The business of ecommerce is flourishing day by day. Thus, the responsibilities and stress of these business owners are increasing as well. One of the biggest challenges that ecommerce businesses often face is whether outsource the ecommerce order fulfilment or not to a third party. This is called third-party logistics or 3PL ecommerce fulfilment, and it is a worldwide trusted method of handling ecommerce order fulfilment.
The outsourcing process includes management of the ecommerce warehouse and inventory, order processing, dealing with shipping orders, and flawlessly managing returns.
What Can You Have from Your 3PL Ecommerce Fulfilment Provider?
Depending on their business policies, the scope of services provided by a 3PL fulfilment provider is huge. Some companies offer basic pick, pack and delivery services. On the other hand, some 3PL manage kitting and returns on behalf of their clients.
In the first part of this blog, we will discuss the three basic 3PL fulfilment services typically offered by every ecommerce logistics company.
Receiving
Receiving the inventory and storing them according to your requirements is the prime task for every 3PL provider. They simply can’t ship your orders correctly if they do not have the right inventory. The process refers to the quick acceptance of the incoming inventory of your warehouse to get a clear idea about its storage. You need to fill up a form to mention which products your ecommerce logistics provider will receive and the exact number of units. Flawless receiving means quick and efficient fulfilment of your orders.
Picking
The actual fulfilment process will begin once your customers place their orders. Advanced 3PLs use the latest software to integrate with your online store to automatically get the details of the orders as soon as your customers place them on your ecommerce site. The orders are then sent to the picking team or the pickers. They work according to the picking list that includes the type of items, numbers, quantities and storage locations. They start picking or collecting the orders from different locations, as mentioned in that list.
Packing
After picking all items mentioned in the list, now it is time to pack them. Some companies consider the packing charges as separate bills, while others include them in their final fulfilment bills. Most companies use typical packing materials to keep the items secured during delivery. Some of them also offer customised packing to meet the specific needs of their clients.
Please continue reading the next blog on the Blog Page of SOS Logistics to get complete information about this process.
