Order Fulfillment Services That Contribute to Your Bottom Line
Your order fulfillment process is responsible for all picking, packing, shipping, storage, and product return operations. A reliable order fulfillment service should be the quiet, yet crucial, catalyst to the success of your business. That's where Red Stag Fulfillment fits into the picture. We partner with you, design a custom solution, and execute the order fulfillment process for your business.
We guarantee excellence in our core competencies, while you execute excellence in yours.
Addressing One of Retail’s Biggest Challenges
Yes, we pick orders, pack them in boxes, and ship them out the door. Our highly-developed processes and systems allow us to fulfill your orders with exceptional speed and unmatched accuracy and reliability. Need next-day shipping? We can do that. Need orders placed by 5 pm EST to ship the same day? We’ve got you covered. When it's all said and done, we put our money where our mouth is with our unique order fulfillment guarantee.
Red Stag's order fulfillment centers, located on the West and East Coasts, mean that the cost to ship orders to your customers is drastically reduced. Combined with our shipping rate discounts and same-day fulfillment guarantees, our order fulfillment network saves you money while increasing your customers' satisfaction.
More About Our Fulfillment CentersOrder Fulfillment’s Intelligent Makeover
Fast and accurate order fulfillment services are crucial to your eCommerce company’s success. Every mis-pack or mis-shipment is money out of your pocket in the short term, and possible damage to your company’s reputation in the long term.
At Red Stag, we understand the importance of getting your orders right the first time, every time. That’s why we’ve invested in our technology to track every item of every client's stock, from the moment it lands on the loading dock to the day it is packed and shipped.
The Foundations for Efficient Order Fulfillment
Red Stag takes the work of order fulfillment off your hands, but you keep control of your inventory.
Real-Time Intelligence
Time is money in eCommerce. You can’t afford to have your inventory sit in pallets for two weeks while your orders back up.
Red Stag’s powerful order fulfillment technology ensures that we can put your stock on our shelves the day after it arrives at our warehouse. That same technology allows us to offer same-day order fulfillment, while keeping your shipping costs down.
Our up-to-the-minute reporting places the power of information in your hands, so you can make smart decisions and stay nimble in the fast-paced world of eCommerce.
Operational Transparency
When you trust Red Stag as your order fulfillment company, we hand the controls over to you. Our WMS (Warehouse Management System) allows you to view and track your inventory every step of the way, from our receiving dock to the shelves, and out the door to your customers.
Red Stag sets the standard for order fulfillment centers. We guarantee zero shrinkage of your inventory, and we take full responsibility for any damage that happens in our warehouse.
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How Fulfillment Companies Work
Have you ever questioned how that package came to arrive on your doorstep after placing an eCommerce order? If you’ve wondered how the order fulfillment process works look no further. In this article, you will learn about fulfillment centers, the technologies they use and how they efficiently pick, pack and ship your orders.
What is order fulfillment?
Order fulfillment is the process in between receiving a customer’s order information and delivering their order. The logistics of fulfillment begin when the order information is routed to the warehouse or inventory storage facility. The product matching the order information on the invoice is then located and packaged for shipping.Although the customer does not see any of the efforts behind the scenes, order fulfillment is one of the biggest components of customer satisfaction. The order must be accurately packed and shipped in a timely manner so the package arrives exactly as the customer expects and on time.
What happens at an order fulfillment center?
A fulfillment center is a facility that specializes in inventory storage, picking products accurately, packaging for shipment and handing off to a shipping provider. This laser focus on the fulfillment process itself allows fulfillment companies to optimize their core competencies and execute masterfully. The strategic advantages of partnering with a fulfillment company extend beyond their ability to leverage these core competencies. Working with a centrally located fulfillment center allows you to reach more of your customers in less time. The centralized distribution also allows for reduced shipping costs.
How Fulfillment Companies Work
Choosing a Fulfillment Provider
When deciding to transition your fulfillment needs to a dedicated third party you will want to evaluate them to ensure they can meet the needs of your business. For example, if the majority of your customers are in a particular geographical location it makes sense to work with a fulfillment center close to your customers. Also, if your product is fragile, over-sized, or requires additional care during packing and shipment, you will want to find a partner who can accommodate your needs.
Adding Inventory
Once you have vetted the fulfillment company that best meets the needs of your business, you can arrange to ship bulk inventory for storage and fulfillment. When receiving inventory, fulfillment centers typically rely on barcodes, including UPC, GCID, EAN, and ISBN codes to distinguish between various products. The fulfillment center will also tag the product’s location in the storage facility to easily find and package the product when your customer orders.
Routing Orders
In order for a fulfillment center to integrate effectively into your company’s operations, there must be a process in place for customer orders to be directed to your fulfillment center. Many fulfillment companies have the ability to integrate with major eCommerce platforms to immediately receive the order information from your customer’s purchase. Most fulfillment companies also have other methods of communicating order information such as single-order reporting or the option to upload multiple orders in CSV format.
Picking, Packing and Shipping
The bread and butter of any fulfillment service is the ability to pick, pack, and ship the appropriate items in a timely manner. When the order information arrives at the warehouse the items need to be located and collected. Once gathered, the products will need to be packaged in a durable box with the necessary packing dunnage, secure tape, and shipping label. The finished package is then ready for pickup by a shipping provider.
Managing Inventory
Although you will no longer have direct oversight of your physical inventory, most fulfillment companies provide a digital dashboard allowing you to manage your inventory. The dashboard is helpful to track daily, weekly, and monthly sales data and estimate when inventory levels will need to be replenished. The dashboard is also a great tool for managing damaged products and customer returns.
Handling Returns
Production manufacturing inevitably has a small percentage of defective goods. Defects will likely be the basis for your return policy and any additional guarantees will increase the volume of returns that need to be managed. Many fulfillment companies offer return management services and the option to ship the defective product to you for review or handle disposal.
Fulfillment Center Technology
eCommerce Platform Integration
Many fulfillment companies have built software solutions to seamlessly integrate with the platform you have chosen for your eCommerce business. This eliminates the need for you to monitor and report new orders as they come in, further reducing friction and time for you when managing the fulfillment process. Integrating your eCommerce store with your fulfillment partner is also great for handling returns and customer service issues pertaining to fulfillment and shipping.
Inventory and Order Tracking
As your business continues to grow, it is essential you stay on top of your inventory levels. This is why fulfillment companies provide a tool that lets you track your stock level and helps predict when your inventory will be exhausted.. This inventory management dashboard also typically allows you to review returns and damaged product, and track product through the fulfillment and shipping process.
Scanners for SKU, Location
Fulfillment companies utilize barcode scanners when receiving product to verify the correct item has been received and document where the product is stored. This way a product’s whereabouts in the warehouse will be known instantly when an order is placed. Modern fulfillment centers also employ mobile devices to communicate status updates of the product through the fulfillment process.
Conclusion
Fulfillment companies work as the unsung heroes of the eCommerce lifecycle, often going completely unnoticed for their efforts. Fulfillment companies are efficient operations with but one overarching goal—getting your product picked, packed, and shipped to your customer. Although this seems like a simple and easily attainable goal, it is a complex ballet of efficiency. If you decide to partner with a fulfillment company, or if you are considering moving your operations to another fulfillment center, it’s important that you understand how various fulfillment companies work and differ. You may want to consult our fulfillment checklist to assure a mutually beneficial partnership.