The Best E-commerce Product Fulfillment in Kenya
ORDER FULFILLMENT STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE ON THE PROCESS
What is order fulfillment? More so, how does it work? These are some of the questions people ask when it comes to order fulfillment. In this article we are going to take you through the entire process, what it is, step by step process among other things.
WHAT IS ORDER FULFILLMENT?
Order fulfillment is a process that some courier companies follow to receive, process, and deliver products to customers’ specifications. Order fulfillment begins when a customer places an order online and it ends once the customer receives their desired product to their satisfaction. Order fulfillment also involves return transactions in case a customer is not satisfied with a product that is delivered. Reliable order fulfillment is important to keep the business running not only for clients but also for the courier company as well. Order fulfillment is very important for online-based businesses that deal with products.
HOW DOES ORDER FULFILLMENT WORK?
Order fulfillment is usually done in one or various centers. It involves inventory, supply chain, and order management, as well as customer support and product quality control. Below are the crucial steps that make up the order fulfillment process.
RECEIVING INVENTORY
Before you make your products available to customers, you purchase the inventory and prepare it for shipping. Inventory can be received from different sources, for example, a third-party vendor, or manufacturer among other places. Once the inventory is received, it is inspected and counted to ensure that it’s the right number that is expected and it meets customers’ specifications and quality. Furthermore, placing a bar code on the inventory is important for easy access to the products once the orders are placed.
INVENTORY STORAGE
When counting, labeling, inspection, and organizing of the inventory is done, then it’s time to move it to the storage area.
ORDER PROCESSING
When customers start placing orders, it is then time to start processing them either physically or by using an order management system. The system works hand in hand with the shopping cart on your website by creating a packing slip with all the details of a specific product that a customer needs.
PICKING AND PACKING
Once the order is processed, different teams start picking out the specific products ordered. Here the product is selected per the specifications of the customer included in the order slip. The specifications may include size, color, and amount, among others. Once picking is done the product is sent to the packing teams that will package the products accordingly. Packaging materials in this case may vary depending on the nature of the product.
SHIPPING
After processing, picking, and packaging the orders, it’s time to ship to the customer. Most courier companies charge depending on the weight of the package. Therefore, it is important to check the weight of your products and label so that the courier company can easily reference them to avoid any inconveniences.
RETURNS
When the customer is not entirely satisfied with the product, then the shipping company starts processing the return. When the return arrives at the warehouse, it’s inspected to see if it’s still of good quality for future use.
TYPES OF ORDER FULFILLMENT
Order fulfillment is made up of four types. These include the following
IN-HOUSE FULFILLMENT
This type of fulfillment involves a business using its personnel to manage, process, and ship orders to customers. The business handles all the order fulfillment processes without including any third parties. OUTSOURCED FULFILLMENT
This type of order fulfillment is where a business involves a third party to handle the entire order fulfillment process. Here all the business does is provide inventory and orders to the third-party order fulfillment company. The inventory is stored by the third party and their employees handle and process the orders until they reach the customers.
DROPSHIPPING FULFILLMENT
Drop shipping fulfillment is almost similar to out-sourced fulfillment the only difference is when it comes to inventory, the client doesn’t have any inventory in stock. Here the retailer will only purchase a product from a third party when there is an order to process. Once the product is bought the order fulfillment company will then process the order on behalf of the retailer.
HYBRID FULFILLMENT
Hybrid fulfillment is a mix of both in-house and outsourced fulfillment. Some enterprises can process some orders while others are given to a third-party order fulfillment company to handle. This usually happens when the business doesn’t have the means to handle some products like bulky or fragile items.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Order fulfillment is a single component in the supply chain. And whether you are an established company or a startup, you may need to outsource a third-party courier company to run your business. In most cases, it is advisable to go for the hybrid fulfillment model as it has more advantages than the other types. The purpose of order fulfillment is to get to all your customers on time keeping them happy and satisfied at all times.
Wakah Logistics and fulfillment Company is an industry leader in provision of fulfillment services in Kenya.
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