In this article, you’ll find out what fulfillment is, how it works and how it can be deployed.
A cornerstone of the e-commerce ecosystem, e-commerce fulfillment is an important concept to understand and master in order to improve logistics performance. Often associated with the giant Amazon, this Anglo-Saxon expression meaning “fulfillment” is an important issue for anyone selling on the Internet.
Fulfillment : Definition
Fulfillment is the term used to describe all the tasks carried out by an e-tailer to deliver a product to a customer. This includes all the following stages in the supply chain:
- Order reception
- Picking (order storage and preparation)
- Packaging (parcel preparation and labelling)
- Shipping
Once the order has been shipped, a good fulfillment strategy also includes :
- Parcel tracking (informed customer)
- Invoice editing
- Returns management
- After-sales service
E-commerce fulfillment can be managed on-site by the e-tailer or delegated to companies specializing in this field. In France, we’re thinking in particular of Cdiscount or the giant Amazon, who lend their warehouses to sellers and take care of stock management and shipping. Until recently, this was the only way to obtain the much-desired Prime seller status, as Amazon wants to guarantee impeccable service quality for its Prime members.
This is no longer the case with “Prime chez le vendeur”, which allows e-tailers to control their own logistics and still achieve the coveted status. However, this means guaranteeing very short delivery times and a return rate of less than 1%. There’s no room for error, which is why it’s so important to master your fulfillment strategy to perfection, and we’re going to tell you how.
Fulfillment e-commerce: the post-sale supply chain
First of all, let’s take a look at the stages and stress points before deciding whether it’s best for you to outsource your logistics or not.
1. Order management
Order management is the concept of supervising all purchases made by customers. This includes order reception, follow-up and any returns. It’s the first step after a sale, and already crucial.
If you sell on several different marketplaces and you don’t have a dedicated logistics solution, you receive your orders independently for each marketplace, they are not grouped together and you lose time on picking and preparation.
To optimize this stage, it’s imperative to use a solution that centralizes the orders placed, because beyond a certain volume, grouping orders by hand is neither feasible nor efficient.
2. Inventory management
If you’re an e-merchant selling from your own warehouse, you’re no stranger to inventory management. It’s all about keeping track of incoming and outgoing product quantities, so you don’t sell out of stock or, conversely, run into shortages.
You need to be able to know the exact quantities in stock at all times.
Even if you’re a self-employed entrepreneur or an SME with a low volume of orders, it’s essential to use a WMS (Warehouse Management System) solution. However, some solutions are expensive, so it’s important to choose according to your needs. See our advice at the end of this article.
The ideal solution here is to be able to link your stock directly to your marketplaces, so that every order is counted in real time, and you don’t have to enter your orders by hand into your inventory management software.
3. Preparation and dispatch
This is the most important step in e-commerce fulfillment. While we’ve already seen how best to prepare you for good service quality, we’re now moving on to the service itself, which is measured to say whether or not you’re efficient.
What the customer expects from an online order is fast, error-free receipt. If you control your logistics upstream, with optimized inventory management and order reception, you’ll save time on picking and order preparation. However, don’t relax just yet: it’s this stage that generates the most errors and shipping delays.
Picking routes, sorting order forms by hand, packing and printing carrier labels are all liable to generate errors.
To reduce this part, automation is the key. By minimizing the number of tasks performed manually, the risk of errors is greatly reduced.
4. Follow-up and return
Once the order has been dispatched, both the e-tailer and the customer need to be able to track every stage of the process. The best solution is to use connected labels that automatically report the status of the delivery to the buyer and seller at each stage (receipt by the carrier, sorting center, delivery driver, receipt by the buyer).
If the wrong product is shipped, you need to be able to manage the return quickly to limit the drop in customer satisfaction.
How do you manage your e-commerce fulfillment?
Now that we’ve seen everything you need to put in place to meet the criteria of a good e-commerce fulfillment strategy, it’s time to put it into practice.
1. Subcontracting
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, you have the option of relying on a third party to manage your logistics. You can use the logisticians of major marketplaces, such as Amazon, who will store and ship your products for you, e-commerce fulfillment providers, or dropshipping and shipping directly from your supplier.
The main advantages of outsourcing logistics are reduced in-house workload, expert logistics management (if you choose the right partner) and automated processes.
On the other hand, the major disadvantages are a loss of control over the supply chain, no direct influence on customer satisfaction, a less flexible process, and it’s up to the partner to deal with any errors. In such cases, you need to have confidence in your service provider. In the case of major logisticians, service quality is guaranteed, but additional costs are to be expected!
2. Your in-house logistics with ShippingBo
We offer a complete, less expensive alternative to outsourcing, allowing you to retain full control over your entire business.
Shippingbo is a logistics solution dedicated to e-commerce, combining OMS (Order Management System), WMS (Warehouse Management System) and TMS (Transport Management System). Find out more about its features HERE.
In addition to helping you manage your warehouse, the solution also enables you to outsource your logistics entirely, if you wish, thanks to our network of logistics specialists specializing in e-commerce. Throughout France, Shippingbo has a network of certified experts who meticulously respect our specifications and offer a quality of service similar to that of Amazon and Cdiscount’s fullfilment solutions, including fast shipping.
No need to manage your logistics yourself, enjoy Prime seller status, optimal delivery speed and increased customer satisfaction, all with the ability to supervise shipments and customer satisfaction.
Shippingbo acts as the link between your sales sources (Marketplace, Private Sales, e-commerce sites) and your logistics providers, ensuring real-time stock updates, product dispatch and delivery tracking.
Conclusion
In conclusion, fulfillment encompasses all the logistical processes put in place to ensure the successful receipt of an e-commerce order. It includes order management, inventory management, preparation and dispatch, as well as returns tracking and processing. It can be outsourced to reduce in-house workloads, but internalization guarantees better control of performance.
Talk to one of our experts to find out more about our solution:
