WHAT IS ORDER FULFILLMENT?
Order fulfillment is the process in between receiving a customer’s order information and delivering their order. The logistics of fulfillment begin when the order information is routed to the warehouse or inventory storage facility. The product matching the order information on the invoice is then located and packaged for shipping. Although the customer does not see any of the efforts behind the scenes, order fulfillment is one of the biggest components of customer satisfaction. The order must be accurately packed and shipped in a timely manner so the package arrives exactly as the customer expects and on time.
HOW FULFILLMENT COMPANIES WORK
CHOOSING A FULFILLMENT PROVIDER
When deciding to transition your fulfillment needs to a dedicated third party you will want to evaluate them to ensure they can meet the needs of your business. For example, if the majority of your customers are in a particular geographical location it makes sense to work with a fulfillment center close to your customers. Also, if your product is fragile, oversized, or requires additional care during storage, packing, and shipment, you will want to find a partner who can accommodate your needs.
ADDING INVENTORY
Once you have vetted the fulfillment company that best meets the needs of your business, you can arrange to ship bulk inventory for storage and fulfillment. When receiving inventory, fulfillment centers typically rely on barcodes, including UPC, GCID, EAN, FNSKU, and ISBN codes to distinguish between various products. The fulfillment center will also tag the product’s location in the storage facility to easily find and package the product when your customer orders.
ROUTING ORDERS
In order for a fulfillment center to integrate effectively into your company’s operations, there must be a process in place for customer orders to be directed to your fulfillment center. Many fulfillment companies have the ability to integrate with major eCommerce platforms to immediately receive the order information from your customer’s purchase. Most fulfillment companies also have other methods of communicating order information such as single-order reporting or the option to upload multiple orders in CSV format.
PICKING, PACKING, AND SHIPPING
The fulfillment service is the ability to pick, pack, and ship the appropriate items in a timely manner. When the order information arrives at the warehouse the items need to be located and collected. Once gathered, the products will need to be packaged in a durable box with the necessary packing dunnage, secure tape, and shipping label. The finished package is then ready for pickup by a shipping provider.
MANAGING INVENTORY
OBD will provide a digital dashboard allowing you to manage your inventory 24/7. The dashboard is helpful to track daily, weekly, and monthly sales data and estimate when inventory levels will need to be replenished. A dashboard is also a great tool for managing damaged products and customer returns.
HANDLING RETURNS
Production manufacturing inevitably has a small percentage of defective goods. Defects will likely be the basis for your return policy and any additional guarantees will increase the volume of returns that need to be managed. OBD offers return management services and we can inspect the defective product, and feedback to you for review or handle disposal.