The growth of ecommerce does not look set to stop anytime soon, with ever new emerging methods for shopping online and promises of faster shipping times consumers are looking for the best deal in the quickest time.
With this in mind the fulfilment and delivery process to the customer must be a top priority as it can impact many things such as customer satisfaction, customer service, cost efficiency and wastage. By making the process as smooth as possible it means customers are more likely to remain loyal and offer repeat custom.
What is the Order Fulfilment Process?
Order fulfilment is a process which ensures every customer order can be fulfilled and completed in the most efficient and cost effective way possible. It also involves supply chain management, stock control, picking and packing and finally delivery of the order to the customer.
This process can be completed in-house or it can also be outsourced by a third party provider. There are many ways to improve this process in order to make it more efficient.
5 Ways to improve your order fulfilment process.
Ensuring that customers receive order confirmations and order updates such as dispatch notifications, national delays and tracking information, will help them to feel informed at every step of the fulfilment process. Notifying the customer on how they can get in touch with any amendments or queries will also help them to feel that communication lines are open and that they will be received promptly and dealt with professionally.
The use of automated processes is growing, with retailers and businesses looking to fully automate their fulfilment processes and warehouses in order to keep up with customer needs and demands. Automation does not mean that you will have a warehouse run solely by robotic means but it does mean that many of the time consuming manual processes can be automated and therefore eliminating the possibility of human error.
Keeping the picking and packing process as efficient as possible is vital being that it is not income generating, however inefficiencies could greatly impact your customer service reputation as well as customer satisfaction.
Keeping on top of stock levels and making inventory easy to find can greatly help to avoid delays and make it easier for staff to carry out their tasks in a timely manner.
Offering a fast and efficient delivery service for your customers might be a really great selling point, but the same approach must be made towards reverse logistics. By offering a seamless and effortless returns service you will reassure your customers that shopping with you is straightforward and worth doing.
There are many things to consider when selecting the right shipping company, firstly it is vital that the company you choose covers the destinations of your customers and can offer the best service across these networks. It is also important that the shipping company can deal with the size and capacity of your shipments whether that be small or large.
In summary it is important to understand the needs of your customers as well as their expectations to be able to offer them the best service and fulfilment process. When you streamline your fulfilment process you will see a great improvement in customer satisfaction, and overall revenue.