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Business operations
Learning the Process of Order Fulfillment by John
Morris
The goal of most businesses is to profit and give out the best products
and services that they can offer to customers. For companies who
manufacture sellable items, producing the end product is not the
final step. You already know that your products will sell. The next
thing that you need to do is deliver the products either to the
stores or straight to your customer’s doorstep. This is where order
fulfillment services come in. Companies, either big or small, usually
obtain the services of a third-party order fulfillment company.
This way, they can concentrate mainly on the manufacturing process
and let the order fulfillment companies do their job. This would
make for a more efficient running of your business organization.
The key here is to get the orders right the first time. Choose a
company which fits your company’s order fulfillment needs.
1. You Can Focus On:
- customer service
- customer sales
- product development
- marketing
In addition to this, the rest of your employees will get to concentrate
more on other matters so that you can put your time, money and energy
to better use. You can consider the following important factors
when choosing an order fulfillment service provider that would best
suit your company’s needs:
2. Location
Choosing the proper location should play a major part in your decision.
Order fulfillment warehouses are scattered within the length and
breadth of the country. Just imagine how high your shipping fees
will rise if you choose an order fulfillment warehouse which is
located far north when the bulk of your customers reside on the
east.
A better and more viable option is to choose a location in the middle
of the country so that products may be shipped on either locations
at more or less similar prices.
3. Size
There are large-scale and small-scale order fulfillment warehouses.
Choose one that would best suit your customer’s needs. If you have
a constant stream of orders year-round, it is easy to find a company
that can keep up with a constant demand. On the other hand, if you
receive a bulk of orders during a particular season, will they be
able to handle it and still deliver in a timely and efficient manner?
4. Order Processing
Companies now look at third-party sales representatives as a viable
option. You need to find an establishment that will be able to handle
all of your order-processing needs. Check if they can easily turn
estimates into a number of orders instantly. Some firms even have
automatic order registries which makes an order easier to be fulfilled
and processed. Thus, it would turn into a quicker profit for the
company.
5. Real Time Order Status
You and your customers should be informed of when, where and how
the orders are being shipped. Make sure that the order fulfillment
service provider that you will get is able to track an order status,
real-time. Also, everybody should have the same information about
the status of an order to prevent finger-pointing should a problem
arise.
6. Troubleshooting Skills
Check if they can deal with a bulk of shipments or orders. This
would let you know how they handle things from their end. Should
a problem arise, like an incorrect order was processed, will they
be able to come up with a solution right away? See if they can make
shipments faster than usual in case of misplaced orders which may
result to customer dissatisfaction.
7. Communication
The problem that most companies deal with is that the right hand
does not know what the left hand is doing. This is the result of
a lack of communication. Everything should be coordinated with each
other to avoid confusion. This will save time and effort, and make
every aspect of the order fulfillment process run more smoothly.
8. Error rate
Mistakes, mishaps and confusions are normally dealt with by every
company. There are times when an order will get shipped to the wrong
address. When looking for an order fulfillment service provider,
ask about their error rate and what they do to handle such difficulties.
Also, ask about what they do or improve on in their shipping system
for cases like these. Once you consider these factors and choose
the right order fulfillment service provider that will suit your
company’s needs, you will get to concentrate more on the vital aspects
of the company’s operation that is sure to benefit you, your company
and the people that you serve.
For more great order fulfillment related articles and resources
check out http://www.fulfillmentadvisor.com
Article Source: ArticleRich.com
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