Understanding which eCommerce fulfillment company to partner with can be overwhelming. Using a fulfillment center like Shipfusion frees you from navigating the shipping and receiving landscape with zero stress. Below are some tips and insights on how your fulfillment company can solve common order fulfillment issues.
Whether you’re a small business owner, a mid-sized enterprise or an already established reputable business, order fulfillment issues are a common encounter. Depending on the nature of the business, inventory management, supplier selection, and order fulfillment process can vary considerably.
Common Order Fulfillment Issues
Poor Inventory Management
Taking orders from potential customers is like making a commitment to delivering the ordered product on time. Having in-house warehouse management might lead to mismanagement and miscalculation, making it difficult to fulfill the volume of orders that arrive. Your customers order on the pretext that the product is available, but if they don’t receive it, they lose the trust they placed in you in the first place.
Solution: Think about outsourcing your order fulfillment by drawing out a comparative analysis of the cost of in-house warehousing and outsourcing it. Inventory management software offered by fulfillment centers uses technology to track relevant data and makes sure that your inventory is always up-to-date and well managed.
Time-Consuming Pick-And-Pack Process
Even if your inventory tracking system is in place, sometimes you are unable to adequately serve your customers. This can be attributable to warehouse mismanagement which makes the picker unable to locate the right inventory at the right time. This results in a loss of precious time.
Solution: Inventory control in its truest sense is not only about having enough material in stock but about being aware of the products category-wise. A sequential order-picking needs to be implemented that is streamlined by distribution software operated by order-fulfillment companies.
Incorrectly Filled Orders
Imagine having to bear the brunt of customers who apparently received products they never ordered in the first place. Your capacity to take orders is flexible because of the adequate supply of products in your inventory. However, a problem often arises when it is wrongly labelled. The delivery team ends up with the wrong product and ultimately it gets delivered to the wrong customer.
Solution: In a scenario like this, a third-party warehousing and logistics company can provide you with order fulfillment services that help you manage your warehouse layout and track inventory using barcodes. With more than one touch-point, your products are double-checked to ensure that the labelling and product inside is the same. This minimizes errors and in turn, boosts profitability.
Poor Packaging
The way a package is organized and put together can have a huge impact on the end-users unboxing experience. If the box or mailer you use is much bigger than the product that was ordered, the more likely the product is in jeopardy of being damaged. This could also boost the price of shipping as carriers charge by size and weight.
Solution: The packaging should be only slightly larger than the item that you are shipping. Make sure there is no extra space between the product and the box, Ideally, you want all the empty spaces filled so nothing can move around. Your fulfillment center will be able to provide a large selection of packaging needs and know how to make sure your items are being shipped in the most effective way.
Product Distribution
Departing location and destination can be a major factor in calculating carrier costs. The further the package travels, the more expensive it is to ship. Many eCommerce companies ship all products from one warehouse location, racking up high costs due to cross shipping zones.
Solution: A fulfillment company like Shipfusion will grow your business and reduce overall shipping costs by using our multi-channel fulfilment centers located across the US and Canada; making shipping across North America more cost-effective.
Shipfusion sets your business on autopilot and combines flexible, reliable fulfillment with powerful, real-time technology. Shipfusion has multiple fulfillment centers across the US and Canada– making it easy to manage your eCommerce business. For more information on how to set your business on autopilot, contact one of our fulfillment specialists today.
