As businesses grow, their fulfillment partners need to grow with them.

Below are some factors and red flags to watch out for, in determining whether your company is aligned with the right fulfillment provider.

Errors in picking or shipping. The most obvious red flag is an increase in errors in picking the correct product for shipment to the right customer. A good fulfillment partner will monitor, measure and report on service-level agreements, and be proactive about communicating when they’ve missed a shipment, and what they’re doing to solve the situation.  Being transparent is critical in a fulfillment partner.

Prolonged response time and poor communication. Pay close attention if response time is increasing and there is a decrease in communication.  More often than not, this is due to a fulfillment company bringing on too many customers without the proper infrastructure or internal support. If you feel you are no longer a priority, start looking elsewhere.

Struggles in peak season and promo spikes. When a fulfillment partner isn’t prepared, and struggles through peak seasons or promotional spikes, this indicates that the company has limited scalability. Most likely, they’re unable to accommodate your current and future growth. You need a partner with the willingness and capabilities to grow new markets, add SKUs and increase your daily order volume.

Inadequate tech support. A good fulfillment partner will have technology that not only supports their business, but yours as well. They should introduce you to new technology that will increase communication, transparency, efficiency and accuracy. It’s critical that they have an on-site tech department available to discuss challenges you may be facing with your own platform. They’ll help you find solutions to fill in the gaps that your system can’t support. Having the ability to integrate with multiple systems, including electronic data interchange, enterprise resource planning and open application programming interfaces, is another good indicator that the fulfillment company is staying ahead of market.

Not paying attention to your customers. If you’re seeing an increase in customer complaints, damaged packages, wrong items received or long wait times to receive their order, it’s most likely time to look elsewhere. If you don’t feel it’s quite time to pull the plug on your fulfillment partner, then have a meeting to discuss your concerns. If your current provider is listening and cares about your customers, you’ll see immediate improvements in how they’re servicing you.

Failing to support your strategic initiatives. If they do, you have a real fulfillment partner. If they don’t, you have a vendor. You want one that offers opportunities during your quarterly or annual business reviews, and comes to the table with analytics and key areas that can be improved. You want a partner that comes to you with additional services that may help your company grow. During your strategic meetings, you should discuss customization, automation and expanding capabilities to support your continued growth as partners.

Making the decision to change fulfillment partners should not be taken lightly. It costs time and money. However, if you don’t have the right partner, it could be costing you reputation and customers. If you’re facing some challenges, take the time to audit your current provider. Focus on performance, technology, scale and cost. If they check all those boxes, stick with your current partner. If not, consider finding a business that better aligns with your growth and service goals.

Michelle Keske is president of Diamond Fulfillment Solutions.