Fulfillment
Order Fulfillment
E-commerce
The complete process of receiving, processing, and delivering orders to customers, including picking, packing, and shipping.
What is Fulfillment?
Order fulfillment encompasses everything from receiving an order to delivering it to the customer's door.
Fulfillment steps:
1. Order received
2. Inventory allocated
3. Picking (retrieving items)
4. Packing
5. Labeling
6. Shipping
7. Delivery
8. Returns handling
Fulfillment options:
- In-house: Control, but capital intensive
- 3PL: Outsourced, scalable
- Dropship: No inventory
- Hybrid: Combination
Key metrics:
- Order accuracy rate
- Fulfillment time
- Shipping cost per order
- Return rate
Formula
Order accuracy rate = Orders shipped without errors ÷ Total orders shipped × 100
Example
For example, an order placed at 10 a.m. might be picked, packed and labeled by 2 p.m. and collected by the carrier that evening. If a warehouse ships 1,000 orders in a week and 990 go out with no errors, its order accuracy rate is 99%.
Why Fulfillment Matters
Fulfillment directly impacts customer experience and operational costs.
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