Seven E-Commerce Order Fulfillment Strategies for Growth
Strategies to Fast Track your e-Commerce Order Fulfillment Growth
Most e-commerce businesses start small, fulfilling daily orders using manual processes and handling growth by adding staff, shifts and storage space. This approach can work for a while, but with increased success comes more order volume, more lines per order, more complexity and the inevitable need to add fulfillment automation.
When e-commerce companies reach 3,000+ orders per day with 500+ SKUs, a manual fulfillment operation can quickly reach a productivity plateau followed by diminishing returns due to higher labor costs, order/inventory errors and the inability to get orders out the door on time, particularly during peak seasons. As a result, the handling cost per piece rises and erodes the operational efficiencies and cost savings expected with higher order volumes.
Arnold Says: |
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| With increased success comes more order volume, more lines per order, more complexity and the inevitable need to add fulfillment automation. |
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What Do You Say?
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| Here’s a look at seven strategies to fast track your e-commerce order fulfillment growth.
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1. Find a way to analyze your business data in order to build order profiles: Historical data can show order profiles, reveal customer preferences, identify the most profitable SKUs and organize categories of fast and slow movers.
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2. Choose the right order fulfillment solution to manage demand cycles: Look for an easy-to-deploy order fulfillment software solution that can drive a range of pick directive solutions, including paper-based, RF-based, pick-to-light, pick-to-cart, or voice-directed picking to increase the efficiency of existing order fillers. Ensure order fulfillment software selection supports all types mentioned above and any combination of supporting technologies.
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3. Cross train employees for periods when throughput is all that matters: Cross training all able staff (including back office employees) to fill orders can help meet throughput demand and reduce the cost and impact of adding seasonal contract labor. |
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4. Push the delivery window: Extend the daily order cut-off time to accommodate last minute orders. A first step could be to frontload the morning with replenishments and to pre-stage fast movers in order to free resources for afternoon or evening picking. |
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