With the UK being home to over 588,000 e-commerce businesses, it’s easy to understand how competitive the online selling landscape is. This is also only a small proportion of overall activity, as globally, there are more than 26.5 million e-Commerce websites!

If you have previously focused on getting the product and service for your company spot on but sales are starting to dwindle, you may want to take a look at the effectiveness of your fulfilment strategy. Given the modern world we find ourselves in, consumers expect rapid delivery of their requested items. This is why having a reliable and efficient fulfilment service was one of our top logistics trends to watch during 2024.

In this detailed guide, we will share the simple fixes that can be deployed to turn a clunky e-Commerce fulfilment into a speedy service. From looking at optimising air freight to understanding the impact of internal systems, we will share tips for every aspect of managing online website orders. If you want to understand how you can remove blocks and set your e-commerce company up for fulfilment success, explore the following information.

Why Is e-Commerce Fulfilment Important to Get Right?

Before we share the ways that fulfilment can be optimised to improve overall business performance, it’s important to consider why this aspect of operations is so critical.

In recent years, we have all seen how some situations can impact even the best e-commerce fulfilment, which is why having an agile solution is essential. Examples include the impacts of Brexit and the Windsor framework, plus the impact of the red season crisis on sea freight. Aside from getting logistics management spot on, the main reasons why e-commerce fulfilment should never be an afterthought are included below.

Customer Satisfaction

Ensuring that online orders make their way to customers in quick and safe conditions is an essential component of keeping consumers happy. Items must also be accurate as receiving in correct orders is also another source of frustration. A key factor of efficient fulfilment is also including sustainability within shipping plans which is another benefit most customers appreciate.

If customers have received the correct orders in the promised fulfilment time, they are more likely to be both loyal and to become brand advocates which is an important part of marketing.

Competitive Shipping Costs

Inventory Management

Another aspect of e-commerce fulfilment that holds companies back is not having a succinct inventory management system. Without the right processes in place, companies will find it tough to sell products plus also track orders once they have been submitted online. This can impact revenue, brand reputation, customer satisfaction, plus stock levels, which are all detrimental to e-commerce retailers.

Revenue and Profitability

This point may sound obvious, but it is a factor that some companies don’t attribute to fulfilment processes. Finances are not just important to consider in light of how many sales can be made but also how an efficient fulfilment system can reduce costs. Additionally, having a fluid logistics plan means that certain companies can make the most of consumer trends of top selling products by quickly sourcing additional stock at short notice. In order worlds, it helps businesses to be constantly meeting consumer needs and exceeding expectations.

What Are the Main e-Commerce Fulfilment Issues and How Can They Be Resolved?​

With lots of benefits available for unlocking with the right fulfilment strategies, fixing any issues is an important task. In this section, we’ve highlighted the main areas that business fall down in and how they can be fixed.

• Slow fulfilment times

As mentioned, customers expect rapid plus accurate fulfilment of their purchases. If a business is using the wrong type of freight service or an inefficient company, these issues can become a horrible reality. This is essential to get right as once a business is known for having slow transit times, the reputation can be permanently impacted.

Solution? Engage a professional logistics company who can eliminate any worries. An efficient transit supplier will be able to offer all types of deliveries from air freights to sea shipments. They’ll also be able to advise on the best way to fulfil orders when required plus offer professional support in times of wider global impacts on international trade.

• Opportunities to scale fulfilment

Without the right support in place, growing a business is impossible. Given the ever-increasing saturation of the e-commerce landscape, companies must be able to reliably increase or decrease shipping methods without encountering any roadblocks. This also ensures online retailers can maintain the same pace as their competitors plus start to outperform them for a bigger market share.

Solution? Embracing technology is key for accurately recording aspects such as stock levels and shipping requests. Without this level of automation, tasks are hard to replicate manually. Also, being able to source stock and materials from a wide selection of suppliers is also essential to ensure that not only are the best costs always received, but any supply chain issues don’t impact business growth.

• Put the customer in control

Fulfilment also needs to consider what requests a customer has when making an order. This means aspects such as a selection of shipping costs, choice of couriers and the option to choose specific delivery dates are all expected.

Solution? By pre-planning for a selection of fulfilment solutions post-checkout, customers are less likely to abandon their carts at the last minute. Some consumers will even look for these details before adding items to their shopping basket, proving how important the right fulfilment considerations are.

• Subpar warehouse processes leading to a lack of accurate inventory management

If a warehouse management system is lacking the right controls, fulfilment is already being impacted before an order has even been placed. This can lead to shipping delays, incorrect orders and inaccurate stock levels.

Solution? Investing in a reputable inventory system and people to manage the process is essential for keeping e-commerce businesses running smoothly. The key is to select a system that is digitally managed, suitable for the automation of some processes, and has brilliant API integrations with other software tools to provide a succinct system. An example of this is being able to link an inventory and warehouse management tool directly to a website.

• Unlock the benefits of omnichannel to meet consumer expectations

Customers expect shopping experiences to be readily available in all of the places they like to operate. Whether this is a website or social purchase, having a fulfilment system established which can meet the accuracy needed from omnichannel retailing is essential.

Solution? By connecting the right systems and ensuring fulfilment processes are compatible with all of the channels included within this supplied experience, customers will be kept happy with every click.

• Effectiveness of picking and packing

Another element of e-commerce fulfilment that often holds companies back is the success of packaging items within a set time. Most companies traditionally manage this manually which is one of the reasons that when more orders come in, the output can be hard to maintain.

Solution? Using technology and machines to manage some of the packaging process is essential for meeting short timeframes. A solid inventory system is also essential for checking what stock is available and for knowing the location. Also, having a set of packaging solutions which are pre-checked to align with the chosen transit options is important. This means that there are no chances of delays and gives more of a chance to items arriving securely instead of not being fit for travelling.

• Manual tracking leading to a lack of real-time information

Last but not least is the fact that some companies still operate a manual tracking process. This can lead to delays in consumers’ understanding of where their packages are plus makes it hard for companies to maintain. This system also requires additional training, which costs both time and money.

Solution? Using digital tags and succinct shipping software is an essential part of reliable fulfilment. This means tracking information is available instantly resulting in more chances of items being correctly delivered. Remaining informed is also something that customers rely on for improving their overall experience meaning satisfaction levels can be positively increased.

Is It Expensive to Get e-Commerce Fulfilment Right?

How Can Radius Warehouse and Logistic Services Help?

As covered in this guide, although there are many real challenges to enabling fulfilment, that doesn’t mean these issues need to hold back business growth.

At Radius Warehouse and Logistic Service, we offer fulfilment services covering everything from road freight to sea deliveries. We also help with areas that businesses often come unstuck with, such as selecting the best commodity codes and understanding exporter requirements.

If you want to know more about what freight services can elevate your businesses fulfilment plans or need to know more about how to expedite deliveries, get in touch with our team of experts.