Competition is stiff in today’s ecommerce space. Customers can lose interest in your products if you cannot deliver on time. Having a solid and reliable delivery service is crucial. Here is where omnichannel fulfillment services come into play.
Omnichannel fulfillment services take everything a notch higher. This is unlike multichannel approaches, which involve separate inventories and processes for each channel. With omnichannel, you get your delivery process synced for a frictionless customer experience.
Omnichannel Fulfillment vs. Multichannel
- Multichannel
With multichannel, you have separate sales channels. For example, you will find brands setting up a physical shop and online stores on Amazon, eBay, and other popular ecommerce sites. Each store has its own inventory and delivery process.
Customers will get their products delivered depending on where they choose to shop. For example, customers who purchase directly from the store’s app will get their order picked from the in-store inventory.
- Omnichannel Fulfillment
This method integrates all those sales channels into one. Instead of operating multiple inventories with diverse delivery processes, you have one system. Online orders can be picked up from the warehouse and delivered to the appropriate address or made available for pickup.
The inventory is shared and visible across all stores or sales channels.
How Omnichannel Fulfillment Services Work
You must be wondering, how does this work if you have multiple stores? Managing the inventory and planning order fulfillment must be a headache. Well, let’s dive into how it works behind the scenes.
- A Visible Inventory System
The foundation of omnichannel fulfillment services lies in a central inventory system. What this system does is show stock levels across all channels in real time.
- Order Routing and Planning
Behind the scenes, omnichannel systems are powered by intelligent order management systems. The system analyzes the orders and determines the best fulfillment option. It does this by considering factors like location and proximity to the warehouse, inventory, delivery promise, cost, and the fulfillment method chosen by the customer.
- Flexible Fulfillment Services
Omnichannel fulfillment service providers like Packageman have multiple flexible ways to fulfill orders. Orders can be picked from the warehouse and shipped to the address, which is common for B2B transactions.
The store employees can pick up the order, pack it, and send it directly. Some orders can be made available for pickup at various locations. They also provide same-day deliveries from the closest store with available inventory.
- Integrated Systems
Every operation in the store, warehouse, and ecommerce app communicates in real time. This is done via APIs. So, at no point will someone place an order for a certain product that isn’t available in the inventory.
Why Is an Omnichannel Fulfillment Service Important?
Retailers can meet customer demand fast. Remember, competition is stiff, and customers will quickly order from another store if you cannot meet their delivery needs.
Omnichannel fulfillment services also make inventory management easier. You don’t have to worry about one warehouse being overstocked while the others are running out of products. In addition, it reduces shipping costs.
Making pickups available means you save on the fee that would have been paid to an Uber driver to drop off the package.