Catherine Kirby
Chief of Staff, Autofulfil
Catherine Kirby, Chief of Staff at eCommerce fulfilment provider Autofulfil, explains why e-retailers struggle with fulfilling customer orders — and what they can do about it.
What does an eCommerce fulfilment provider do?
When eCommerce retailers receive an online order from a customer, they must pick, pack and then ship the product to them. Doing this successfully is called fulfilment. Retailers can either take care of that process themselves; or they can outsource it to a third-party logistics provider, like us.
How does a third-party provider’s service work?
We store the retailer’s stock in a dedicated part of our fulfilment centre. Our system is connected to the retailer’s, so when anyone places an order on their platform, it’s automatically sent to us. We then pick, pack and ship the item to the buyer. A third-party provider should operate seamlessly in the background, making retailers and their customers happy by fulfilling orders promptly and getting packages out quickly and accurately.
Logistics is complicated, especially if
you don’t know how to do it. By turning it
over to an expert, retailers get peace of mind.
What challenges do retailers experience around fulfilment?
When they’re small, the retailer can probably take care of fulfilling orders and shipping products in-house. But as they grow and start making more sales, they can struggle to keep up with fulfilment because it’s a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. Missed orders or late deliveries can harm a brand’s reputation, particularly because today’s customers expect and demand next-day delivery. So, it’s not just sales the retailer can lose. It’s customer loyalty, too.
What are the benefits of using a fulfilment provider?
Logistics is complicated, especially if you don’t know how to do it. By turning it over to an expert, retailers get peace of mind. It also gives them the space to focus on parts of their business that will help them grow, such as product development, sales and marketing.
What should retailers look for in an eCommerce fulfilment provider?
Number one is: do they offer amazing customer service? Retailers will want a same-day customer service response from their fulfilment partner at the very least. We try to respond to requests and questions within an hour or two.
Also, will the provider fulfil orders quickly, accurately and reliably? What’s their reputation like in the market? Are they easily able to scale staff numbers up and down to deal with busy shopping events such as Black Friday? Finally, do they operate with integrity — and is the retailer protected contractually with good commercial terms? Essentially, retailers should look for someone who’s going to be their partner, instead of just a service provider.
