How to Improve Your Shipping and Order Fulfillment
As your business grows and customer demands increase, there may be more obstacles preventing you from shipping orders accurately and quickly. Read here to learn about the best ways to improve your shipping and order fulfillment today.
Therefore, it is necessary to constantly evaluate your business’s pick and pack and shipping processes to find room for improvement. The following are some of the best ways to improve the way you fulfill orders:
Technology
Having and using the right technology is an optimal part of most businesses. And, the case is no different when it comes to e-commerce and order fulfillment.
Implementing a Warehouse Management System (WMS) or an Order Management System (OMS) will make your operations more transparent and efficient. With such systems, you will never have to worry about running out of stock and dealing with backorders. All of which, hurt your business and your reputation.
Organization
You can significantly reduce the time it takes to fulfill orders by organizing your fulfillment and pick & pack processes. This could involve organizing your inventory to make it easier to find. Or using a colour-coded system to separate different SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) or products.
It will also speed up the picking process if items are easily identified. Make sure your bins, shelves and all areas of your warehouse have proper lighting. Post clear packing specs and instructions in places where packing personnel can see them to encourage uniform packing standards and improved efficiency.
Shipping
Dealing with shipping regulations and shipping zones can be frustrating when operating an e-commerce business, as distant zones can result in inflated costs. For this reason, you may want to consider shipping from warehouses in different parts of the country to reduce the costs of shipping to faraway zones. You may also be able to save on shipping by inquiring with your courier about potential discounts for dedicated shippers.
Outsourcing
It is becoming increasingly common for e-commerce retailers to leverage the services of third-party logistics (3PL) providers–and for good reason. There are a large number of ways that your fulfillment operation can improve when you outsource most of the work to fulfillment centres.
Skilled logistics personnel can pick and pack orders with unmatched speed, streamlining your fulfillment operations and ensuring that your customers receive their orders on time. This turnkey solution will also save you from having to lease or purchase a warehouse that needs to be maintained or from hiring and training fulfillment personnel.
What is a fulfillment centre, and how does it work?
Whether you deal with fluctuating demands or you are just looking to speed up processes to keep your customers happy, using fulfillment centres can make a big difference.
Many e-commerce vendors are turning to third-party logistics (3PL) providers and fulfillment centres to assist them with storing, managing, and shipping their products.
A fulfillment centre functions as a hub where you can store and manage your products. 3PL providers run these hubs and can handle your entire order fulfillment process for you. This includes everything from picking to packing to shipping.
Such fulfillment centres can also help with real-time order tracking, fast shipment, discounts on product shipment, and return order management. Plus, they typically can be accessed either on-demand or on a long-term basis.
Rather than having to fulfill orders on your own, the staff at the fulfillment centre can retrieve the necessary products from your stored inventory, pack them appropriately, and ship them directly to your customer promptly.
Therefore, the only responsibility that remains for you is maintaining your stock at the fulfillment centre. The 3PL service provider will also make this easy to do, as they can provide regular updates on stock levels. Instead of worrying about meeting fulfillment needs, you can direct your attention toward growing. By doing this, your business will thrive in other areas.
How Wills Transfer Limited Can Help Optimize Your Shipping and Order Fulfillment
If you would like to outsource your shipping and order fulfillment to save your business time and money, Wills Transfer Limited can offer the best pick-and-pack fulfillment in Ontario.
We can simplify your fulfillment process through our comprehensive pick & pack services. And, we get your orders prepared and shipped to your clients in record time.
After discussing your business and it’s specific needs, our team will develop a customized approach for handling your orders. Then we will pick & pack each one according to your specifications.
With our advanced warehouse management software, we can optimize the way that we store your inventory. We can even store your products using their serial numbers. Additionally, we can break down cartons to pick individual items, and build new cartons. Or, we can build pallets to organize your products, according to your client’s specific orders.
Our transportation management system also helps us to select couriers that are either the most cost-effective or time-sensitive for your shipments. So, you cut down on costs and improve your shipping speed.
Rather than wasting valuable time creating pre-packaged sets, just send your products in bulk to us, and we will take care of all the rest, including pick and pack, and distribution. Not only will your customers be happier than ever, but they will be receiving their orders faster than before. But your business will also save time, money, and labour while trimming overhead costs.
We have been helping clients for over 75 years. During that time, we have been able to improve and refine our process to the point of perfection. This is why we are the best option out there when it comes to third-party shipping and fulfillment services.
Contacts us now
For more information about our pick and pack services, or to learn more about the range of other 3PL services that we provide, call Wills Transfer Limited at 613-704-7549 or contact us here.
