Ecommerce Fulfillment: Definition, Process and Models
Quick answer: Ecommerce fulfillment is the process of getting online orders to customers: receiving and storing inventory, picking and packing each order, shipping it, and handling returns. Stores can do it themselves (in-house), use dropshipping, or outsource it to a third-party fulfillment service (3PL) that connects to their Shopify or WooCommerce store and ships orders automatically.
Do you feel your e-commerce business is so busy? Are you bothered that you can’t keep up with your orders? For some busy merchants, using an eCommerce fulfillment system is the way to go. If you want to provide valuable service to your customers and receive positive reviews, make sure your eCommerce fulfillment is always on time.
This page will take you through how an eCommerce fulfillment system can help expand your business and provide quality shipping services to your customers.
What is an eCommerce Fulfillment System?
The eCommerce fulfillment systems cover a range of e-commerce fulfillment solutions. The eCommerce fulfillment system is designed to better ensure that your orders are processed and shipped in a timely manner. Accurate and complete fulfillment will not only satisfy your customers, but it will save you time and money.
The usual e-commerce fulfillment process works like this: Customers start an order from your website, and fulfillment staff will pick items from your warehouse inventory, sort and pack them, and finally ship and deliver them to your customers in a timely and accurate manner.
Among them, putting products on the shelves of fulfillment companies is e-commerce fulfillment. Picking and packing are known as order fulfillment. Shipping times and methods are part of your 3PL operations. E-commerce logistics has many characteristics, including pricing, simplicity, convenience, and customer service.
Types of E-commerce Fulfillment
In-house FulfillmentIn-house Fulfillment is merchant self-fulfillment. This model is suitable for sellers who are just starting their e-commerce business. and sellers with smaller order volumes.
The advantage is that it may cost less money. The disadvantage is that it takes up a lot of time, and you may not have time to pay more attention to developing customers and marketing products.
Dropshipping
The dropshipping model is simpler. Retailers sell products in online stores but do not hold inventory. When the customer places an order, the order information will be synchronized with the dropshipping supplier, and the supplier will directly ship the product to the final customer.
The advantage of this is that your investment is less. But you don’t have full control over inventory management and order fulfillment.
Third-Party Fulfillment
This refers to outsourcing your entire order fulfillment process to a 3PL company. If you feel that the business is busy or there are more and more orders that you have no time to take care of. Then it is recommended that you start working with the fulfillment company early on.
The advantage of this is that they will be more professional than you, and process orders faster and more accurately, saving you time. Also, their shipping charges may be more discounted than what you can find yourself. But you need to find the best one for your business among the many third-party companies.
Integrated Services
A hybrid model is a combination of two or more of the above three models. For example, a company may choose to self-fulfill under normal circumstances but outsource to a third party during peak order periods, such as holidays.
What is the Ecommerce Fulfillment Process?
The fulfillment center you choose should integrate seamlessly with your eCommerce store. And it’s a good idea to choose a fulfillment center that has its own custom application, ensuring it also integrates with the platforms you sell on.
What is Order Fulfillment Center?
An order fulfillment center is a specialized company in the field of order fulfillment. A fulfillment business, which can be specifically understood as order fulfillment or product fulfillment, is a business in which an individual or company performs the delivery process to the orderer.
Typical business operations include specific operations such as inventorying, taking orders, packaging, and shipping and delivering goods to end users.
Receiving refers to receiving and storing warehousing inventory in the operation center. Pallets of your merchandise are shipped to fulfillment warehouses, where they are recorded into inventory and placed on shelves, ready to fill your customers’ orders.
In general, make sure your fulfillment company offers an inventory management system that can be used to maintain your inventory levels.
Order fulfillment refers to the process of customer order acceptance, processing optimization, item selection, and order integration. Mainly including picking, packing, and shipping. It determines the delivery time for consumers. It also decides a company’s delivery capability in terms of quality.
The order fulfillment process is expensive and complicated. Some companies handle order fulfillment in-house, while others outsource the process to a third-party logistics company or 3PL. This reduces costs and saves time. Or one can look to order fulfillment software as a solution for eCommerce fulfillment.
Process of Order-Fulfillment
Picking
The fulfillment part of the 3PL begins when a customer places an order. If your CMS is through Shopify or WooCommerce, the app ensures that orders are automatically routed to the warehouse for picking, ensuring a seamless, automated process.
Packing
Once all the items in the order have been picked, it’s time to pack them safely. Your 3PL will select packaging materials that both protect your product and achieve the lowest actual volumetric weight.
Also, some 3PLs allow you to store your own custom packaging. For example, Honest FulPhilment allows custom packaging, branding, and inserts for your products.
Shipping
The next step is to ship your order to your customers, whether by land, air, or sea.
One of the great benefits of outsourcing fulfillment is that after the order ships, you receive order tracking information. Depending on 3PL’s technology, you can share this information with your clients automatically or manually.
For example, Honest FulPhilment’s tracking software can be integrated with your e-commerce platform to keep up-to-date on orders and their fulfillment.
If there is a return, the order will be processed in the same way in the fulfillment center. Return service and return speed have a big impact on driving resales. The faster your fulfillment company can handle it, the less disgruntled your customers are likely to be. Customers will reconsider placing an order if the service provided makes them feel cared for.
4 Reliable E-commerce Fulfillment Companies to Scale your Store
ShipBob
ShipBob is a global logistics platform that fulfills e-commerce orders for direct-to-consumer brands. As an end-to-end fulfillment solution, ShipBob provides warehousing and package delivery within 1-2 business days and has a network of fulfillment centers throughout the United States. ShipBob software combines order and inventory management, customer communication, predictive insights, and optimized shipping for online merchants.
Honest FulPhilment
Honest FulPhilment offers a range of e-commerce fulfillment services that can work together to give you the best solution. Our services can help you with product branding, logistics, quality control, assembly, marketing, and storage, making Honest FulPhilment a one-stop shop for all your e-commerce fulfillment.
We help you create an impressive and attractive direct sales branding experience that compliments your customers, and lets you focus on what you do best. Use our other services to make the most of your brand. We can store your goods in our warehouse, take professional photos and videos, automatically process your full order through our platform, or simply ship your package in bulk to any destination of your choice worldwide. We run our own warehouse in China and work with 18+ overseas 3PL warehouses, and we provide you with 2 months of free storage to complete your setup and start sending orders. And we will not charge you any storage fees as long as you have the order to process.
ShipMonk
ShipMonk is one of the leading order-processing services in the United States. The company provides a wide range of logistics services, including transportation, warehousing, equipment preparation, and e-commerce industry services. It provides simple and effortless logistics for companies that need them. The company’s compliance centers utilize exclusive warehouses for inventory management, transportation, and management solutions.
Rakuten Super Logistics
Rakuten Super Logistics (RSL) is the leader in domestic e-commerce order fulfillment and freight forwarding. RSL’s national logistics center network enables leading e-commerce retailers to reduce transportation costs, improve order accuracy, shorten transportation time, and improve customer satisfaction.
Conclusion
After reading this article, you must know that partnering with a 3PL fulfillment company can eliminate the stress and growing pains of busier and more complex shipping logistics. If you want to provide your customers with fast and accurate delivery and thereby grow your customer base, then your business needs a reliable e-commerce fulfillment process. Honest FulPhilment can meet these requirements for you, so please contact us now.
FAQ
What is ecommerce fulfillment?
Ecommerce fulfillment is everything that happens after an online order is placed: receiving and storing inventory, picking the items, packing them and shipping them to the customer, plus handling returns. It can be done in-house or outsourced to a fulfillment company.
What are ecommerce fulfillment services?
Ecommerce fulfillment services are outsourced providers (often called 3PLs or fulfillment centers) that store your inventory, connect to your online store, and pick, pack and ship each order for you. Many also offer custom packaging, kitting, returns and quality control.
What is an ecommerce fulfillment center?
An ecommerce fulfillment center is a warehouse built to ship individual online orders directly to consumers. Unlike a traditional warehouse that moves pallets to retailers, it is organized for fast picking and packing of small, single-customer orders.
What are the main ecommerce fulfillment models?
The main models are in-house (self) fulfillment, dropshipping, third-party (3PL) fulfillment, and a hybrid of these. Small stores often start in-house or with dropshipping and move to a 3PL as order volume grows.
What is the difference between ecommerce fulfillment and order fulfillment?
The terms are mostly used interchangeably. Order fulfillment usually refers to the pick, pack and ship steps for each order, while ecommerce fulfillment also includes receiving and storing inventory, integrations with your store, and returns.