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Simplify Order Fulfillment: Improved Process and Strategy

Simplify Order Fulfillment: Improved Process And Strategy

If you run a product-based business, order fulfillment can be a critical task for your business. Simplified order fulfillment requires coordination and collaboration across departments. This is where ERP software comprising the order fulfillment capability plays a crucial role.

According to the research performed by Business Research Insights, the order fulfillment software market was forecasted at USD 2.85 billion in 2023 which is further expected to reach USD 6.87 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 10.2 during the period.

Now, the question is – are you also a part of this adoption? If not, it’s time to upgrade your system capabilities. Yes, we are talking about implementing an ERP system equipped with functional capability for effective order fulfillment.

To support your decision-making, let’s understand the order fulfillment process and how ERP software plays an essential role in effective order fulfillment.

Order Fulfillment Process

Usually, the order fulfillment process comprises inventory management, logistics/supply chain management, order processing, quality control practices, customer support, and product returns/refunds. Thus, here is a brief overview of the order fulfillment process and how cloud ERP can help simplify the order fulfillment:

Initial inventory receiving

You may receive inventory items from your vendor, third party, or from another warehouse. It’s the very initial step wherein inventory should be counted and inspected properly to ensure that the right amount was received of acceptable quality.

There is a need to assign SKUs and barcodes when the product arrives at the Putaway in the warehouse. This ensures a seamless storage process and efficient product retrieval later.

To perform efficient product receiving in the warehouse, having an ERP solution designed with adequate order fulfillment capability is a must-have deal.

Inventory storage

Once the goods are received in the Putaway inside the warehouse, they are required to ensure immediate inventory disbursement or storage for a short/long-term period. These items are stored for the purpose of further distribution, meeting demand, and final order fulfillment to the customers.

To ensure streamlined storage of inventory items, an ERP system is required. It can help you optimize product storage and placing in proper aisles, racks, and bins. Later it can help warehousing people to easily find the required product and stimulate the pickup process.

Order processing

Manual order processing may not help you drive accuracy and seamless order processing. Certainly, the implementation of a cloud ERP system is crucial.

Further, this may also involve synchronization of other eCommerce platforms integrated with the ERP system. Thus, to automatically ensure order processing requires a proper order fulfillment system.

Pick Pack Ship

Order processing involves order picking and packing once the customer's order is received. Here, packing slips usually include a list of SKUs, item color, size, number of units to be packed, etc.

This should also include the location of the inventory item within the warehouse, for instance, in what exact aisle, rack, and bin, the specific product is stored. This in turn ensures smoother and quicker pick-up for the required inventory item.

Using the LionO360 ERP system, you can automate the pick-pack process and ensure seamless shipping of your products using integrated logistics facilitation such as EasyPost, FedEx, and UPS.

Customer Delivery

Using manual ways to ensure customer delivery may not help businesses to survive in the long run as modern customers want the earliest delivery. Having a proper order fulfillment system can help streamline the delivery process.

Once the pick, pack, and ship processes are done, your logistics provider manages to pick up the package and ensures the final delivery to the customer.

Order returns

Without an adequate order fulfillment system, managing customer returns can be quite a complex process. When a customer places an order return, there is a need to manage the product pickup from the customer location and restock it in the warehouse.

Here, the Serial Number Management feature can help track the product and ensure quick customer return.

When you leverage an ERP system to manage customer returns and refunds, it helps effectively manage customer returns and refunds. It also involves quality control checks for the returned products, once done the refund is initiated.

Strategies/Best Practices for Order Fulfillment

Choose the right order fulfillment ERP system

The very first thing that you need to do is to choose the right ERP system that facilitates order management, inventory management, customer support desk, and all those that you need to reinforce your business.

An ERP Like LionO360 comes with end-to-end features to help you optimize, automate, and streamline the entire business processes from inventory management to order fulfillment, and finance to customer service.

Integrate with vendors

Having a system that directly integrates with vendors can help you effectively collaborate with them on restocking and accounts payable processes while eliminating human interventions. Thus, connect with your vendors to ensure a seamless flow in terms of managing inventory levels and order fulfillment.

Effective inventory management

Holding less inventory stock in your warehouse can be a result of an out-of-stock situation which can affect the customer experience. Again, holding too much inventory stock can also cost you storage and handling costs. To overcome this challenge, you need to have inventory management software in place.

Ensuring the right stock level requires implementing cloud ERP software facilitated with an inventory management module. This can help notify your warehouse manager when there is a need to restock the inventory and stay updated with the end-to-end inventory flow.

For instance, what inventory count is available on the shelves, what is on the way/delivered to the customer, and what inventory items are returned from the customer to be restocked in the warehouse?

Set customer expectations

It is crucial to set customer expectations when you receive customer orders. For instance, if your customer needs to face a delay in delivery, clearly communicating with them can help eliminate customer disappointment.

Here, having an order fulfillment solution integrated with inventory management software can help you maintain the right stock availability and ensure timely delivery to the customer.

With LionO360 ERP, you can get a complete business solution that enables you to effectively manage inventories, multi-warehouse operations, order fulfillment, customer service/support, finance operations, and more.

Our system also facilitates the Pricebook Management feature that enables you to segment customers and offer customized pricing. Another customer segmentation you can perform using the ‘Product Visibility’ feature in our system. This can help you to enable or disable customers to access the specific product or product range.

Ensuring the right order picking strategy

Having automation in the process can bring efficiency to the order fulfillment process and can save costs. Thereby there is a need for automation in the process.

In the LionO360 ERP system, we offer automation in the pick pack process, this helps increase the efficiency of the warehouse workforce, stimulate the order pick pack process, and reduce costs.

Our system also comprises aisles racks bins management facilitation. This helps you simplify the inventory storage that helps the warehouse executives to easily locate the ordered product. This in turn helps speed up the order fulfillment process.

Build relations with your logistics partner

Having an integrated shipping solution in ERP software can simplify the order fulfillment process. Our system comes with built-in facilitation for shipping integration. It allows you to easily configure and integrate your ERP and Shipping tools streamlining the order fulfillment process. With LionO360 ERP, you can simplify the end-to-end shipping process.

Moreover, communicating and negotiating with the logistics partner in terms of the best pricing deals, shipping strategies, and ensuring delivery schedules can help improve your customer delivery and avoid delays.

Streamline customer returns and refunds

To enhance your customer experience, it is crucial to ensure that your customer is getting what they are expecting. Usually, your customer anticipates buying products at discounted products, timely delivery, and hassle-free return/refund.

Using the LionO360 Enterprise Resource Planning Tool, you can manage seamless customer returns and process refunds against product returns. This can help generate customer trust, retain customers, and streamline restocking of the returned items in the warehouse.

To listen to your customers and provide instant support, we have a ‘Cases & Helpdesk’ module whereby you can enable your customers to easily raise their tickets. Now, your support team can consider their concerns and provide them with an anticipated solution.

Simplify Order Fulfillment with LionO360 ERP

LionOBytes offers fully equipped LionO360 ERP, which comprises all the modules required to manage all aspects of your business. Such modules include Inventory Management, Order Fulfillment, Multi-Warehouse Management, Finance Management, Cases & Helpdesk, etc.

It also allows you to ensure seamless integration with third-party shipping/logistics, CRM solutions, email marketing platforms, WhatsApp integration, etc.

Moreover, we provide built-in project management tools i.e. Task. This helps eliminate the need to pay for additional project management tools. Overall, our ERP solution can help automate your processes, maximize efficiency across your processes, and minimize costs.

Thus, whether you are looking for order fulfillment software, inventory management software, or a complete ERP for small businesses, we are here to provide a tailored solution for your business.

To acquire more details, reach out to us and get an estimate for your personalized solution. You can also schedule a free product demo with our experts. We also facilitate you to initially start with a free trial and once you feel confident, you can continue using our system.

For more information call us at +1 609-281-5272

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the order fulfillment process?

The order fulfillment process includes receiving goods from the vendors/suppliers, storage of inventory items in the warehouse, processing customer orders, managing shipping/logistics, and customer returns.

To understand the standard order fulfillment process and how you can level up your order fulfillment process to increase efficiency, uplift customer experience and optimize growth, connect with industry experts at LionOBytes. We can suggest and implement a personalized solution for your business.

What are the steps involved in the order fulfillment process?

The standard steps that involve the order fulfillment process:

  • Receiving inventory items from the distribution centers
  • Storage of received items in the warehouse.
  • Order Picking
  • Order packing
  • Shipping the order
  • Customer delivery
  • Customer returns

To know how you can streamline your order fulfillment process with LionO360 ERP, connect and schedule a free demo with experts at LionOBytes.

How can small businesses improve their order fulfillment process?

Small businesses can leverage the affordable order fulfillment solution i.e. an ERP for small businesses integrated with end-to-end order fulfillment capability.

With LionO360 ERP, you can manage the complete order fulfillment cycle from receiving the order at the warehouse and storing it on the shelves to order processing, and customer delivery to customer returns/refunds.

Thus, if you want your customers to receive orders faster and gain their loyalty, reach out to LionOBytes for expert consultation on simplifying your order fulfillment process.


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