OPERATIONALEFFICIENCIES
FULFILLMENT IS CRITICAL: HOW TO ENSURE SUCCESS By Susan Rider
T
he parcel shipping world is growing dramatically, and it will only continue to grow as consumers get hooked on the ease of ordering their needs from the living room couch. How do you take advantage of this growth and best position your company to get return business off the internet? Fulfillment! Recently, I attended a function where several mothers and teachers were seated at my table. I listened to them
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talk about back-to-school readiness and how they juggle everyday life with a career, being a mom, and running a household. Every single one of them mentioned that they order a lot of products online in order to cut down on the number of errands that need to be run all over town. They were discussing several websites that they like, and the common factor was the service and ease of ordering and receiving. One participant mentioned a website that had good bargains, but she would never order from it again because it took three weeks to get her order. Certainly, a company that is solely e-commerce must get a “click” in order to sell a product online, but that’s only the first hurdle. The rubber hits the road, so to speak, when the order is delivered correctly and efficiently. Are you tracking your ontime deliveries? What about the accuracy rate and cost per order? These three things are very important in determining whether your team could be hindering your success or augmenting it. If your team struggles and your numbers aren’t very good, it’s time to look at other options in order to build your business and grow your company. These other options could only be temporary while you build a team that can deliver on the promised service. The Amazon Opportunity A hot topic in today’s e-com-
merce trends is FBA. If you don’t recognize that acronym, then you probably aren’t listed on Amazon. FBA stands for Fulfillment By Amazon. Your products are listed on the Amazon website, and when someone purchases the product, Amazon fulfills the order. As Amazon’s customer, you determine how much stock should be sent to Amazon, but Amazon determines which facility the stock will be sent to and how much will be sent. Another option from Amazon is Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP), which puts you in more control of your destiny. Your product is listed on Amazon as prime shipping. When purchased, you must ship it within the promised two days. Shipping labels must be purchased from Amazon. If you don’t perform, your product will get de-listed. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of fine print (not to mention things to consider!) with respect to every option. Just like every other third-party logistics provider (3PL), Amazon will penalize you for extra touches, extra labeling, and rework. The other option is a 3PL or 3PF (third-party fulfillment company). Don’t be misled; there are many 3PLs that also do fulfillment for e-commerce companies. There are numerous important things to consider when selecting a 3PL company because this partner will be a critical piece of your business strategy. One significant factor is their reputation for