5 - Fulfillment

Fulfillment is the process of receiving and storing inventory and then picking, packing, and shipping orders to ecommerce customers. Ecommerce retail customers expect reliable delivery and fast shipping, so it's important to get fulfillment right.

Fulfillment is an essential ecommerce business process involving inventory storage (warehousing), packing and shipping orders, and processing any returns or exchanges. Ecommerce fulfillment starts when a customer checks out from your website and concludes when they receive their order. If a customer seeks an exchange or reimbursement, the returns process is also part of order fulfillment.

Effective, reliable ecommerce fulfillment earns trust with customers and keeps them happy. What if product delivery doesn’t meet customers’ expectations, or items are damaged during transit? Fulfillment problems like these can hurt your business.

In-house fulfillment
Storing and shipping orders from your place of business is a common approach for smaller brands. This option may limit the variety and quantity of products you can store and sell, and it could increase your overhead expenses.

In-house fulfillment is worth considering if you:
Sell a low volume of products
Have a functioning logistics network
Sell products with complicated packing and shipping requirements
Sell seasonal products that would incur excessive storage fees

Storing, packing, and shipping inventory quickly and efficiently to the customer’s front door becomes even more critical as orders increase. You can scale to a bigger warehouse or storage location or outsource fulfillment for some products to an outside party.