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For e-commerce retailers, understanding "what is order fulfilment" and knowing how to manage it effectively is crucial.It encompasses a range of essential tasks, including ordering, receiving inventory, processing, assembling orders, and shipping packages to customers.
With order fulfilment involving several complex elements, businesses must adopt the right approach to manage inventory, orders,and sales efficiently.
Explore this guide for a detailed overview of order fulfilment, helping businesses of all sizes choose the most effective strategy to enhance their profitability.
Most companies adopt one of two types of e-commerce order fulfilment:self-fulfilment or outsourced.
Self-fulfilment, also known as in-house fulfilment, involves the seller or their employees handling the packing and shipping of items to customers.
New or small businesses often opt for this method due to its cost-effectiveness, especially when order volumes are too low to justify outsourcing.
On the other hand, outsourced order fulfilment involves a third-party service managing shipping, inventory, and even refund processing.
Some businesses utilise both strategies, depending on the nature of their products and the volume of orders they handle.
The diverse e-commerce landscape encompasses various business types.Here’s a breakdown of the most suitable fulfilment strategy for different business models:
A solopreneur is an individual running a businesssingle-handedly, often managing every aspect of the operation, including order fulfilment.
For startups or businesses just entering the e-commerce space, order fulfilment is typically manageable in-house. At this stage, it saves costs and can easily be incorporated into daily tasks while the business is being established.
For niche businesses, in-house fulfilment may be more straightforward and cost-effective, depending on the product and weekly sales volume.
However, for niche markets with high order volumes, outsourcing fulfilment can save significant time and effort, allowing you and your team to focus on other crucial areas of the business.
For small to medium-sized enterprises, outsourcing order fulfilment can provide substantial benefits. It grants access to the provider’s infrastructure, warehouses, and expertise, streamlining operations.
As businesses grow, outsourcing enables seamless scaling without the challenges of hiring more staff, securing larger warehouses, or rushing torestock. Everything is efficiently managed, allowing your business to expand with ease and ambition.
For large-scale businesses, outsourcing order fulfilment offers undeniable advantages for managing inventory, warehousing,order processing, packaging, shipping, returns, and more.
By partnering with reliable order fulfilment companies, large operations can access essential business solutions, enabling them to grow and scale as efficiently as possible.
If you’ve evaluated the benefits and drawbacks and decided that outsourcing is the right approach for your business, here’s what to consider when selecting an order fulfilment partner.
If you've researched outsourcing order fulfilment,you may have come across the term third-party logistics (3PL).This refers to any service involved in managing fulfilment activities such as inventory storage, packaging, shipping, and returns.
3PL services enable companies of all sizes to save money and scale operations without facing the usual growth challenges.
Outsourcing to a 3PL partner can significantly enhance operations for larger companies. From logistics to inventory management and distribution, a 3PL partner can positively impact your bottom line.
Here are key factors to consider when choosing the right 3PL partner for your business:
Your 3PL provider should offer a clear explanation of the technology, software, and automation they use to streamline order fulfilment. It's important to ask about their processes for shipping, delivery,and logistics to ensure they are up-to-date and efficient.
Additionally, check if their systems integrate smoothly with your e-commerce platform and other tools. Seamless data sharing and order tracking are essential for a streamlined operation.
For instance, if you use Rekisa as your e-commerce platform, you can connect your store to 3PL solutions such as eFulfilmentService or dropshipping providers like Wholesale2B, Alibaba, and others.
When selecting a 3PL provider, look for a partner who aligns with your brand’s values, such as open communication, honesty, and reliability.You want more than just a service provider; you need an ally who will support your business.
For businesses that ship nationally or internationally, location coverage is crucial. A 3PL provider with an extensive network across the country and worldwide can make shipping more efficient and cost-effective in the long run.
As your business grows, your 3PL partner must be able to scale with you. Choose a company that not only meets your current needs but also offers additional services that can support your future growth.
A 3PL provider investing in its staff and infrastructure demonstrates its ability to support your operational and logistical requirements now and in the future, ensuring smooth scalability as your business expands.
With customers’ expectations constantly evolving,e-commerce retailers must stay ahead. Here’s how to optimise your online order fulfilment process to enhance customer experience and satisfaction.
Using historical data helps you identify peak times or seasons with higher order volumes, enabling you to plan efficiently. Your logistics team can pre-order the right inventory levels in advance, ensuring stock is ready to ship from your warehouse.
During busy periods, maintaining accurate inventory records becomes even more crucial. Effective inventory management helps prevent overselling and ensures timely restocking to avoid running out of stock.
For those using Rekisa as their e-commerce platform, overselling is not a concern. You can specify stock quantities for each product in your Rekisa store, and the system automatically adjusts stock levels after each purchase. Once an item sells out, it’s marked as "Sold Out" unless pre-orders are enabled. You can also opt for low-stock email alerts to remind you to restock.
Handling shipping yourself can be made far more efficient with pre-filled shipping labels. These labels save both time and money by eliminating the need for manual data entry of customer details,reducing the risk of errors, and ensuring faster, more accurate deliveries.
Platforms like Rekisa integrate with shipping providers, streamlining the process of purchasing shipping labels. With Rekisa, you can buy discounted, pre-filled shipping labels directly from your admin panel (in selected countries and with specific carriers) or use apps from the Rekisa App Market to manage shipping.
Expanding your sales channels is key to reaching a wider audience. However, fulfilling orders from various platforms can quickly become complex and time-consuming. That’s where multichannel fulfilment solutions prove invaluable.
If you sell with Rekisa, you can consolidate orders from multiple platforms like your own website, Amazon, andeBay into one system. This saves time by streamlining order management,allowing you to process everything from one dashboard.
Rekisa also enables you to connect your store with M2E Multichannel Connect, Channable, Koongo, and other multichannel solutions.This integration synchronises your products and orders across dozens of marketplaces, making order management seamless within your Rekisa admin,regardless of the platform.
Now that we’ve covered the essentials, let’s explore the trends shaping automated order fulfilment. With the rapid growth of e-commerce, consumers increasingly expect fast and efficient delivery options.This has driven the demand for automated fulfilment solutions.
Automated order fulfilment leverages software and hardware technologies to improve efficiency. Companies can automate inventory tracking, packing, and shipping to streamline operations at every stage.
Distribution centres and third-party logistics(3PL) providers are investing in automation and robotics to enhance their processes, reduce costs, and boost efficiency.
This includes advancements in automated picking andpacking, voice-activated fulfilment, mobile-powered carts to assist warehouse staff, and robotics for large-scale fulfilment operations.
To enhance efficiency and scalability, businesses should focus on integrating their e-commerce platform with other systems. This might include returns management platforms, inventory management solutions, and fulfilment platforms that automate processes across the board.
Rekisa integrates with a variety of shipping, 3PL, and other essential e-commerce services, allowing companies to manage their entire logistics operations from a centralised platform.
Additionally, Rekisa offers flexible customisation services, enabling you to connect your store with your preferred platforms seamlessly.
As reducing carbon footprints becomes increasingly important, warehouses are aligning their values with environmental goals.
Many distribution centres are adopting eco-friendly practices such as using solar energy, energy-efficient lighting, sustainable building materials, and recyclable shipping materials that minimise environmental harm.
In today’s fast-paced and evolving e-commerce landscape, selecting the right platform for your business is essential.Managing inventory and orders becomes much simpler when your e-commerce platform provides effective tools for optimised order fulfilment.
With features such as advanced inventory and order management, shipping integrations, and multichannel capabilities, Rekisa offers a comprehensive solution for any online store looking to streamline its fulfilment processes.
Whether you’re a small business owner or a large enterprise, Rekisa can make your order management more efficient and hassle-free.
Sign up for Rekisa today to build a new online store or migrate your existing store to enjoy simplified order fulfilment.
Originally sourced from Ecwid by Lightspeed