Addressing The Need for Ecommerce Order Fulfillment

Why the Demand Is So High and What Companies Can Do to Compensate

The Challenge of E-Commerce Order Fulfillment

When e-commerce businesses first became popular, the competition was low, and products were flying off shelves. The potential for eCommerce companies to gain profitability was also very high. While the tools and technology to offer e-commerce products to consumers have become much more accessible over the years, opening and running a successful e-commerce business is no easy task. 

Competition is a big challenge for any e-commerce business, especially with big players like Amazon controlling a large portion of the market. Even with the Amazons of the world, there are other factors to consider when planning and executing your order fulfillment strategy. 

If you’re struggling to meet customer demands in your e-commerce business, learn more about possible eCommerce order fulfillment solutions that could help. 

Understanding Order Fulfillment Solutions

Order fulfillment refers to the process of storing inventory, picking and packing products, shipping online orders to end customers, and everything in between. Order fulfillment can be completed in various ways and applies to both B2B and B2C businesses. Businesses that want to focus on what they do best and leave the order fulfillment up to the experts often look to third-party logistics (3PL) to help. 

How to Choose a Fulfillment Strategy?

Making the right choice for how you fulfill orders will depend on several factors, including your order volume, your products, what you’re willing to manage yourself, and more. Consider how much time and energy you are willing to invest in order fulfillment and when it makes sense to you to outsource to someone else for help. See all BR William’s Product Fulfillment Center solutions.

There are three common e-commerce order fulfillment strategies:

1. Direct Fulfillment
2. Drop-Shipping
3. Third-Party Logistics (3PL)

What’s Involved in the E-Commerce Fulfillment Process?

The order fulfillment process involves everything from start to finish in delivering products to your customers. These steps include: 

• Receiving: Receiving is the first step in the process and includes getting your physical products, whether that’s manufacturing the products or getting them from another party. 
• Storage: Proper storage of your inventory is crucial because you need to find, access, and ship your products to customers as soon as they’re needed. 
• Processing: Order processing involves receiving an order, taking the necessary steps to fill it, and managing your inventory. 
• Picking: Picking refers to physically gathering individual items for an order and preparing them for shipment. 
• Packing: Once items in an order are picked, they are grouped together to be sent out. 
• Shipping: When the order is packaged up and ready to go to the customer, it is shipped. 
• Returns: Processing returns is another step in the order fulfillment process you want to keep on your radar. 

To meet customer expectations, you must understand:

• The overall e-commerce order fulfillment process.
• Which fulfillment model makes the most sense for your business.
• How to be strategic in your operation.

If you’re looking for assistance with order fulfillment, there are modern, tech-enabled 3PLs that can help you complete the process and put your focus back on your business. 

What Does a Fulfillment Company Do?

E-commerce is vital to your business, but if the demands of inventory management and timely fulfillment are straining your resources, an outsourced option may be a better route for your business. 

At BR Williams, we help you become experts in taking your product from port to warehouse – and everywhere in between. We focus on the three basics that ensure organized inventory management, fast delivery times, and stellar customer service and offer additional assistance for businesses where they need it. 

• Pack
• Ship
• Deliver 

In each of these areas, we always keep you and your end customer experience in mind. Through every step of our third-party fulfillment provider services, we’ll treat your product, and your brand reputation, as our own during the entire process. 

The Benefits of Using Third-Party Logistics

Once you know it’s time for you to hand off order fulfillment to a third party, you can begin enjoying the benefits of their services. From faster shipping times to reduced stress, the process should feel seamless and like a well-laid plan. 

Because 3PLs work with many merchants and typically operate several fulfillment centers, they have the logistical expertise and capacity. They can negotiate substantial discounted bulk shipping cost rates from carriers due to the pure volume of shipments they are shipping out each day.

The 3PL’s staff will handle the process for you and complete all tasks related to your order fulfillment needs, including receiving, picking, packing, shipping, returns, quality control, and more. 

And you can enjoy the benefits of their help and expertise:

• Gain strategic partners with an extensive network that can help you in many aspects of your process
• Save time and money by working faster, increasing customer satisfaction, and taking the logistics off of your hands
• A 3PL partner can help your business scale down the line and flexibly grow your products 
• With an expert like BR Williams, optimizing your fulfillment process is up to the logistic partner – so you can rest easy knowing that it is taken care of for you 

Get The Help You Need With Order Fulfillment 

At BR Williams, we understand how critical the e-commerce warehousing and order fulfillment service we provide is to our customers. While some companies only talk the talk, our e-commerce fulfillment services are backed up by reliability and proven results that keep your customers happy. Don’t leave your customers hanging – give them the products they want and need today. 

Get the advanced order fulfillment infrastructure you need to lower your costs, grow your sales, and deliver a great experience to your customers every single time. 

Get started today!