages up to ~$100 by default, but values will vary. A claim will need to be filed with the carrier.

Can I purchase additional shipping insurance?

Yes, please share your requirements with Cahoot Support for any additional carrier services such as insurance, delivery confirmation, signature confirmation, etc., and they will be added to your labels accordingly.

Tax

Do I need to collect sales tax?

An ecommerce seller should collect and remit sales tax wherever they have nexus, what they sell is taxable, their exposure is material, and there is not a state law obligating someone else to collect the tax. We have prepared an in-depth article on this topic. Check it out to learn more.