eCommerce Fulfillment WHAT IS ECOMMERCE FULFILLMENT? eCommerce is most often used to refer to the sale of physical products online and the fulfillment, shipping, and delivery of those products to consumers or businesses. These eCommerce Fulfillment Steps Include: Product Receipt Inventory Management Product Storage Product Picking Order Processing Parcel Shipping Returns Management WHAT TYPES OF ECOMMERCE MODELS CAN BE SUPPORTED BY A 3PL? There are two main types of ecommerce models that can describe almost every transaction that takes place between consumers and businesses. 1. Business to Consumer Fulfillment (B2C): When a business sells a good or service to an individual consumer (e.g. You buy a pair of shoes from an online retailer). a) Dropship Fulfillment: The sale of a product, which is manufactured and shipped to the consumer by a third party. b) Subscription Fulfillment: The automatic recurring purchase of a product or service on a regular basis until the subscriber chooses to cancel. 2. Business to Business (B2B): When a business sells a product or service to another business (e.g. A business sells its product to another business, retailer, distributor, wholesale outlet) a) Retail Fulfillment: The sale of a product by a business directly to a customer. b) Wholesale Fulfillment: The sale of products in bulk, often to a retailer that then sells them directly to consumers. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF HIRING A 3PL TO SUPPORT YOUR ECOMMERCE FULFILLMENT? A 3PL provides experience, operational expertise, and the physical infrastructure and resources to create a truly efficient and effective supply chain for your eCommerce business. While you can maintain your own supply chain and order fulfillment in-house for a while. As your business grows, scalability and execution can be a challenge. To address these challenges, these are a few of the benefits that a 3PL can offer a B2C or B2B eCommerce brand: Optimized Warehousing Infrastructure Multi-Location Warehouse Networks Order Fulfillment Technology Inventory Management Controls Expedited and Efficient Order Processing Reporting and Customer Dashboards Access to Qualified & Professional Staffing Parcel Management Programs WHEN SHOULD YOU HIRE A 3PL FOR YOUR ECOMMERCE BRAND? Early is always better than too late when it comes to entrusting your order fulfillment, warehousing, and transportation to a reputable third-party logistics company. Delays in order fulfillment or shipping errors can quickly tarnish your brand and create a poor customer experience. Leveraging the skills, knowledge, and resources of an established 3PL fulfillment provider before becoming overwhelmed by orders, from which you may never recover, will help the growth of your eCommerce business. HOW DO GROWTH AND FLUCTUATIONS AFFECT ECOMMERCE FULFILLMENT? Scalability and seasonality are two crucial challenges in the eCommerce retail sector. While these can be challenging supply chain requirements for any business, having accurate demand planning, sales forecasting, warehouse capacity and flexible fulfillment resources to meet dynamic order flow can ensure that your brand can adapt and grow successfully. As consumer demand grows for eCommerce products and services, their expectations increase and patience for delays and errors diminish. The expertise and resources of a third-party logistics partner can help eCommerce brands proactively plan for these evolving consumer demands. HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT 3PL FOR YOUR ECOMMERCE BUSINESS? Partnering with the right 3PL can be the difference between successfully managing unprecedented growth and failure. But how do you know what to look for? Your 3PL partner should have a modern warehousing and fulfillment infrastructure in strategically located geographically areas to support your unique order profile. They should have experience and a forward focus on technology that provides visibility, agility, and scalability. Industry experience and professional resources cannot be overlooked. Ask for references and a customized plan on how to take your order fulfillment to the next level. HOW CAN THE COMPLEXITIES OF ECOMMERCE FULFILLMENT PREVENT YOU FROM ACHIEVING BUSINESS OBJECTIVES? There are a variety of moving parts in a modern eCommerce supply chain. Product design and sourcing, inventory management, customer acquisition, order fulfillment and transportation all create a complex, highly dynamic environment for any brand. Furthermore, designing an omnichannel fulfillment network that aligns with a traditional supply chain, can complicate decision-making even further. Attempting to keep up with the everchanging consumer expectations of eCommerce retail can be all consuming for a business owner. Engaging with a qualified and experienced 3PL fulfillment partner allows you to focus on your organization's strategy, product development, marketing, branding and more importantly, delivering a great customer experience. HOW SHOULD YOU MANAGE YOUR ECOMMERCE INVENTORY? The ability to match inventory to consumer demand is often one of the most challenging aspects of running an eCommerce brand. Purchasing and storing too much product can be expensive. Having too little product in-stock will turn away potential customers. Accurate forecasting and the ability to integrate your order management and inventory planning systems with your 3PL partners is crucial to maintain the appropriate fill rate throughout the year. WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE ECOMMERCE RETURNS? Reverse logistics is a vital consideration for an eCommerce brand. As an eCommerce business, you don't have a physical storefront or brick and mortar location to accept returns. Furthermore, returns are an expensive and often inefficient process that impacts not only your bottom line, but your brand experience. A qualified 3PL fulfillment partner will help you navigate best practices for eCommerce reverse logistics. FEATURED USING DATA TO IMPROVE FULFILLMENT OPERATIONS FOR ON-LINE SHOPPING COMPANIES As an e-commerce company, leveraging a streamlined supply chain is a crucial advantage over traditional brick-and-mortar outlets. Leveraging data and visibility technology can have a direct impact on pricing strategies as well as fulfillment and delivery optimization. Using the data your customers provide allows you to stop estimating shipping quotes or offering options you “think” they want. Here are five ways your distribution data can make your supply chain stronger. Read More → BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS E-COMMERCE LOGISTICS: 8 STATISTICS TO THINK ABOUT The barrage of home runs that were hit during the late 90’s was a result of batters having extra power. The era of PEDs changed the way fans think about baseball and changed the way the game is played. In the NFL, new rules to increase safety for players have also changed the way this sport is played. With more protective rules for quarterbacks, scores have risen and defenses have been forced to adapt in order to avoid penalties. These are two examples where shifts in control and power have altered the state of competition. The same is very true in the world of business-to-business e-commerce. Consumers have never had more power than they do right now, and there are no signs of that slowing down. These 8 facts support the changing landscape of e-commerce retail and how you can play by these new rules. Read More → MEMPHIS WAREHOUSING: BEATING THE E-COMMERCE LAST MILE CHALLENGE Over 72 holes of a golf tournament it is quite astounding how the last few strokes can be shaped by the hours and days spent before. A lost ball here, a penalty there, a long putt when it matters most; while these events can seem insignificant at the time, their impact on Sunday’s leaderboard can be substantial. E-commerce fulfillment is very similar. All of the automation, visibility, and supply chain management that goes into fulfilling an order ultimately depends on what happens during that last mile. While avoiding the water on 18 can be a challenge on the links, last mile delivery can pose a threat to a successful e-commerce supply chain. Here are a few challenges that remain for last mile delivery. Read More → 15 Freedom Way Franklin, MA 02038 | 508-553-8800 | sales@barrettdistribution.com | ©2020 Barrett Distribution. Barrett Distribution Centers uses cookies to give you a better experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you are agreeing to the use of cookies as set in our Cookie Policy.