Fulfillment Excellence: A Fine Balance

From Walmart to the family-owned convenience store, a huge number and variety of businesses take consistent steps to improve their order fulfillment operations. But no matter how different these companies are, improved fulfillment operations usually mean much the same thing.

Or, rather, much the same three things: One, a better experience for the customer. Two, more revenue for the company. And three, lower cost all around.

But how to satisfy all three of these goals at once is easier said than done.

Three Good Goals
The first step is to realize the worthiness of each of these goals.

Customer service is obviously of supreme concern to any successful business. But many companies forget how important order fulfillment is as a part of the customer experience. No matter what product is being sold, it needs to be delivered on time, all the time.

E-commerce giant Amazon.com is a great example of the positive impact excellent order fulfillment can make on customer loyalty. Whether its a book or a lawn chair set, customers expect their order to arrive on time and in good condition--and Amazon consistently delivers.

Amazon is also a solid example of using excellent fulfillment operations to grow revenue. Satisfied customers are repeat customers. Its that simple on a grand scale, but its necessary to focus on a granular level to make sure that order fulfillment adds to customer satisfaction.

For instance, small to mid-sized businesses can run into problems using outsourced fulfillment companies if there is no mechanism set up ahead of time for the customer to report problems with order fulfillment. Nothing kills future sales faster than this void.

Conversely, if its clear to the customer that a company has taken every measure possible to not only make the sale but fulfill the order, more sales and orders are likely to come. Working with outsourced fulfillment companies to develop customer contact solutions is vital.

Last but not least, companies must commit to using excellent fulfillment operations to keep costs firmly under control. This is why outsourcing fulfillment does make a lot of sense in certain situations; economies of scale can eliminate upfront investment in factories and machinery.

It is critical that the outsourced fulfillment partner share the goals of the client company.

Now, Achieve All Three Goals at the Same Time
Each of these goals, then, is attractive in and of itself. But in order to achieve true excellence in fulfillment operations, all three of these goals must be attained at the same time every day.

And this is no easy task. Over and above the challenge of enhancing service, growing revenue, and containing costs is the challenge of enhancing service without increasing cost, or growing revenue while still enhancing service. These three goals may conflict.

For example, an organization may see that customers want a phone number to call in the event of any order mix-ups. But the order volume may seem too small to justify the maintenance of a dedicated phone attendant to handle a few customer issues. This is where companies have to think creatively about how to deal with competing priorities.

This is when it becomes apparent that excellent order fulfillment is a fine balance.

Sources
Accenture
Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association
Material Handling Industry of America