ecommerce fulfillment is considered part of the ecommerce process, which includes performing many tasks such as picking and filling orders, as well as executing other ecommerce orders, so ecommerce fulfillment is an integral part of your work, and it will help you greatly in improving your business and enhancing customer satisfaction as well as Significantly increase your revenue, and in this article we will explain to you all the details about ecommerce fulfillment.
What is ecommerce fulfillment?
The ecommerce fulfillment are those centers that help you in the execution of e-commerce orders, as they are the steps taken to receive, process and deliver orders to customers.
It is the third party company that you appoint to complete the steps for fulfilling ecommerce orders, and it is also one of the indispensable tools in your business.
Why Does Your Business Need ecommerce fulfillment?
You may be wondering why you might use ecommerce fulfillment, and in fact, the use of ecommerce fulfillment in your business has become very important.
Where ecommerce fulfillment helps you in managing a warehouse, fulfilling orders, and arranging delivery of your product to the customer at the last mile.
Especially since more than 90% of customers suffer from poor delivery problems, as well as delays in delivering orders, and this means that there is a big problem in customer satisfaction with the service provided.
Ecommerce fulfillment can help you achieve customer satisfaction, and even make them come back to buy from your store again, by simplifying and improving your fulfillment chain.
Types of ecommerce fulfillment Models
Types of eCommerce Fulfillment Models
There is more than one way for ecommerce fulfillment, as there are many ecommerce fulfillment forms according to the number of orders in your business as well as the nature of your inventory and the requirements you want to process your orders.
Each of the ecommerce fulfillment forms is appropriate to the nature and size of your business, and the following are the most important ecommerce fulfillment forms:
Self Fulfillment
It is a type of ecommerce fulfillment form, through which you can manage all the fulfillment processes yourself.
That is, you have a small storage center through which you carry out all the processing of your requests yourself, and this model will be suitable for small companies only.
3PL Fulfillment
In this type, the company or facility outsources the fulfillment operations on its behalf, so we call it third party logistics companies.
These companies will do all the logistics for your business, and this type of company has great supplier relationships, thus helping you to facilitate processing orders faster.
3PL also offers unique solutions for handling various orders, and it also offers you the best storage for your goods, so 3PL is the ideal choice for large and medium-sized companies, which gives them a great competitive advantage.
Dropshipping
It is one of the models in which the wholesaler or the manufacturer ships the product directly to the customer, but the merchant does not keep the stock with him,
But as soon as the customer makes an order through the merchant, this order is automatically transmitted to the supplier through which it is processed and delivered order for the end customer.
The dropshipping model is suitable for start-up companies that have not yet found ways to store and process the orders they receive, but it is not suitable for companies that want to expand and grow in the future.
What’s involved in the ecommerce fulfillment process?
There are many e-commerce fulfillment processes, all of which help you improve customer satisfaction and manage your inventory and orders in the best possible way.
Here are the most important e-commerce fulfillment processes:
Storage Services or Warehousing
The first operations that ecommerce fulfillment can provide to you is the storage services, through which your products will be stored in the best possible way.
Stocking through ecommerce fulfillment gives you an opportunity to improve product accessibility as well as speed in product processing while keeping inventory track more effectively.
Inventory Management
The second most important services that ecommerce fulfillment can provide you efficiently is to manage your inventory in the best possible way,
As through ecommerce fulfillment a record is kept of all items available in stock. This helps you to view the stock and its updates on an ongoing basis,
Thus identifying the available products and missing items. All of this will help you in facilitating inventory management,
As well as evaluating customer orders and forecasting your business, and in the end your business will become more organized as well as your supply and demand.
In addition to inventory management, ecommerce fulfillment will help you manage orders as well, thus ensuring that no orders are lost and that all of them are properly processed before they are delivered.
Also, through fulfillment centers, the management of orders is synchronized with the warehouse and inventory management system so that the information is continuously and periodically updated.
Order Picking & Packaging
The e-commerce execution chain provides you with accurate picking and filling processes, thus avoiding incorrect order filling processes that may strain your relationship with customers and make them lose confidence in you.
The products are also packaged with the appropriate materials with labels that will facilitate the shipping process, through the fulfillment centers, the orders are packaged correctly.
Shipping & Logistics
Fulfillment centers also help you by providing shipping and other appropriate logistics services, which are one of the most important services they provide to customers, and through which the product is shipped to the end customer.
It will ensure that the products are delivered on time without any delays, thus enhancing the satisfaction of your customers with the service you provide.
Returns Management
In addition to services related to warehouse and order management, as well as shipping and logistics services, the fulfillment centers also provide effective returns handling services.
And that through effective reverse logistics and order management, which will improve the shopping experience of your customers, which will reflect positively on your business.
What is the difference between 3PL and drop shipping?
Many people confuse 3PL with the term drop shipping, and in fact there is a difference between them.
As it is through 3PL that requests are traditionally fulfilled, the following is how 3PL works:
- You buy or make the products yourself and then sell them online.
- If you purchase merchandise, you are initially making a down payment for those merchandise.
- Your goods are shipped to third party fulfillment centers.
- When you get any orders from customers, the shipping center will ship it to the customer from your stock it has.
- Your profit is the difference between the selling price, merchandise costs, and other expenses.
But drop shipping is different, because you can start with it with less investment, you don’t need to buy goods or send them to outside sources, here’s how drop shipping works:
- You place the products of other companies in your online store, that is, you do not buy the goods or the inventory available on your online store.
- Whenever you receive any orders from customers, it is relayed to the original manufacturer or supplier, and that company then ships it directly to your customers.
- Your profit is the profit set by the original manufacturer or supplier.
So your loss is much less, because you don’t buy or keep inventory, unlike 3PL where you charge upfront for goods as well as the costs of sending goods to fulfillment centers.
