What fulfillment means

This scenario has had a significant impact on logistics services and has forced businessesto invest time and resources to optimize their order fulfillment process, in order to make the purchasing experience of th customersimple, satisfying and compliant with his needs.

But what is fulfillment? This term refers to the set of operations that begin when an order is placed on the brand's online store and which conclude with the delivery of the product to the end customer. In a market increasingly oriented towards the immediacy and personalization of the purchasing experience, a company's ability to carry out processing in an efficient and scalable way becomes a factor capable of generating a competitive advantage over the competition. Let us see how.

The phases of fulfillment

According to a recent Insider Intelligence report, by 2027 global e-commerce will reach a turnover of more than 8 trillion dollars, almost a quarter of total sales, thanks to an annual growth rate of more than 8%. This is a fact which, in addition to highlighting the great opportunities for companies that sell on the web, forces entrepreneurs to face increasingly complex logistical challenges, above all the need to build a high-performance and adaptable fulfillment system.

Having an efficient online store, cards with clear information relating to the item, exhaustive sales conditions and payment procedures is the beginning of a process that ends only when the user has received the chosen product within the established times. To understand why fulfillment is important for companies operating with e-commerce, it is useful to analyze the different phases it is made up of, since each of them represents a piece that requires adequate strategies and professionalism. Let us examine them in detail.

Storage of goods and inventory

The first part of the fulfillment process begins with receiving the goods and positioning them correctly. Best management of the warehouse is a fundamental operation, a step that requires careful planning aimed at making withdrawal operations simple and immediate, thus saving time and reducing the risk of errors. Having software capable of keeping inventory and stocks under control, in order to prevent stock outs and reduce the risk of overstocking, is also an essential aspect. This is an essential point for companies that want to grow or consolidate their position in the reference markets, but which requires structures, personnel and know-how that are not always present in the workforce, especially in smaller companies.

Order Processing

In this phase, we enter the hot zone of the process: the customer has completed the order and the countdown has therefore started which will lead to the final delivery of the product. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize picking, which includes picking the goodfrom the shelves and preparing it for packaging. In this case, it is necessary to be able to count on a functional and practical warehouse logic capable of optimizing processing times. An efficient warehouse organization is essential to speed up these operations, thus improving order fulfillment times. Precision at this stage is vital to minimize errors, but can only be achieved through automation software and adequate professionalism, thus preventing the risk of extra costs linked to returns or replacements and safeguarding the consumer experience.

Packaging

Optimized fulfillment includes the phase relating to the packaging of the goods to be shipped. It is an essential aspect, which must be managed by trained professionals, capable of considering the requirements of the goods to be sent, preparing adequate techniques and materials, and the customer's preferences, which may include, for example, item personalizations and eco-sustainable packaging. Labeling is also fundamental, a crucial phase to allow the package to reach its destination in the best way possible.

Delivery

Shipping represents the moment in which the order leaves the company facility to travel to its final destination. This is a fulfillment phase that is only partially under the control of the e-commerce business. The product is entrusted to an external courier, a player selected based on the customer's requests, the destination and the type of goods in order to obtain the best relationship between service, efficiency and delivery times. Finally, an effective fulfillment process must also consider returns, allowing consumers to easily return defective or incorrectly received products, thus helping to maintain a high level of trust and satisfaction.

Why you should entrust fulfillment to external partners

The optimal management of each phase of the fulfillment process is therefore a fundamental task for companies operating on the internet, but it is also costly and difficult to optimize. For this reason, more and more companies are choosing to rely on specialized players with structures and qualified personnel capable of ensuring flexibility, scalability and quality of service. According to Grand View Research, the demand for external fulfillment services has grown significantly in recent years and is now a market estimated at almost $110 billion, with a growth rate of 13.9% from 2023 to 2030. These are important figures, which demonstrate the need to equip your business with an efficient and reliable fulfillment system, useful for guaranteeing rapid and precise deliveries, and improving the overall purchasing experience.

MBE Fulfillment is the service designed to meet the needs of small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses and artisans who want to entrust the operations of order management, product storage, picking, packaging and shipping and thus free up precious time and resources to dedicate to the development of their business. With a network of over 1,700 centers worldwide, Mail Boxes Etc. is the ideal partner to support the growth of your business and ensure high customer satisfaction.