Hooray! Youve reached your Kickstarter goal, time to break out the bubbly!

But wait, hold the phone. You just realized that now you have to actually fulfill all of those orders to your backers. Well, thats a real buzz-kill.

As one of the leading order fulfillment companies for Kickstarter campaigns, weve heard a lot of stories from a lot of Kickstarters here at lite prepcenter, and many of those stories centered around the same theme, which was that the seller wasnt prepared to handle the huge volume of orders they received.

From utilizing the right packaging, to choosing the best ship method, theres a lot that goes into optimizing order fulfillment and shipping. And what often makes it more challenging is trying to get orders out the door in a hurry in order to meet your expected delivery dates. Because if you dont, youll probably be hearing about it from your backers.

Whether youre preparing to launch your Kickstarter campaign, youre in the midst of one, or you just wrapped it up, we wanted to share a few quick tips to help with your order fulfillment and shipping.

1. Have a Plan

This ones a biggie. A lot of Kickstarters find themselves scrambling to find a fulfillment solution after theyve reached their goal.

Its not uncommon for Kickstarters to initially plan on doing the order fulfillment themselves, only to later find out that they vastly underestimated the sheer number of orders theyd receive, as well as the amount of time and intricacies that go into optimizing the picking, packing, and shipping process.

Your backers expect their orders in a reasonable amount of time, so before you’ve reached your goal, make sure that you have a well-thought-out plan on how youre going to get orders out the door quickly to ensure that you meet your estimated delivery dates.

2. Factor in Shipping Costs & Times

Even though a lot of sellers advertise it, shipping isnt free, which means its important to closely analyze your ship options and costs ahead of time.

Depending on your products, their value and weight, you may be somewhat limited in your ship options, both domestically and internationally. Those factors will influence your shipping costs, including any extra insurance you may want to add. Additionally, processing your Kickstarter orders typically happens all at once, which can be a good thing, as it means you may be able to take advantage of a bulk shipping option that could save you money.

Its also important to consider that many Kickstarter campaigns involve international shipping, which brings about its own unique set of challenges and costs. For this reason, it may be a good idea to add a separate fee for shipping on top of your backers pledges, depending on the international ship method you plan to use. This fee may apply to everyone, or you may choose to only charge your international backers for shipping.

Aside from cost, time is a big factor. The estimated delivery dates that you give to your backers should not only coincide with your Kickstarter campaign, but also anticipated delivery speed, as well as your production schedule. You may experience production delays, which can be fairly common, as many Kickstarters havent actually mass produced their product prior to reaching their goal.

The more homework you can do before your campaign, the better. That way, youll have a better understanding of the shipping options/costs and realistic delivery times, and youll be in a better position to convey that to your backers ahead of time and keep everyone happy.

3. Communicate with Your Backers

Your backers have made a generous pledge to help you grow your business. And most of them will fully understand if you hit some snags along the way with order fulfillment. That is, as long as you let them know.

Many Kickstarter campaigns have quickly gone south due to a lack of communication. Whether the news is good or bad, its always a good idea to communicate with your backers throughout the campaign, and especially after youve reached your goal. Send them regular updates informing them of where things are at with production, when you expect to have your inventory, once orders are being processed, and again once theyve actually shipped out. If youre proactive with your communication, itll ultimately save you a lot of time and headaches.

4. Consider Outsourcing Your Fulfillment

Sure, as an outsourced order fulfillment provider, this ones easy for us to recommend. But the truth is, many Kickstarters are extremely overwhelmed with the amount of work involved in getting their pre-orders out the door. Additionally, as mentioned above, theres a lot to this whole shipping thing if youre looking to maximize cost efficiencies and also hit delivery deadlines.

Order fulfillment is time consuming. And aside from the measureable tangible costs that Kickstarters pay when they do their own shipping, there are also the intangible opportunity costs to consider, which is the cost that your business pays as a result diverting your attention from creative and marketing to fulfillment and shipping.

lite prepcenter specializes in fast, simple, transparent order fulfillment. Our technology keeps you and your backers up-to-date from anywhere in the world, and our service and flexibility are an ideal fit for a range of Kickstarter campaigns.

Give us a shout if youd like to learn more. Wed love to hear from you!

Feel free to also check out our guide, 10 Tips for a Successful Kickstarter Project.