An Ecommerce business primarily has three key facets- Sell, Fulfil & Reconcile. When running an Ecommerce, it is essential to know about the operations involved in all of these three facets. In this article, we will discuss how fulfilment operations play a major role in any Ecommerce.

There are numerous steps involved in the fulfilment process that ensure the purchased products reach the doorstep of a customer in their perfect state. Right from managing inventory to the packaging essentials, fulfilment operations may seem cumbersome to many Ecommerce businesses. This is where online businesses often associate with third-party logistics (also known as 3PL) providers to assist them with inventory management through the means of fulfilment centres.

Understanding The Importance of Fulfilment Centres

Before we discuss fulfilment operations, let us first talk about Fulfilment Centers.

A Fulfilment Centre is a physical location that assists Ecommerce businesses with inventory management and shipping requirements. It relieves online businesses of the need for physical space to store their products.

While inventory management can be quite a cumbersome task for many online stores, it is definitely important in offering a remarkable customer experience. Case in point, Fulfilment Centres eradicate the hassle of inventory management and allow store owners to focus on other key aspects of their businesses. Not to mention, Fulfilment Centres are capable of processing both B2B and B2C orders.

So What Are The Key Fulfilment Operations?

Fulfilment operations consist of a series of sequential work that ensures successful Ecommerce transactions. These steps get initiated right from the moment when a customer completes a purchase online. When an online business outsources its fulfilment requirement, the third-party logistics provider initiates and manages the fulfilment process on behalf of the store owners. This includes all sorts of tasks, starting from inventory management to shipping and even managing returns.

● Sending inventory to 3PL

Before thinking of fulfilling an order, it is quintessential for a store owner to ensure that the inventory is at the site. And when you are associated with a 3PL, the first important step in the fulfilment operations is to send the inventory to the provider.

● Product retrieval

Once you’ve ensured to send the inventory to the fulfilment centre, the staff at the centre receive the pick-list. This pick-list is a valuable document required to fulfil custom orders and communicates all the item details to the pickers, helping them retrieve the product from the storage facility.

● Kitting and assembling items

Once the product is retrieved, the next step in the fulfilment operations is that of kitting and assembling. This process includes assembling items that usually arrive as separate pieces into a single package. Such a need may arise depending upon how a product was manufactured or sent to the fulfilment centre.

● Packing & labeling boxes

Packing is one of the most important parts of the fulfilment operations.

In this step, the product is packed appropriately and then labeled so that it is ready for shipping. Usually, a packing slip is used that contains instructions about the packing material such as boxes, bubble wrap, air-fill, polythene bags, etc., or any custom packing details for that matter, to offer the customer the perfect unboxing experience.

● Shipping orders

Once the order is processed and packed, it is ready to be shipped.

The shipping process can vary depending on the service provider. In some cases, the product is sent to the post office, while at times a carrier picks up the order from the fulfilment centre. Either way, once shipped, the merchant receives tracking details which can then be shared with the customer to keep them updated regarding their deliveries.

Once the order ships, you should receive tracking info that can be shared with customers to keep them up-to-date with their deliveries.

● Managing returns

The last step in the fulfilment operations is that of managing returns. Case in point, this is not a mandatory step for all orders But if a customer returns the order, the 3PL provider takes care of the same. Once the product is back to the fulfilment centre, based on adequate evaluation, the item is either restocked as an available inventory or disposed of, because of malfunction.