A critical piece of any successful business is usually functioning as well as an efficient ordering strategy. If you are a business professional who owns a retail store, this should not be an issue. Your prospect customers can always come in and then pull what they demand off the shelf. But, if you actually rely on order fulfillment service from China to gain access to products and sell them to your customers, then you need a proper warehouse management system.
If you happen to be the owner of a retail store, then this should not be a big issue. Customers will do walk-ins and pick what they need from the shelves. The entire process of ordering can be trickier in the long run. But, luckily, with a streamlined process, coupled with an optimized strategy, things can be easier.
So what is the order fulfillment process?
The Basics Of Order Fulfillment Process
Order fulfillment often varies widely. This is based on the industry you are based in. In many cases, it can be complicated. The e-commerce order fulfillment process for an online store that is handling small volumes can be different when compared to a large store that has a devoted fulfillment center.
Some factors, including order volume, when it comes to B2B, will be a significant part of the entire process. These can bring in further complications. In rare instances, production on products that have been ordered does not really start until an order is placed. So in such cases, the entire fulfillment process may vary significantly.
Accurate as well as on-time delivery of client’s products is crucial to the growth and maintenance of a company. Therefore, with this in mind, your business needs to strive for an ideal order fulfillment strategy. Let us look at some of the best strategies available on the market.
The Receiving Phase
This is the initial phase of the whole ordering process. If you happen to receive an inventory from your suppliers, then you will need to:
- Take count of all existing items to ensure that what you end up receiving actually matches the products you ordered.
- Ensure that items on transit have not been damaged
- Care to add data to the warehouse management software in order to track location and the actual sales number of every item
- Include the SKU barcodes to the existing items especially if they have not been labeled appropriately
- Garner or collect the items which are ready to ship
The Processing Phase
The initial order processing phase starts after the order has been received. Usually, the fulfillment software plays the role of integrating with the shopping cart software. That way, you will realize that if someone placed an order, it would definitely be sent to the fulfillment warehouse.
Immediately that order has been received, one or two people in the management will pick the items from the warehouse and take them to the packing area. Here, the quality of the items will be checked for quality.
Delivery Phase
This is the final stage of the order fulfillment process. Usually, at this point, the order is in a shipping station, ready for shipment and delivery to the client. In this shipping station, the package will first be weighed, and then a proper shipping method is chosen for it.
Final Thoughts
The answer to an effective order processing is within the organizational demands. Every aspect needs to be appropriately labeled and shelved before being entered into the computer system for accountability.
