Getting your product ready for delivery to a customer is only a part of the product fulfillment process. In order to maintain your business’ reputation and gain customer loyalty, a smooth fulfillment is crucial… considering the social media and customer reviews currently on the rise. A reliable process with minimal order errors can make or break a business, regardless of whether the fulfillment process is handled in-house or outsourced to a third party.
Taking a customer’s request, assembling the merchandise, and packaging and delivering the product is the process of fulfilling an order. There are two primary types of fulfillment. They are as follows:
Product Fulfillment: This method is also called ‘drop ship’. A customer places an order online, by email, by telephone or fax. The product is processed by a company that manages the manufacturing, warehousing, assembly, quality control and delivery to the customer. This company then charges a small percentage fee on each sale and bills the client on a monthly basis. Companies like Shipwire, an order fulfillment and warehousing solution, helps e-commerce businesses stay lean. They’re able to fulfill your orders for very small quantities and of several product numbers, or SKUs. In effect, they can use their core value to complement yours. Send a pallet, a gross, or even just a dozen, and Shipwire will take care of the rest. For more information on Shipwire, be sure to watch the video below.
Service Fulfillment: This method is also called ‘membership fulfillment’. With service fulfillment you give subscribers access to certain services. Services available to the customer are determined by the customer’s profile; which are kept in computer systems along with coordination of various service providers, quality control, and delivery of services to the customers. The services offered to customers are available to them by accessing a membership site(s). This service will email customers a username and password. Membership cards can also be mailed to customers.
Based on the product you’re selling, the typical fulfillment centers have well-designed steps in place to process each order:
Warehousing: Companies off-site allow fulfillment centers to monitor their inventory. The fulfillment centers can restock products for companies when inventory is low.
Order Processing: Businesses send their customer orders to fulfillment centers via an electronic invoice. While large centers have automated systems to receive and process orders electronically, smaller fulfillment centers pick and pack orders manually. When the fulfillment center picks the products from inventory, they then pack it and mail it to the customer’s preferred mailing address.
Returns and Exchanges: Returns and exchanges can be handled by the fulfillment centers provided that they are aware of your company’s return policies. The fulfillment center’s quality control department can inspect all returned items and decide if the items can be resold. In some cases, a minimal restocking fee may apply.
Fulfillment services are tailor-made for the e-commerce companies on the rise. For those individuals that would rather work from home and don’t want the hassle of renting a location and hiring a staff, these fulfillment services are typical. An owner can concentrate on the financial and human resources of their business and on the marketing and development of their products by outsourcing the fulfillment.
A large company can benefit from a fulfillment center also. For example, when the sales of a certain product more than double, or when a product is too difficult to assemble, or it takes too much time to assemble the product. A fulfillment center can process large orders efficiently and accurately; therefore, saving your company valuable resources.
What do you feel are other signs that your small business has become big enough to warrant the outsourcing of the fulfillment process? What are your reservations about doing it?
