What is Ecommerce Fulfillment and How Does it Work?

It doesn't matter whether you have the best email copy or the best website design team—without the right eCommerce fulfillment service provider and strategy, you'll be unable to garner loyal customers. If there's something all successful eCommerce businesses have in common, it's an awesome eCommerce fulfillment service. 

 

Person packing an order

 

But how do you tell a good eCommerce fulfillment service provider from an average or poor service provider? This guide will explain everything you need to know about eCommerce fulfillment.

What is Ecommerce Fulfillment?

Ecommerce fulfillment comprises the entire process from getting an order to delivering it. This includes the supply chain part that receives and stores inventory, the ordering process, processing the order, picking items, packaging, and shipping the product to the customer's chosen destination.

 

While big and successful companies handle these affairs in-house, many companies outsource them to 3rd party fulfillment companies. These companies excel at receiving orders and delivering them safely to your customers and charge based on the weight, volume, dimension, storage, and other metrics. These services are ideal for those companies that have no physical storage facilities or means to process orders. 

Products delivered at customer’s home
 

What Is Included in an Ecommerce Fulfillment Process?

Most companies and people assume that order fulfillment is just about picking and packing orders. But in reality, it includes many other things. With the help of an experienced eCommerce fulfillment provider, you can run your online retail business smoothly and without any hiccups.

 

A 3rd party eCommerce fulfillment provider acts as an added extension of your business that makes your processes more agile. You can expand your business or contract spaces based on your business needs and make changes as your needs change. The four most important components of an eCommerce fulfillment process include:

 

1. A well-integrated eCommerce store and fulfillment center

2. Order receiving and management of the inventory

3. Order fulfillment

4. Processing returns

 

Product packaged carefully
 

How does an eCommerce Fulfillment Service Work?

Understanding the steps of how an order is "fulfilled" will help you manage your eCommerce fulfillment provider better.

 

Step 1: Integration of Omnichannel Fulfillment Center

Your eCommerce store must integrate with your fulfillment center seamlessly. The flow of your order to the people who'll pick and ship it should be seamless and direct. Here are some important features to consider here:

  • Your 3PL company needs to integrate with every platform where your products are sold. The fulfillment center will create a customized application that connects you with all incoming orders and sales channels.
  • The IT staff of your fulfillment provider will play an integral role in the success of your business since it's the app and website that connects everyone.
  • Ensure your fulfillment provider has minimal downtime with a responsive support staff to resolve glitches instantly.

 

 

Step 2: Receiving Orders and Inventory Management

Every business needs a reliable inventory management system. Pallets of your inventory are shipped to your fulfillment warehouse, then logged into the inventory, and "placed" on your shelves virtually. Many fulfillment warehouses fail at the receiving end since pallets are ordered and loaded on the dock but not logged into the inventory. Or, if they're short on a product, they don't realize it until a customer places an order.

 

That's why here are some qualities your order fulfillment provider should have:

  • They should place the stock into the inventory within 2 days of receiving it.
  • You should have access to log into and check your inventory management system. This real-time data management helps run your business smoothly.
  • The 3PL provider should have a minimum shrinkage allowance.

 

 

Step 3: Pick, Pack, and Ship

Now that they have received the order, your fulfillment provider should pick the right items, place them in a box, and ship them to your customers. Then the 3PL provider will deliver them to your customer. The floor team needs to know how to pack each item safely to prevent any damages.

 

The quicker the pick, pack, and ship process is, the more popular your business is among customers as customers don't like waiting too long to receive their products.

 

Step 4: Dealing with Returns

Now is the time for reverse logistics since you have to check the items you've received as returns, place them back on the shelf, and log into your inventory. Every business has to deal with returns since shoppers prefer ordering from websites that allow them to return items for 'xyz' reasons.

 

The quicker you process the returns, the happier your customers will be. If they have to wait for weeks until the order is processed and their amount is refunded, customers will consider your competitor brand's service over yours.

 

Products stored in a warehouse

So, Have You Found Your Perfect Ecommerce Fulfillment Match?

The success of your business and the satisfaction of customers depends on the type of eCommerce order fulfillment service provider you choose. So, don't risk it and get in touch with E-Commerce Express. They are an expert order fulfillment company that is based in China.

 

Whether it's branded & custom packaging you need or eCommerce order fulfillment, their team can do it all efficiently.

 

Visit their website now to learn more.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Three Main Fulfilment Options for DTC Brands with Shopify Stores

Image
  The E-commerce industry generated revenue of about 4.891 billion US dollars in 2021, and this number is expected to grow by 30.6% by 2024 . This indicates the potential of the e-commerce industry and what it can become. The prospect of increased revenue is what drives many physical stores to make the shift online. Shoppers today also prefer the convenience of online stores. So this has created a need for brands to find new ways to connect to the online shopper and give them a personalized experience. And one of the successful models that fulfill customer needs today is the Direct-To-Consumer model. Understanding Direct-To-Consumer The Direct-To-Consumer model is self-explanatory based on its concept. It’s a model where businesses, brands, and manufacturers can directly sell to customers. It eliminates the need for intermediaries like wholesalers and retailers and the need to connect with their physical distribution channel. It also saves the manufacturers' logistics and communica...
Read more

5 Reasons Your Business Needs Expert Product Sourcing Agents

Image
  Setting up a business and getting it up and running is definitely not easy. If you want to be successful in creating productive consumer relationships, you have to make sure your product quality matches the claims you’re making. In the end, the product’s quality is what will keep bringing the consumers back to your business. Consumers expect businesses to give them consistent results in a satisfactory and prompt manner. This can only be accomplished if the business has a properly optimized order fulfillment process . It can be especially challenging for small businesses that have limited resources to manage this. This is where product sourcing agents come in. Keep reading to learn what these agents do and all the reasons why your business will benefit from hiring them. What Does a Product Sourcing Agent Do? Regardless of the size of your business, there are times when you may run into unforeseen problems with your suppliers or have to balance multiple things at once. In these cir...
Read more

Shipping Delays: Possible Causes and How to Improve

Image
E-Commerce Express is a China-based 3PL e-commerce order fulfillment services company that helps online retailers manage everything, from sourcing and warehouse management to packaging and shipping. So, if your logistic service is messing up, reach out to experts in E-Commerce Express .    Late or damaged deliveries are the most upsetting part of online shopping. You may be delivering the best quality products, but you can potentially lose a loyal customer if your dropshipping or logistic service messes up. So, what should a business do when it can’t successfully manage orders being delivered on time? After all, ignoring consumer concerns over a late shipment only makes matters worse.  You should investigate the causes of shipping delays and promptly act out and address the loopholes in the shipping service. Common Causes of Shipment Delays and Their Solutions Are your shipments running behind schedule? A snag could happen anywhere along the fulfillment chain for several ...
Read more